Call to Action for all New Mexico Professional Engineers - New Mexico PE Changes

Do not approve of the changes in House Bill HB-18

By: Ryan Malone
Published: 01/19/2022

The following article is posted from the NMSPE:

State Representative Miguel P. Garcia has introduced a bill in the State Legislature that changes the rules for acquiring a PE in the State of New Mexico. The bill is designated HB-18 and can be viewed here. While there have been bills regarding changes to PE requirements in the past, NMSPE has found that Representative Garcia didn't bother to check with the New Mexico Board of Licensure (NMBLPEPS) before submitting his bill. We have also found that the wording of the bill is not clear and tends to water down the quality of the certification all of us have worked so hard to achieve.

Some concerns:

The proposed language of the bill will substantially reduce the experience requirements for becoming a PE with a MS or PhD in a way that is non-standard relative to other jurisdictions and will temporarily disrupt mobility of some NM PEs to other US jurisdictions (i.e. they will not be able to license in possibly any other U.S. jurisdiction for one to two additional years).
The proposed language alters what is an acceptable degree in a way that is non-standard relative to other jurisdictions and will permanently disrupt mobility of some NM PEs to other US jurisdictions (i.e. they will not be able to license in some other jurisdictions ever).
The stated purpose for the requirements of the Licensure Act is to safeguard life, health and property and to promote the public welfare. The proposed changes do not support this purpose and in fact may be considered to detract from this mission by reducing experience prior to licensure.
The changes proposed do not match the national model laws and hence are highly unlikely to be recognized in other jurisdictions, which in turn creates mobility problems for NM engineers. NM is currently not experiencing a shortage of professional engineers and in fact has considerably more per resident (and per GDP dollar) than our neighbors in Arizona and Texas, and comparable to Colorado.

The requirement to be eligible to become certified as a registered PE in the state of New Mexico has for many years been Bachelor’s Degree + 4 years of experience, Master’s + 3, or Doctorate + 2, with all experience coming after earning the highest degree. If a candidate plans to stay in school in order to get their Master’s Degree, for example, the Licensure Act stipulates that they can apply the one year of additional time in school towards the 4 year experience requirement, but it’s still Bachelor’s Degree + 4 years (3 years of work experience and 1 year of credit for the Masters).

What this bill, HB-18, is attempting to do is reduce the criteria for getting registered from Bachelor’s Degree + 4 years to Bachelor’s Degree + 3 years if someone gets their Master’s Degree at home through a correspondence course or by way of night school, etc., simultaneous to completing the Master’s Degree during the three year period after receiving their Bachelor’s Degree. This should not be acceptable as it diminishes the criteria originally established to qualify for a PE and this resulting PE would not be accepted in other states since the vast majority (perhaps all) require experience to be earned separately from earning a degree. A further complication is that the proposed language redefines what an acceptable Bachelor’s Degree is resulting in the opportunity to license in New Mexico but not in most other states (where they won’t accept degrees from unaccredited engineering programs).

So, what to do......

We are asking all Registered Professional Engineers that are licensed in the State of New Mexico to call or send a short polite email to:

Representative Miguel P. Garcia

miguel.garcia@nmlegis.gov

(505) 877-8131

and to the Speaker of the House:

The Honorable Brian Egolf

brian.egolf@nmlegis.gov

(505) 986-4782

and state that you do not approve of the changes called out in House Bill HB-18 and are asking that the bill not be brought to the floor to be voted on. The body of the email could go something like this:

Dear Representative Garcia,

As a Registered Professional Engineer in the State of new Mexico, I want to raise my concerns regarding House Bill HB-18 and state that I do not approve of the proposed language you have inserted.

Therefore, I am asking that you withdraw the bill and seek guidance from the New Mexico Board of Licensure before introducing changes in the future.

Sincerely,

XXX XXXX, P.E.

The NMSPE appreciates your involvement regarding the qualifications for becoming and maintaining a PE in the State of New Mexico and trust you will participate to preserve the high standards we have all agreed to meet will not be jeopardized