MINUTES
BOARD FOR PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS
Date: March 12, 2009
Place: 3rd Floor Conference Room
500 North Calvert Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21202
Present: H. C. Harclerode, P.E., Chairman
Steven A. Arndt, P.E., Vice Chairman
Pastor Farinas, P.E., Secretary
Eugene C. Harvey, P.E.
Sallye E. Perrin, P.E.
Sandra J. Murphy
Others Present: Pamela Edwards, Assistant Executive Director
Milena Trust, Counsel to the Board
Susan Cherry, Chief of Litigation
Harry Loleas, Deputy Commissioner
Dorothy Matricciani, Administrative Secretary
Robert Mead, Executive Director, MSPE
Absent: Rosalind L. Yee
CALL TO ORDER
Chairman Harclerode called the meeting to order at 9:40 a.m.
ACTION ON MINUTES
The minutes of the February 12, 2009 meeting were approved as submitted.
APPLICATIONS APPROVED FOR RECIPROCITY
Motion (I) was made by Ms. Perrin, seconded by Ms. Murphy, and unanimously carried to approve 33 applications for reciprocity as follows:
William G. Adair 36967 Edward J. Jones 36982
Mark E. Ahlstrom 36969 Richard W. Kenney 36983
Syed K. Ahmad 36968 Trent E. Latta 36984
Jonathan A. Allen 36970 Ulrich Lemcke 36985
Steven J. Bohlen 36513 Stephen A. Lieber 36950
Elmer Booz 36971 Brian D. Manicke 36841
Matthew C. Brantley 36972 Gary F. Moyer 36986
Paul L. Charles 36973 William P. Norris 36987
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Minutes – March 12, 2009
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APPLICATIONS APPROVED FOR RECIPROCITY (Cont’d.)
Thomas B. Critchfield 36975 Mark M. Osowski 36885
Clifton J. Dayton 36976 Michael B. Peterson 36888
Thomas J. Demaria 36977 Jeffrey A. Roach 36886
Jimmie D. Deveraux 36978 Charles G. Sowders III 36988
David G. Duray 36948 Stanley C. Tomaszewski 36956
David S. Foelsch 36979 Joel A. Warriner Sr. 36856
Amol A. Fulambarkar 36980 Richard C. Wohlfarth 36989
George E. Hlavacs 36981 Mohammad R. Zaman 36990
David A. Hyche 36929
EXECUTIVE SESSION
Motion (II) was made by Mr. Harvey, seconded by Mr. Farinas, and unanimously carried to go into Executive Session at 9:43 a.m., at 500 North Calvert Street, 3rd Floor Conference Room, Baltimore, Maryland, 21202. This session was permitted to be closed pursuant to State Government Article, Title 10-508(a)(7). Upon completion of the session, the Board reconvened its public meeting at 11:04 a.m.
COMPLAINT COMMITTEE REPORT
Mr. Farinas reported on the status of complaints and license reinstatement issues discussed by the Complaint Committee at its meeting on March 12, 2009.
05-PE-17: Still under review by Assistant Attorney General’s office.
07-PE-07: Report received from expert witness. Send case to Assistant Attorney General’s office for pre-charge review.
07-PE-16: Cases still under investigation.
& 19
08-PE-04: Waiting for complainant’s reply to report from expert witness.
08-PE-05: Case under review by expert witness.
08-PE-25: Waiting for investigator to review case
09-PE-03: Waiting for investigator to review case.
09-PE-05: Consent Order signed; fine paid. Hold case open for information on re- signing and sealing of documents.
09-PE-06: Complied with all provisions of Consent Order. Recommend fine be reduced.
09-PE-07: Re-send 10-day response letter.
09-PE-08: Offer Consent Order and fine.
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Minutes – March 12, 2009
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The Complaint Committee reviewed two applications for reinstatement of license, and recommends reinstatement with a warning letter for one applicant and a Consent Order and fine for the other.
Motion (III) was made by Mr. Arndt, seconded by Mr. Harvey, and unanimously carried to accept the recommendations of the Complaint Committee.
NEW BUSINESS
· The Board discussed the possibility of establishing policies and procedures for dealing with collusion reports from NCEES. Ms. Edwards said that she will prepare guidelines for the Board’s review at the April meeting.
· Mr. Harclerode reported that the main topic of discussion at the Joint Chairs’ meeting on February 23rd was the budget for Fiscal Year 2010-2011. A budget summary provided by Commissioner Loleas was reviewed and discussed by the Board with the conclusion that the Board would like additional clarification on the report. Mr. Loleas explained that the summary is an overview of actual expenditures for FY 2009 and the allocated expenditures for FY 2010 for the Design Boards and was given to the Board so that it could have an understanding of how the budget is developed. Mr. Loleas said that he would provide the Board with a revised report at the April meeting that would address the Board’s questions. He also requested the Board’s input regarding the allocation of resources and said that this information should be received by June, when the Board’s budget begins to be built. Mr. Loleas further said that new computers for the Design Boards’ staff were in this years’ budget.
· The Board discussed the work experience requirements for qualifying for the Principles and Practice of Engineering examination, specifically, the issue of awarding credit for work experience gained while earning a Masters or Ph.D. degree. It was decided that if an applicant can demonstrate that he/she was doing engineering work that was unrelated to earning their degree(s), they may be awarded some credit for it toward the work experience requirement. Generally, work performed as a
“research assistant,” while earning a degree is not considered acceptable work
experience for the purpose of qualifying for the exam. Additionally, if an applicant uses a Masters or Ph.D. degree to qualify for the exam or to receive one years’ credit toward the work experience requirement, he/she cannot receive any extra credit for it. An applicant cannot receive more than one years’ experience per calendar year. The Board agreed that each application would be reviewed on its own merits.
