Update on Colorado Bills Affecting Professional Engineers

The following bills were recently signed into law and affect Colorado Professional Engineers

By: Ryan Malone
Published: 10/23/2021

 

The following bills were recently signed into law and affect the Professional Engineer profession.

On April 29, 2021, Governor Jared Polis signed HB21-1147 Simplify Architects Continuing Education Requirement. Current law requires licensed architects to participate in a process that demonstrates proof of retention of the materials presented in the continuing education programs or courses they attended. This bill, effective upon expiration of the petition deadline, removes this retention requirement, allowing rules to be established for continuing education requirements that are more in line with industry standards.

Gov. Polis on May 27, 2021 signed SB21-077 Remove Lawful Presence Verification Credentialing. The bill specifies that the verification of lawful presence is not required of an applicant for a license, certificate, or registration to practice a regulated profession, and removes such requirements from the Department of Education and the Department of Regulatory Agencies. The bill also authorizes applicants for licensure to utilize their Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN), or other forms of identification as authorized by each board or program by rule, in addition to a Social Security Number (SSN). The bill also clarifies that this exclusion is state law with regards to eligibility for state and local public benefits. This act takes effect at 12:01 a.m. on the day following the expiration of the 90-day period after final adjournment of the General Assembly.

SB21-271 Misdemeanor Reform becomes effective March 1, 2022, and, most notably, reduces the number of misdemeanor classifications to two classifications, reduces the number of petty offenses to one classification, and creates a new civil infraction classification. Please review the full bill or full bill summary for important additional information.

All bill summaries for businesses and professions under the Division of Professions and Occupations are available on our Legislative Updates webpage. We encourage licensees to review all Colorado laws and rules that affect their licensure and practice. Questions may be referred dora_aesboard@state.co.us

At PDHNow and Engineer Educators we are always here to help the Professional Engineer and Land Surveyor stay current on laws and regulations impacting the profession.  Please contact us with any questions regarding your Professional Engineer license renewal and continuing education requirements, we are happy to help.