History of the Texas Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors

The agency was created in 1937 by the 45th Legislature, Regular Session, in the aftermath of the New London School explosion in which nearly 300 students and teachers were killed and was originally known as the State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers. The Legislative intent, as specified in Section 1.1 of the Act, states in part, " . . . in order to protect the public health, safety and welfare, that the privilege of practicing engineering be entrusted only to those persons duly licensed and practicing under the provisions of this Act and that there be strict compliance with and enforcement of all the provisions of this Act . . ." Section 1.1 of the Act also reserves the use of the title "engineer" for only those individuals duly licensed to practice engineering in Texas. The Act created the original policymaking body, which was composed of six licensed professional engineers appointed by the Governor, with concurrence by the Senate, who served six-year staggered terms.

In 1965, the original scope of the Board's authority was altered when the 59th Legislature extended the categories of persons exempted from the Act, the most significant being the employees of private industry. This exemption was sought primarily by industry, which viewed the earlier licensure requirement as unnecessarily restrictive. The Board's enforcement authority was also strengthened at that time to make it easier for the Board to obtain an injunction against a person practicing professional engineering without a license and provided for the suspension or revocation of a license for any violation of the Act.

In 1981, the 67th Legislature changed the composition of the Board's policymaking body to include three public members who participate in all Board matters except the review of applications for licensure. Other significant alterations to the statute in 1981 included:

removal of the provisions requiring the Board to proceed upon sworn information when investigating charges against a licensee;
removal of the state residency requirements for persons filing complaints;
provided for intermediate penalties specifically authorizing the Board to issue formal and informal reprimands;
added the provision authorizing the Board to promulgate rules restricting competitive bidding, and included a provision preventing the Board from adopting rules restricting advertising by licensees except to prohibit false, misleading, or deceptive practices by licensees.
Section 22a concerning information files relative to the complaints against licensees, and
Section 22b concerning consumer information describing the regulatory functions of the Board and the Board's procedures by which consumer complaints are filed and resolved were added to the Act.

In 1987, the 70th Legislature amended the Act by providing a five-year notification period that significant changes to strengthen the licensing and educational requirements would become effective September 1, 1992. Prior to 1992, applications were evaluated based on education and experience. Examinations were not required for licensure. This made it difficult or in some cases impossible for a Texas professional engineer to become licensed in another state. Consequently, Section 12 of the Act was revised and now requires graduation from an approved curriculum in engineering or a related science and passage of both the Fundamentals of Engineering and the Principles and Practice of Engineering examinations in order for engineers to become licensed in Texas. A five-year notification period was also provided concerning certification as an engineer-in-training set forth in Section 12.1, which incorporated the same educational requirements and passage of the Fundamentals of Engineering examination.

In 1991, the 72nd Legislature increased the maximum amount the Board could charge for an examination to $100. In addition, the Legislature added Section 13B to the Act, which increased the license, the annual renewal and the reciprocal license fees authorized in Section 13(b) of the Act by $200. This "professional fee" is a "pass through" fee and goes directly to the General Revenue Fund. It is not for use by the Board in its operations. This increase resulted in Texas' licensing and renewal fees becoming among the highest in the nation whereas they were previously among the lowest.

In 1991, the Legislature also altered the agency's Sunset Review date from September 1, 1993 until September 1, 2003, due to the agency's esteemed reputation for being a well-administered and efficient regulatory agency.

