SB2289 93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB093 16364 AMC 42002 b

93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2003 and 2004
SB2289

Introduced 1/28/2004, by Lawrence M. Walsh

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

225 ILCS 325/3	from Ch. 111, par. 5203
225 ILCS 325/4	from Ch. 111, par. 5204
225 ILCS 325/24	from Ch. 111, par. 5224

Amends the Professional Engineering Practice Act of 1989. Provides that nothing in the Act shall be construed to prohibit any individual from exercising their rights pursuant to the National Labor Relations Act and the Labor Management Relations Act. Provides that nothing in the Act shall be construed to prohibit any professional engineer or any professional engineering company from lawfully obtaining work, even if such work had previously been let to or performed by a competitor professional engineering company. Makes changes in provisions related to grounds for disciplinary action. Effective immediately.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning professional regulation.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Professional Engineering Practice Act of 1989 is amended by changing Sections 3, 4, and 24 as follows:

(225 ILCS 325/3) (from Ch. 111, par. 5203)

(Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2010)

Sec. 3. Application of the Act; Exemptions.

(a) Nothing in this Act shall be construed to prevent the practice of structural engineering as defined in the Structural Engineering Practice Act of 1989 or the practice of architecture as defined in the Illinois Architecture Practice Act of 1989 or the regular and customary practice of construction contracting and construction management as performed by construction contractors.

(b) Nothing in this Act shall prevent:

(1) Employees, including project representatives, of professional engineers lawfully practicing as sole owners, partnerships or corporations under this Act, from acting under the direct supervision of their employers.

(2) The employment of owner's representatives by the owner during the constructing, adding to, or altering of a project, or any parts thereof, provided that such owner's representative shall not have the authority to deviate from the technical submissions without the prior approval of the professional engineer for the project.

(3) The practice of officers and employees of the Government of the United States while engaged within this State in the practice of the profession of engineering for the Government.

(4) Services performed by employees of a business organization engaged in utility, industrial or manufacturing operations, or by employees of laboratory research affiliates of such business organization which are rendered in connection with the fabrication or production, sale, and installation of products, systems, or nonengineering services of the business organization or its affiliates.

(5) Inspection, maintenance and service work done by employees of the State of Illinois, any political subdivision thereof or any municipality.

(6) The activities performed by those ordinarily designated as chief engineer of plant operation, chief operating engineer, locomotive, stationary, marine, power plant or hoisting and portable engineers, electrical maintenance or service engineers, personnel employed in connection with construction, operation or maintenance of street lighting, traffic control signals, police and fire alarm systems, waterworks, steam, electric, and sewage treatment and disposal plants, or the services ordinarily performed by any worker regularly employed as a locomotive, stationary, marine, power plant, or hoisting and portable engineer or electrical maintenance or service engineer for any corporation, contractor or employer.

(7) The activities performed by a person ordinarily designated as a supervising engineer or supervising electrical maintenance or service engineer who supervises the operation of, or who operates, machinery or equipment, or who supervises construction or the installation of equipment within a plant which is under such person's immediate supervision.

(8) The services, for private use, of contractors or owners in the construction of engineering works or the installation of equipment.

(c) No officer, board, commission, or other public entity charged with the enforcement of codes and ordinances involving a professional engineering project shall accept for filing or approval any technical submissions that do not bear the seal and signature of a professional engineer licensed under this Act.

(d) Nothing contained in this Section imposes upon a person licensed under this Act the responsibility for the performance of any of the foregoing functions unless such person specifically contracts to provide it.

(e) Nothing in this Act shall be construed to prohibit any individual from exercising their rights pursuant to the National Labor Relations Act, 29 U.S.C. 151, et seq., and the Labor Management Relations Act, 29 U.S.C. 141, et seq., including the right to self-organization, the right to form, join, or assist labor organizations, the right to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and the right to engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection as provided in 29 U.S.C. 157, et seq.

