@ric-moore Absolutely! I track legislation, board activity, and major case developments where I am active. It's a huge commitment...
Another failure by those bureaucrats
@jon-payne Another failure by those goofballs is lumping occupational and professional licensing together..
I think perhaps we have done this to ourselves.
@jon-payne I was thinking KY already did this. At the TAPS convention this year someone came and talked about it. You have to have a NCEES record and they send you the State Specific Laws and your license. I haven't done it because I'm not sure I want to go through with making a record. I'd probably have to hire a PI to track down people I had worked for early on in my career.
@makerofmaps What you heard at the TAPS convention and what the original poster was discussing from proposed legislation in New Hampshire (and I mentioned was also being discussed in Kentucky) are two similar, but different items.
Kentucky has removed the state specific testing phase and replaced it with an affirmation that you have read and understand the state laws they send to you. Apparently, the state exam pass rate was virtually 100% and there was some concern with how statute language was written in regards to requiring the state exam once computer based testing became the norm for the FS and PS exams and the state specific was no longer being administered by NCEES. However, you still have to meet the requirements that were in place in Kentucky at the time you received your first state license in order to receive your license by endorsement. So we (Kentucky) already have a pretty easy means of recognizing another license, even if some folks may not like the increased level of requirements for qualification as the years moved forward.
The legislation the OP brought up goes further than that and states that as long as you have a license in one state, you only need apply and pay a small fee then you will be licensed in the state accepting the universal license idea (as long as the legislature does not include a clause that requirements for licensure be substantially similar).
Currently: a licensee from another state that received their first license in 2020 would be expected to meet the 2020 requirements in Kentucky - degree, experience, exams.
If a universal degree acceptance is enacted w/o a substantially similar clause: a licensee from another state could potentially (although I expect it is rare) receive their initial license in 2020 based on 6-years of experience and passing the two national exams. Then apply to get their license here and be accepted because universal licensure acceptance requires it. In state applicants going for their initial license would still be required to meet the statutory expectations for education, experience, and exams - or simply try to circumvent the current requirements by testing in another state with less stringent requirements.
For surveying and engineering it is, at worst case, a matter of if or which type of degree your state requires that might be cut out and possibly up to four years less experience when forced to accept out of state licenses. As far as I know, every state has some amount of experience required and the two exams required for either land surveying or engineering. For land surveying, it is more of a matter of if a degree is required, but for engineering, it becomes which degree is required (I think several states still accept a technology degree). Down the road, engineering might see a glut of applicants from engineering technology graduates who suddenly are allowed to become licensed based on bringing a license in from a state that recognizes their technology degree.
For other licensed occupations or professions, it might be much different as there are ideas of having practiced an occupation/profession that is licensed in one state but not licensed in another state. In those instances, proof of one year of unlicensed (because it wasn't required) practice in one state is enough to get a license in a state that requires licensing of that profession/occupation no matter what education, experience, or exams were required in the licensing jurisdiction.
@jon-payne Thanks for the clarification.