In 1991, the Texas Board was the first state to promote and develop mutual agreements with Canada and Mexico that addressed academic and professional engineering practice issues in order to implement the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). An engineering roundtable meeting between Texas engineers and engineers from Mexico was held in June 1992 and subsequent meetings were held in November 1992 and June 1993. The Canadian Council of Professional Engineers was invited to send delegates to these subsequent meetings. These meetings resulted in the formation of the "NAFTA Forum on Engineering Practice." This forum was made up of six official representatives from each nation. The delegation from the United States consisted of two representatives from the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE), and the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) and was known as the United States Council for International Engineering Practice. One of the NSPE representatives was a past president of the Texas Society of Professional Engineers (TSPE) and the Chairman of the Texas Board. Six additional meetings were held between August 1993 and January 1995, which resulted in the creation of the Mutual Recognition Document (MRD). In June 1995, all 18 representatives met in Washington, DC, and signed the MRD. On November 18, 1996, a Letter of Intent to Implement the NAFTA Mutual Recognition Document was signed by the Chairman and Executive Director of the Texas Board in the Governor's Office. Texas Governor George W. Bush witnessed this historic event. All three nations were represented as well as members and staff of the Texas Board, engineering societies and associations, and the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying.

In 1993, the 73rd Legislature authorized the Board to issue subpoenas to witnesses in order to successfully enforce the provisions of the Act.

In 1995, the Board implemented a six-year voluntary Continuing Professional Competency program for professional engineers. Approximately ten percent of the licensees participated in the voluntary program.

In 1997, the 75th Legislature modified numerous sections of the Act and the name of the agency was changed to the Texas Board of Professional Engineers. All language pertaining to "registration" and "registered" was changed to "licensure" and "licensed." The maximum examination fee was increased from $100 to $120 and the Board was authorized to adopt reduced licensure and annual renewal fees for licensed engineers who are disabled and not engaged in the active practice of engineering.

Other significant changes in 1997 included amendments to:

Section 12 authorizing the Board to adopt rules providing for the waiver of all or part of the examination requirement to permit the issuance or re-issuance of a license to an applicant so long as the applicant does not pose a threat to the public health, safety and welfare.
Section 18 prohibiting any person, persons, or business entity from holding itself out to the public or any member thereof as being engaged in the practice of engineering unless any and all services are performed or done by a licensed engineer or under the direct supervision of a licensed engineer who is a regular full-time employee of the firm, partnership, association, corporation, or other business entity, but does not prohibit a licensed engineer from performing engineering services on a part-time basis.
Section 20 deleting the provisions contained in Subsections (a) and (b) that established an exemption from the licensure requirements for certain persons who were not residents of or had an established place of business in this state and recodified the section.
Section 20 adding the provisions contained in Subsection (k) that the Act does not prevent, limit, or restrict a person licensed as an architect, landscape architect, or interior designer under the laws of this state from performing an act, service, or work that is within the definitions of the person's practice as an architect under Article 248a, V.T.C.S., as a landscape architect under Article 249c, V.T.C.S., or as an interior designer under Article 249e, V.T.C.S.
Section 20 adding the provision contained in Subsection (f)(l) that the Act does not apply to a regular full-time employee of a private corporation or other private business entity engaged in erecting, constructing, enlarging, altering, repairing, rehabilitating, or maintaining an improvement to real property in accordance with plans and specifications that bear the seal of a licensed engineer. This exemption includes the use of job titles and personnel classifications by the employee that are not in connection with any offer of engineering services to the public.
Section 22 authorizing the Board to adopt rules permitting the Board to review the status of a license holder who the Board believes may have been issued a license through fraud or error or who may constitute a threat to the public health, safety and welfare, and authorizes the Board to suspend or revoke the license held by a person whose status is reviewed under this section.
Section 22A requiring the Board to adopt rules that permit the Board to receive and investigate confidential complaints against license holders or any other person who may have violated the Act. The Board is required to maintain the confidentiality of the complaint during the investigation of the complaint. The Board is further required to protect the anonymity of a person who makes an anonymous complaint and maintain the confidentiality of the complaint during the investigation of the complaint.
Section 22C was added authorizing the Board to impose an administrative penalty against a person licensed under the Act or any other person or entity that violates the Act or a rule or an order adopted under the Act; established the due process procedures relative to the assessment of an administrative penalty; and required that the penalty collected under the section be deposited to the General Revenue Fund, except for the portion of the penalty that constitutes reimbursement for the performance of the Board's regulatory functions.