(f) Nothing in this Act shall be construed to prohibit any professional engineer or any professional engineering company from lawfully obtaining work, even if such work had previously been let to or performed by a competitor professional engineering company. This includes accepting work previously performed by a competitor, regardless of the reason the competitor is no longer performing such work and regardless of whether the existence of a labor dispute played any role in the competitor's losing the performance of certain work.

(Source: P.A. 91-91, eff. 1-1-00.)

(225 ILCS 325/4) (from Ch. 111, par. 5204)

(Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2010)

Sec. 4. Definitions. As used in this Act:

(a) "Approved engineering curriculum" means an engineering curriculum or program of 4 academic years or more which meets the standards established by the rules of the Department.

(b) "Board" means the State Board of Professional Engineers of the Department of Professional Regulation, previously known as the Examining Committee.

(c) "Department" means the Department of Professional Regulation.

(d) "Design professional" means an architect, structural engineer or professional engineer practicing in conformance with the Illinois Architecture Practice Act of 1989, the Structural Engineering Practice Act of 1989 or the Professional Engineering Practice Act of 1989.

(e) "Director" means the Director of Professional Regulation.

(f) "Direct supervision/responsible charge" means work prepared under the control of a licensed professional engineer or that work as to which that professional engineer has detailed professional knowledge.

(g) "Engineering college" means a school, college, university, department of a university or other educational institution, reputable and in good standing in accordance with rules prescribed by the Department, and which grants baccalaureate degrees in engineering.

(h) "Engineering system or facility" means a system or facility whose design is based upon the application of the principles of science for the purpose of modification of natural states of being.

(i) "Engineer intern" means a person who is a candidate for licensure as a professional engineer and who has been enrolled as an engineer intern.

(j) "Enrollment" means an action by the Department to record those individuals who have met the Board's requirements for an engineer intern.

(k) "License" means an official document issued by the Department to an individual, a corporation, a partnership, a professional service corporation, a limited liability company, or a sole proprietorship, signifying authority to practice.

(l) "Negligence in the practice of professional engineering" means the failure to exercise that degree of reasonable professional skill, judgment and diligence normally rendered by professional engineers in the practice of professional engineering.

(m) "Professional engineer" means a person licensed under the laws of the State of Illinois to practice professional engineering.

(n) "Professional engineering" means the application of science to the design of engineering systems and facilities using the knowledge, skills, ability and professional judgment developed through professional engineering education, training and experience.

(o) "Professional engineering practice" means the consultation on, conception, investigation, evaluation, planning, and design of, and selection of materials to be used in, administration of construction contracts for, or site observation of, an engineering system or facility, where such consultation, conception, investigation, evaluation, planning, design, selection, administration, or observation requires extensive knowledge of engineering laws, formulae, materials, practice, and construction methods. A person shall be construed to practice or offer to practice professional engineering, within the meaning and intent of this Act, who practices, or who, by verbal claim, sign, advertisement, letterhead, card, or any other way, is represented to be a professional engineer, or through the use of the initials "P.E." or the title "engineer" or any of its derivations or some other title implies licensure as a professional engineer, or holds himself out as able to perform any service which is recognized as professional engineering practice.

Examples of the practice of professional engineering include, but need not be limited to, transportation facilities and publicly owned utilities for a region or community, railroads, railways, highways, subways, canals, harbors, river improvements; irrigation works; aircraft, airports and landing fields; waterworks, piping systems and appurtenances, sewers, sewage disposal works; plants for the generation of power; devices for the utilization of power; boilers; refrigeration plants, air conditioning systems and plants; heating systems and plants; plants for the transmission or distribution of power; electrical plants which produce, transmit, distribute, or utilize electrical energy; works for the extraction of minerals from the earth; plants for the refining, alloying or treating of metals; chemical works and industrial plants involving the use of chemicals and chemical processes; plants for the production, conversion, or utilization of nuclear, chemical, or radiant energy; forensic engineering, geotechnical engineering including, subsurface investigations; soil classification, geology and geohydrology, incidental to the practice of professional engineering; energy analysis, environmental design, hazardous waste mitigation and control; recognition, measurement, evaluation and control of environmental systems and emissions; automated building management systems; or the provision of professional engineering site observation of the construction of works and engineering systems. Nothing contained in this Section imposes upon a person licensed under this Act the responsibility for the performance of any of the foregoing functions unless such person specifically contracts to provide it.

