Good afternoon. I hope everyone has had a good week. SCSPE has had a big week. From the Board of Registration for Engineers and Surveyors, the State House, House of Representatives GOP Caucus, and the SCDOT Commission, we are here representing the Professional Engineer.
On Tuesday, January 15, 2019, the SC Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Surveyors had their first board meeting of 2019. Many things were discussed as well as disciplinary hearings were held. One issue that was discussed was the recent decision by the United States District Court for the District of Oregon on the use of the term engineer. I referenced this article dealing with a judgment in Oregon on the term engineer a couple weeks ago in the SCSPE Friday News. The article detailed a recent decision where the court ruled that the First Amendment gave a gentleman the right to call himself an engineer even though he was not professionally licensed. You may remember two years ago SCSPE fighting to protect the term engineer here in our state. The US District Court for the District of Oregon’s decision pretty much makes that argument null and void. From now on the SC Board of Registration for PE & PLS will only deal with issues where a non-licensed person is advertising for engineering services and those who call themselves a Professional Engineer who are not licensed. Click here to re-read the article and click here to read the court’s decision.