In 1999, two significant bills were enacted by the 76th Legislature that affect the Board. House Bill 1544 authorized the Board to provide the engineer roster in an online computer database format. The roster of engineers is now available by accessing the Board's Web site. HB1544 also required that the Board implement the firm registration program. All sole practitioners, firms, partnerships, corporations, and joint stock associations engaged in the practice of professional engineering for the public are required to register with the Board on an annual basis for a fee not to exceed $100. Senate Bill 1438 created a four-year pilot project wherein the Texas Board of Professional Engineers, the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy and the Texas Board of Architectural Examiners were changed to a self-directed, semi-independent status and removed from the legislative appropriations process.

The TBPE went through Sunset review prior to the 2003 legislative session. The Sunset process consists of a review of all agency functions and mandates. The review resulted in the filing of SB 277.

During the 78th legislative session (2003), SB277 was passed instructing the Texas Board of Professional Engineers to develop and implement a Continuing Education Program (CEP). On October 9, 2003, CEP Proposed Rules were adopted by the Board of Directors. After allowing ample time for education and marketing the new requirement, on January 1, 2005, the CEP program went into effect. License holders were required to submit their first CEP hours with the renewal they received in 2005.

An additional milestone of the 78th Legislature and SB277 allowed the Texas Board of Professional Engineers to develop and implement an Inactive Status for licensed professional engineers. License holders on Inactive Status are not required to comply with the continuing education requirements adopted by the Board. On October 9, 2003, Inactive Status Rules were proposed by the Board of Directors. On January 15, 2004, these rules were adopted. A modification to the rules in March 2006 allowed the use of the title "Retired" to also indicate Inactive Status by licensed professional engineers.

During the 2011 session, the long-standing dispute between engineers and architects doing building design was addressed. HB 2284 resolved issues of overlap between engineers and architects. The bill modified both Acts to specify which functions could be performed by each profession. It also created a process for engineers who are qualified to be exempted from the registration requirements for architects. That program was administered by the Texas Board of Architectural Examiners.

The 2011 session also addressed another long-standing issue related to the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) and the Windstorm Inspector program. For years, TDI has required appointed inspectors to be licensed engineers. HB 3 was passed in the 2011 special session to establish a Roster of Qualified Engineers for Windstorm. The TBPE roster was intended to pre-qualify licensed engineers who are competent in high-wind building design.

Prior to the 2013 session, the TBPE underwent another sunset review. Once again, the Sunset Commission considered all aspects of the agency, its functions and purpose. The Sunset staff made recommendations for changes to some functions. Those recommendations were codified into SB 204, which was passed during the 2013 session. Some of the significant modifications made to the Act included continuance of the agency for 12 years, increased enforcement authority for unlicensed practice, emergency suspension authority for cases of imminent threat to the public and an increased maximum penalty amount. The bill also required all PEs with an Active license to submit fingerprints for a one-time Criminal History Records Check (CHRC). CHRC was required for all Active license renewals starting January, 2014. The CHRC is also required for all new license applicants.

The Self-Directed, Semi-Independent (SDSI) pilot program initiated in 1999 also went through Sunset review prior to the 2013 session. HB 1685 affirmed the effectiveness of the SDSI program by recodifying it under Government Code Chapter 472 as the SDSI Act. It set annual and biennial monitoring and reporting requirements for the agencies listed, including the TBPE.

The 2015 legislative session was another milestone session for the PE community. HB 7 repealed the long-standing Professional Fee from the Act. The $200 annual fee that was paid for all regular renewals had been in place since 2001 for a number of professions, including engineers. The fee was eliminated for all renewals and new licenses issued after September 1, 2015. Another change to the Act made during the 2015 session was to eliminate the Windstorm Roster created in 2011. HB 2439 repealed Subchapter N of the Act and the implementation date of the roster repeal was January 2017.

On June 16, 2019, Governor Greg Abbot signed an historic piece of legislation that merged the regulation of the practices of engineering and land surveying into one board. Effective September 1, 2019, HB1523 creating the Texas Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors (TBPELS).