Washington State Board; license by comity to non-tested foreign PE's 3

[Electic]

This change was proposed some time ago in our State Professional Engineering Journal and now is being proposed as a revision CR-102 to the Revised Code of Washington RCW 34.05.320

The purpose given for this change is to address applicants that are seeking licensure in Washington State that are currently licensed in Non-U.S. jurisdiction. License mobility for eligible Canadian Professional Engineers will be promoted with adoption of the new rule.

It is inoteworthy that an engineer can obtain licensure in Canada without writing the Fundamentals of Engineering or Professional Engineering test (but is required to write a morals and ethics test regarding Intelectual property etc.)

It is possible for graduates of American Schools to obtain licensure in Canada, and with this proposed change it would be possible for those graduates to obtain Washington State license and then other state licenses by comity.

I have written objections to this apparent breach of standard to the State Board, but they are proceeding full speed ahead, eager to collect more license fees.

My personal experience includes working for Canadian Engineering firms, working for Canadian customers and working in Canada (I obtained a BC license). It is very clear to anyone remotely familiar to this work that the cultures are different including the expectation of professional duty. There are different engineering and construction laws in Canada governing these fields that do not exist in Washington State. I am not commenting on which is better; however to ignore the difference could be dangerous to the public and catastrophic to engineering careers. It is very easy to imagine that foreign engineers will submit unrealistic proposals based on a different expectation of service.

I predict that our State Board will learn the different expectations with time, and then subject Washington State Engineers to new corrective regulations, in the meantime how many projects will get mis-funded or lost?

At this time, there is no restriction on foreign engineers, other than to pass the same PE and FE test that in state engineers are required to pass.

 

[BJC]

Recieved Today <%^)]

"Engineers of Washington State,

Thank you for your help in stopping WAC 196-13! On Friday September 24th,
the Board voted 5 to 2 against the proposed WAC 196-13, which would have
allowed Canadian/Foreign engineers to become licensed in WA without passing
the FE and PE. (See the attached from the Seattle Times).

At the vote, Board Members stated that they were impressed with the
significant opposition WAC 196-13 had received, and acknowledged their own
failure to gain consensus with the membership (licensed P.E.'s). There were
over 15 engineers attending the Board Meeting in opposition to WAC 196-13,
and hard copies were submitted of 920 petitions signed by WA PEs, as well
as letters of opposition from 18 State Legislators. I want to thank you for
your support in our efforts, which was instrumental in stopping this had
rule change.

Despite this positive result, there were troubling indications that the
Board may go forward with another tact. Board Members, as opposed to doing
away with the proposed changes entirely, stated at the meeting that they
felt it was "not the proper time" to make such a rule change. It is
concerning that the Board, and especially the Board's Executive Director,
have yet to address or show an understanding of the concerns expressed by WA
P.E.'s, and have instead done much to dismiss and discredit those concerns.
At the Board Meeting, Board Director Chun Lau specifically stated that the
Board's Mobility Committee would remain active. Thus, we fear it is likely
that this rule change may return.

For this reason, State Representative Kelli Linville has been working to
draft legislation that will explicitly require engineers from foreign
jurisdictions to either pass the FE and PE Exams in Washington, or
demonstrate that they have taken an examination of equal stature. Such
legislation would effectively prevent the Board from moving forward in the
future with another rule change that would allow the skipping of the FE and
PE Exams. Our combined efforts have ensured that, at least on this occasion,
the integrity of the PE System has been protected!"