(p) "Project representative" means the professional engineer's representative at the project site who assists in the administration of the construction contract.

(q) "Registered" means the same as "licensed" for purposes of this Act.

(r) "Related science curriculum" means a 4 year program of study, the satisfactory completion of which results in a Bachelor of Science degree, and which contains courses from such areas as life, earth, engineering and computer sciences, including but not limited to, physics and chemistry. In the study of these sciences, the objective is to acquire fundamental knowledge about the nature of its phenomena, including quantitative expression, appropriate to particular fields of engineering.

(s) "Rules" means those rules promulgated pursuant to this Act.

(t) "Seal" means the seal in compliance with Section 14 of this Act.

(u) "Site observation" is visitation of the construction site for the purpose of reviewing, as available, the quality and conformance of the work to the technical submissions as they relate to design.

(v) "Support design professional" means a professional engineer practicing in conformance with the Professional Engineering Practice Act of 1989, who provides services to the design professional who has contract responsibility.

(w) "Technical submissions" means designs, drawings, and specifications which establish the standard of quality for materials, workmanship, equipment, and the construction systems, studies, and other technical reports prepared in the course of a design professional's practice.

(x) "Labor organization" means a labor organization as defined by the National Labor Relations Act, 29 U.S.C. 151, et seq.

(y) "Labor dispute" means any dispute between a labor organization and any employer, as further described by the National Labor Relations Act, 29 U.S.C. 151, et seq., or any National Labor Relations Board or other precedent interpreting the National Labor Relations Act

(Source: P.A. 91-91, eff. 1-1-00; 91-92, eff. 1-1-00; 92-16, eff. 6-28-01; 92-145, eff. 1-1-02.)

(225 ILCS 325/24) (from Ch. 111, par. 5224)

(Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2010)

Sec. 24. Rules of professional conduct; disciplinary or administrative action.

(a) The Department shall adopt rules setting standards of professional conduct and establish appropriate penalty for the breach of such rules.

(a-1) The Department may, singularly or in combination, refuse to issue, restore, or renew a license or registration, revoke or suspend a license or registration, or place on probation, reprimand, or impose a civil penalty not to exceed $10,000 upon any person, corporation, partnership, or professional design firm licensed or registered under this Act for any one or combination of the following:

(1) Material misstatement in furnishing information to the Department.

(2) Failure to comply with any provisions of this Act or any of its rules.

(3) Conviction of any crime under the laws of the United States, or any state or territory thereof, which is a felony, whether related to practice or not, or conviction of any crime, whether a felony, misdemeanor, or otherwise, an essential element of which is dishonesty or which is directly related to the practice of engineering.

(4) Making any misrepresentation for the purpose of obtaining licensure, or in applying for restoration or renewal; or practice of any fraud or deceit in taking any examination to qualify for licensure under this Act.

(5) Purposefully making false statements or signing false statements, certificates, or affidavits to induce payment.

(6) Negligence, incompetence or misconduct in the practice of professional engineering as a licensed professional engineer or in working as an engineer intern.

(7) Aiding or assisting another person in violating any provision of this Act or its rules.

(8) Failing to provide information in response to a written request made by the Department within 30 days after receipt of such written request.

(9) Engaging in dishonorable, unethical or unprofessional conduct of a character likely to deceive, defraud or harm the public. This item (9) shall not prohibit a professional engineering company from obtaining work, even where such work may have been previously bid to or performed by a competitor professional engineering company. This includes, but is not limited to, obtaining work previously performed by a competitor where any labor dispute played any role in the competitor's losing of such business.