Motion (IV) was made by Mr. Arndt, seconded by Ms. Perrin, and unanimously
carried to award a maximum of one years’ credit toward the work experience requirement for the Principles and Practice of Engineering examination for one calendar year. Any exceptions to that rule would be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
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Minutes – March 12, 2009
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OLD BUSINESS
· Ms. Edwards advised the Board of the progress of the evaluation committee regarding the Request for Proposals (RFP) for a testing contractor. She said that the committee has selected a vendor, and if the Design Boards approve, the RFP would then go through the Department of Budget and Management and the Board of Public Works. Ms. Edwards said that the exam fee would increase. After a lengthy discussion on this issue, the Board agreed with the evaluation committee as follows:
Motion (V) was made by Mr. Harvey, seconded by Ms. Perrin, and carried with a vote of
five in favor and one abstention to agree with the recommendations of the evaluation committee on the selection of a testing contractor and to increase the exam fees.
· The Board reviewed drafts provided by Mr. Harclerode, Mr. Arndt and Ms. Trust, of recommended changes to the Professional Engineers’ Law, as discussed at the August 2008 meeting. The proposed changes are: 1) incorporation of a requirement for continuing education; 2) incorporation of a new category “professional engineering retired”; 3) modification of Section 14-305(d) to require an engineering degree; 4) modification of Sections 14-305(b) and (c) to waive the FE exam for candidates who hold a Ph.D.; and 5) addition of a Certificate of Authorization requirement.
A lengthy discussion ensued on the proposed legislation and changes to the Law. Mr. Arndt said that these were early drafts and that he would take into consideration the suggestions made by the Board Members and continue to work on the drafts.
· The Board discussed the issue of accepting verification of licensure and exams via the internet, as opposed to a paper copy with the Board seal. The Board presently has an application for licensure by reciprocity in which this method is used by the Indiana Board and was found to be lacking certain information regarding verification of the exams. Ms. Edwards contacted the Executive Director of the Indiana Board and was advised that a memo will be forthcoming to all of the State Boards and NCEES regarding this procedure. In the interim, the Board determined that adequate information had been provided for it to approve the application for licensure.
Motion (VI) was made by Mr. Farinas, seconded by Ms. Perrin, and unanimously carried
to approve the application of Brian D. Manicke for reciprocal licensure.
CORRESPONDENCE
The Board reviewed a letter from George Rudy, P.E., dated February 11, 2009, requesting information on how to proceed relative to the professional performance of an out-of-state consulting company and its principals who are operating in the State of Maryland in a manner
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Minutes – March 12, 2009
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that he believes is counter to public health and safety. After discussion, the Board decided to contact Mr. Rudy and advise him to file a complaint and provide additional information so that the Board may determine if the issues he raises fall under the purview of the practice of engineering.
APPLICATIONS APPROVED ADMINISTRATIVELY FOR RECIPROCITY
The following applications, supported by NCEES Model Law Engineer files, were administratively approved for licensure by the Acting Executive Director of the Board.
Gabriel G. Alexander 36936 Gabriel W. Lang 36944
Linda J. Allen 36923 William G. Leadbitter 36927
Bryan M. Asbury 36862 Bruce Lilker 36946
Daniel B. Bullen 36939 Jennifer A. MacGregor 36960
Brett E. Carlgren 36935 Barry L. Maltz 36955
Tony H. Childress 36859 John W. Mathews 36941
Colleen E. Collins 36962 James P. McCann 36926
Jeffrey M. Depaolis 36951 Richard L. McCubbin 36959
Jerod B. Faris 36930 Brian H. McMullen 36940
Harry J. Ferris 36452 Steven A. Merz 36934
James B. Garner 36865 Douglas R. Morr 36952
Marlin D. Gines 36961 Richard E. Plymale 36933
Gregory J. Henry 36958 Muhammed B. Rahim 36965
Scott J. Jack 36931 Richard S. Ritter 36954
Patrick W. Johns 36938 James R. Sarno, Jr. 36963
David P. Johnston 36860 Michael A. Stone 36925
Kenneth C. Kerr 36937 William M. Thomasson 36932
Warren F. Lamb 36942 Matthew P. Vanhorne 36962
APPLICATIONS APPROVED FOR THE PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF ENGINEERING EXAMINATION, APRIL 24, 2009
The following applications were approved for the Principles and Practice of Engineering Examination to be held April 24, 2009.
Guilherme F. Figueiredo Wilfred V. Patrick Guibo Xie
Manjunath J. Kattaya Honghai Qi
Osman M. Mohamed Ranjith S. Ravindiran
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Minutes – March 12, 2009
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APPLICATIONS DENIED FOR THE PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF ENGINEERING EXAMINATION, APRIL 24, 2009
Motion (VII) was made by Ms. Perrin, seconded by Mr. Harvey, and unanimously carried to deny 15 applicants for the Principles and Practice of Engineering Examination to be held April 24, 2009 because the applicants’ qualifications did not meet the Board’s requirements. The applications were discussed at the Board meeting.
ADJOURNMENT
Motion (VIII) was made by Mr. Farinas, seconded by Ms. Perrin, and unanimously carried to adjourn the meeting at 1:23 p.m.
_____X____ With Corrections
______Without Corrections
Signed by: Howard C. Harclerode, P.E.,
Chairman
Corrections to Minutes – March 12, 2009
Page 4, under Old Business, second item, second paragraph, revise first sentence to read: “A lengthy discussion ensued on the proposed legislation and changes to the Law, at which time the Board agreed to prioritize the legislation as follows: 1) continuing education; 2) retired status category; 3) modify Section 14-305(d) to require an engineering degree; 4) waive the FE exam for PE exam candidates who have an approved Ph.D. degree; and 5) Certificate of Authorization requirement for engineering firms.