@holy-cow State Licensing Boards are another one of my heartburns. All they do is collect "revenue" by selling "licenses". They do very little policing of their licensees. Continueing Education is left up to State Societies to fund and regulate.
Interesting take...
I had a call come in from a homeowner wishing to build a fence. He said he had already had the services of a 'surveyor' but that there was some discrepancy and that he wanted a second opinion.
He explained that after calling through a handful of google results and finding 10-12 weeks out being the norm, he got to a guy who provides Aerial Mapping Services. This guy advised that he could come out and mark his lines within a few days, for $200. The homeowner said he came out with some type of 'machine' and staked the boundary line in question. When asked later, the aerial mapper said he relied up on publicly available GIS parcel data and GPS to mark the line.
Upon marking, the homeowner felt it wasn't right. He asked the 'surveyor' if he was sure, was told it was close though 'it probably wouldn't hold up in court'. When the fence estimator came out, he offered to check a distance with a measuring wheel from one known corner and said that the stakes appeared to be 6 feet out of what the plat says, but smartly clarified he was not a land surveyor and recommended homeowner hire one.
Sensing trouble, the homeowner pulled out all of the stakes set by the aerial mapper and is asking me for a price and schedule for a certified boundary survey.
Homeowner provided me information on the aerial mapper, and I see he is young, recent college grad, with a very new drone business. Offering everything from aerial mapping, inspection, stockpile volumes, to real estate, wedding, and live event aerial video. My read is that he is a kid with a drone and a Part 107 willing to do anything anyone is willing to pay him for. I think he probably means well but is ignorant of where his limits are.
I am in North Carolina. If this kid told homeowner he was marking boundary lines, I believe he's practiced without a license. I don't know what methods he used to locate those lines, but I don't think it matters. The homeowner called him to mark boundary lines, mapper came and put stakes in the ground, and charged a fee. He is not a PLS and does not appear to be supervised or in any other way involved with one.
My first inclination is to call this kid up and offer some unsolicited guidance and advice, and perhaps send a few statues for him to review. Thoughts?
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Call him. If you are hesitant, give me his number and I will call him.?ÿ
That varies greatly from state to state.?ÿ North Carolina does a good job of going after unlicensed and/or unscrupulous practitioners.?ÿ?ÿ
@murphy Two of the worst Surveyor's in the State are on the Board. The only Surveyor to lose his license on the last 10 years or so was convicted on Drugs. It was a felony, no action by the State Board. Week later when he was out on probation he assaulted someone in a bar. Another felony, assault. Served a couple of months on State prison. Gets out and starts Surveying again. Finally one of his clients complains and the Board suspends his license. Didn't revoke it, suspended it which means he can get it back if he meets the terms only known by him and the Board. Next time there's an opening on the Board,.I'm betting he'll get it.
@murphy From what I've read on this board, it does seem to vary significantly from state to state.?ÿ I'm always a little surprised by the claims of state boards doing nothing because the one in Kentucky has always been very good about following up on issues.?ÿ
There are two things I always wonder when I read the complaints from posters about their state's board doing nothing or failing to "police" the profession -
?ÿ 1)?ÿ Are they in an area where people (clients, licensees, mortgage lenders, etc...) are aware they can file a complaint.?ÿ The board in Kentucky does not have the personnel to have an investigator sit behind a billboard with a radar gun trying to catch random violations.?ÿ They have plenty to deal with just following up on complaints that are filed.?ÿ Complaints filed are the main way in which the board is made aware of potential violations they need to investigate.?ÿ In the areas where no actions by the board is noted, if there is a pattern of violations by a practitioner in that area - has there ever been a formal complaint filed??ÿ If (hopefully won't be the case, but if) the youngster in the original post is caught in a year or two doing the same thing, someone could complain that the board should have done something.?ÿ Problem being - they were not made aware of the problem to begin with.?ÿ There are times to address issues one to one as professional colleagues and there are times that a formal complaint should be made.
?ÿ 2)?ÿ Is the poster actually aware of what goes on at the state board??ÿ I've heard some people in Kentucky complain about various matters over the years and lay blame on the state board of licensure for the issue.?ÿ Sometimes, I can only shake my head and think - have you even read the language that creates and organizes the board.?ÿ Their duties/powers/responsibilities are pretty well defined in statutes.?ÿ Some things they do not have absolute control over, yet licensees think the board should be solving a problem that the board either has no power over or is limited by existing laws.
My board has about 15-20 people (mostly appointed positions with full-time other jobs) overseeing the licensed (PE, PLS) population of about 16,000.?ÿ I doubt they could even remotely hope to act within a week on any investigation matter even though they do a very good job.
I don't know about all states, but in Kentucky there is fairly extensive legal language on the whole felony convictions and how employers and licensing agencies are allowed to address convictions.?ÿ In addition, there is fairly clear policy on investigations from the opening of a case through the resolution.?ÿ A suspension of license is not the minimal action nor is it the highest.?ÿ If the licensee complies with the terms of the suspension, he might be able to get back into the professional ranks.?ÿ In my region, we had a licensee who ended up with a suspended license due to drug issues.?ÿ He complied with the terms of the suspension and eventually got his license back to active.?ÿ He continued to do very good work for a while, relapsed, then lost his license.?ÿ Another licensee got a suspension over drugs as well, but sorted his life out and has been able to continue in a professional capacity for decades.?ÿ As far as I am aware, the Kentucky board is not there to squash someone.?ÿ They are trying to protect the public.?ÿ Part of that might entail stopping someone from practicing while they try to get their s!^t together.?ÿ In other instances it might mean revoking a license completely.?ÿ And - I've seen disciplinary action against former board members as well.
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Very good post!?ÿ
For reference relating to skeeters post.?ÿ
Montana renewal fees are about $O.049 dollars per hour. Not a significant amount when billing rates are $125 and above per hour. Also not a huge money maker for the board.
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The Montana Board also does a good job investigating complaints. The issue is they never have many cases turned into them.?ÿ They are also bound to only enforce violations of administrative rules, against registrants. You can do a bad survey, as long as it comforms to the administrative rules, their is nothing they can do.?ÿ If the situation is with unlicensed practice, they have limited options. Send a C and D letter or refer the matter to the appropriate County Attorney.
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@jpb?ÿ
Our County Attorney would not waste his time on such an issue.?ÿ At most, he would attempt to hook them for a $1000 diversion fee and a slap on the wrist.?ÿ He gets to use diversion fees any way he sees fit, like paint ball guns for the annual department picnic.