(10) Habitual intoxication or addiction to the use of drugs.

(11) Discipline by the United States Government, another state, District of Columbia, territory, foreign nation or government agency, if at least one of the grounds for the discipline is the same or substantially equivalent to those set forth in this Act.

(12) Directly or indirectly giving to or receiving from any person, firm, corporation, partnership or association any fee, commission, rebate or other form of compensation for any professional services not actually or personally rendered.

(13) A finding by the Board that an applicant or registrant has failed to pay a fine imposed by the Department, a registrant whose license has been placed on probationary status has violated the terms of probation, or a registrant has practiced on an expired, inactive, suspended, or revoked license.

(14) Signing, affixing the professional engineer's seal or permitting the professional engineer's seal to be affixed to any technical submissions not prepared as required by Section 14 or completely reviewed by the professional engineer or under the professional engineer's direct supervision.

(15) Physical illness, including but not limited to deterioration through the aging process or loss of motor skill, which results in the inability to practice the profession with reasonable judgment, skill or safety.

(16) The making of a statement pursuant to the Environmental Barriers Act that a plan for construction or alteration of a public facility or for construction of a multi-story housing unit is in compliance with the Environmental Barriers Act when such plan is not in compliance.

(17) Failing to file a return, or to pay the tax, penalty or interest shown in a filed return, or to pay any final assessment of tax, penalty or interest as required by a tax Act administered by the Illinois Department of Revenue, until such time as the requirements of any such tax Act are satisfied.

(18) Abusing this Act, or attempting to use this Act for purposes outside those central to the practice of professional engineering as defined by this Act. This includes but is not limited to, attempting to use this Act in an effort to interfere with union organizing, employees' choice of a labor organization as their representative, or the pursuit of business opportunities of any competitor company also licensed under this Act.

(a-5) In enforcing this Section, the Board upon a showing of a possible violation may compel a person licensed to practice under this Act, or who has applied for licensure or certification pursuant to this Act, to submit to a mental or physical examination, or both, as required by and at the expense of the Department. The examining physicians shall be those specifically designated by the Board. The Board or the Department may order the examining physician to present testimony concerning this mental or physical examination of the licensee or applicant. No information shall be excluded by reason of any common law or statutory privilege relating to communications between the licensee or applicant and the examining physician. The person to be examined may have, at his or her own expense, another physician of his or her choice present during all aspects of the examination. Failure of any person to submit to a mental or physical examination, when directed, shall be grounds for suspension of a license until the person submits to the examination if the Board finds, after notice and hearing, that the refusal to submit to the examination was without reasonable cause.

If the Board finds a person unable to practice because of the reasons set forth in this Section, the Board may require that person to submit to care, counseling, or treatment by physicians approved or designated by the Board as a condition, term, or restriction for continued, reinstated, or renewed licensure to practice; or, in lieu of care, counseling, or treatment, the Board may recommend to the Department to file a complaint to immediately suspend, revoke, or otherwise discipline the license of the person. Any person whose license was granted, continued, reinstated, renewed, disciplined, or supervised subject to such terms, conditions, or restrictions and who fails to comply with such terms, conditions, or restrictions shall be referred to the Director for a determination as to whether the person shall have his or her license suspended immediately, pending a hearing by the Board.

(b) The determination by a circuit court that a registrant is subject to involuntary admission or judicial admission as provided in the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Code, as now or hereafter amended, operates as an automatic suspension. Such suspension will end only upon a finding by a court that the patient is no longer subject to involuntary admission or judicial admission, the issuance of an order so finding and discharging the patient, and the recommendation of the Board to the Director that the registrant be allowed to resume practice.

(Source: P.A. 91-92, eff. 1-1-00; 92-145, eff. 1-1-02.)

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.