By: Nichols S.B. No. 1259
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the regulation of land surveyors by the Texas Board of
Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 1001.216, Occupations Code, is amended
by adding Subsections (a-1) and (a-2) to read as follows:
(a-1) The advisory committee appointed under Subsection (a)
may, on its own initiative or at the request of any interested
person, prepare a written report or recommendation to the board on
any surveying-related subject regulated by the board.
(a-2) The advisory committee appointed under Subsection (a)
shall maintain a written public record of each subject discussed
and action taken at the committee's meetings.
SECTION 2. Section 1001.601(a), Occupations Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) On its own initiative or at the request of any
interested person, the board shall prepare a written advisory
opinion about:
(1) an interpretation of this chapter or Chapter 1071;
or
(2) the application of this chapter or Chapter 1071 to
a person in regard to a specified existing or hypothetical factual
situation.
SECTION 3. Sections 1071.253(a) and (c), Occupations Code,
are amended to read as follows:
(a) An applicant for a surveyor-in-training certificate
must:
(1) have earned a bachelor of science degree in
surveying from an accredited institution of higher education;
(2) have:
(A) earned a bachelor's degree from an accredited
institution of higher education that included at least 32 semester
hours in a combination of courses acceptable to the board in:
(i) land surveying [civil engineering];
(ii) civil engineering [land surveying];
(iii) mathematics;
(iv) photogrammetry;
(v) forestry;
(vi) land law; or
(vii) the physical sciences; and
(B) completed at least one year of experience
acceptable to the board in delegated responsible charge as a
subordinate to a registered professional land surveyor actively
engaged in professional surveying;
(3) have:
(A) earned an associate degree in surveying from
an accredited institution of higher education; and
(B) completed at least two years of experience
acceptable to the board in delegated responsible charge as a
subordinate to a registered professional land surveyor actively
engaged in professional surveying;
(4) have:
(A) successfully completed a course of
instruction consisting of 32 semester hours in land surveying or
the equivalent number of semester hours in board-approved courses
related to surveying; and
(B) completed at least two years of experience
acceptable to the board in delegated responsible charge as a
subordinate to a registered professional land surveyor actively
engaged in professional surveying; or
(5) have:
(A) graduated from an accredited high school;
(B) completed at least four years of experience
acceptable to the board in delegated responsible charge as a
subordinate to a registered professional land surveyor actively
engaged in professional surveying; and
(C) provided evidence satisfactory to the board
that the applicant is self-educated in professional surveying.
(c) On proof that an applicant meets the qualifications
prescribed by Subsection (a) and has passed the fundamentals of
surveying examination prescribed by the board under Section
1071.256, the [The] board shall issue a surveyor-in-training
certificate to the [an] applicant [who passes the applicable parts
of the examination taken under Subsection (b)]. The certificate is
valid for eight years.
SECTION 4. Sections 1071.254(a) and (b), Occupations Code,
are amended to read as follows:
(a) An applicant for registration as a registered
professional land surveyor must:
(1) hold a certificate as a surveyor-in-training;
(2) have passed the principles and practice of
surveying examination prescribed by the board under Section
1071.256;
(3) [(2)] have at least two years of experience
satisfactory to the board as a surveyor-in-training in performing
surveying in delegated responsible charge as a subordinate to a
surveyor registered or licensed to engage in the practice of
surveying in this state or in another state having registration or
licensing requirements equivalent to the requirements of this
state; and
(4) [(3)] have earned an associate or bachelor's
degree from an accredited institution of higher education that
included at least 32 semester hours in a combination of courses
acceptable to the board in:
(A) land surveying [civil engineering];
(B) civil engineering [land surveying];
(C) mathematics;
(D) photogrammetry;
(E) forestry;
(F) land law; or
(G) the physical sciences.
(b) An applicant is entitled to registration as a registered
professional land surveyor if the applicant meets the
qualifications prescribed by Subsection (a) and is approved to take
and passes the required sections of the Texas specific surveying
examination prescribed under Section 1071.256.
SECTION 5. Section 1071.256, Occupations Code, is amended
by adding Subsections (a-1) and (b-1) and amending Subsection (b)
to read as follows:
(a-1) The board by rule shall prescribe the fundamentals of
surveying examination required for an applicant for certification
as a surveyor-in-training under Section 1071.253.
(b) The board by rule shall prescribe the principles and
practice of surveying examination required for an applicant for
registration as a registered professional land surveyor under
Section 1071.254 [must be developed and given as provided by this
chapter under board rules designed] to determine the knowledge and
ability of the applicant.
(b-1) The board by rule shall prescribe the Texas specific
surveying examination required for an applicant for registration as
a registered professional land surveyor under Section 1071.254.
SECTION 6. Section 1071.253(b), Occupations Code, is
repealed.
SECTION 7. As soon as practicable after the effective date
of this Act, the Texas Board of Professional Engineers and Land
Surveyors shall adopt the rules necessary to implement the changes
in law made by this Act.
SECTION 8. Sections 1071.253 and 1071.254, Occupations
Code, as amended by this Act, apply only to an application for,
respectively, a surveyor-in-training certificate or registration
as a registered professional land surveyor filed with the Texas
Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors on or after the
effective date of this Act. An application filed before the
effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the
date the application was filed, and the former law is continued in
effect for that purpose.
SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.