Engineers’ and Surveyors’ Registration Board Position Opens
Jeff Mulliken, PE, is not going to seek re-appointment to the SC State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Surveyors; therefore, his seat is open for another registered engineer.

Mr. Mulliken was appointed to complete the term of Charles M. “Chuck” Joye, PE, who was appointed by the Governor to the SC Department of Health and Environmental Control.

Engineers interested in applying for the vacated seat on the Registration Board should write a letter of interest, including a resume, to SCSPE’s Board of Directors in care of President George McCall, PE, PO Box 11937, Columbia, SC 29211 and to the Chair of the SC Council of Engineering and Surveying Societies, Kevin Krick, PE, PO Box 11937, Columbia, SC 29211.

Interested engineers’ applications will be reviewed by the SC Council of Engineering and Surveying Societies. Applicants may be asked to make presentation to the Council. Once the Council decides on the best candidate, that engineer’s name will be presented to the Governor who makes the appointments to the Registration Board.  By state law, the Governor may only appoint engineers and surveyors to the Registration Board that have been recommended by the SC Council of Engineering and Surveying Societies.

From the SCSPE President
George H. McCall, PE, SCSPE President

George McCall

It’s November and SCSPE has not fallen back.  From the Fall Symposium to the Design Professionals Legislative Reception, SCSPE is doing its best to promote the engineering profession and to uphold the SCSPE Mission.

FALL SYMPOSIUM - On Wednesday November 12, 2014 in Greenville, and Thursday November 13, 2014 in Charleston, SCSPE will be hosting its Fourth Annual Fall Symposium.  This year’s topic is the Business Edge for Design Professionals.  Mel Lester of the Business Edge will be leading attendees through exercises to give Engineers the “Business Edge” they need.  Registration has been good this year and with our “Become a SCSPE member/recruit a new member,” we have recruited 21 new SCSPE members, so keep an eye out for new members at your Chapter meetings. 

LEGISLATIVE - SCSPE is pushing for Qualifications Based Selection (QBS) to be adopted for all public design work.  QBS is defined as a competitive procurement approach for selecting and retaining design professionals that emphasizes qualification to achieve the final project performance and ownership cost objectives which for public good is legally required to be used by government agencies.  Since QBS passed last year in North Carolina, we hope that the time is right for South Carolina to get this legislation passed. 

SCSPE realizes this isn’t going to be an easy task, so we have created a Legislative Committee chaired by Past President Marguerite McClam.   Since Marguerite is Midlands-based, she will be the lightning rod for SCSPE calls to action if/when Joe or Adam need movement while they are at the State House.  We need at least one member from each chapter to serve on this committee.  You do not need to be a Chapter President or Director to volunteer.  If you enjoy politics, or just want to learn more about the political process in South Carolina, this committee is the right place for you to serve.   If you are interested in serving please contact Adam, Marguerite, or myself.  This committee, with the help of Adam and Joe, will also help educate other Engineers and Legislators on what QBS actually is and why it is good for Engineers.  Education is going to be vital to the passage of this bill.

Mark your calendar for Tuesday, January 27, 2015 for the Design Professionals Legislative Reception.

I will close with this reminder:  each one of you should be preparing to nominate a colleague for Engineer or the Year and Young Engineer of the year.  

Legislative Report
Elections are over. The Governor was re-elected as were all the Constitutional Officers except the Lt. Governor and the Superintendent of Education.   Also, 111 members of the House or Representatives returned to the legislature and 13 new House members were elected. Of the 13 new members, eight were republicans and five were democrats.

The new Lt. Governor is for Attorney General Henry McMaster, and the new Superintendent of Education is Molly Spearman, a former member of the House of Representatives and the spouse of a registered engineer.

With the new legislators comes a clean slate of legislation for the next two-year session. In other words, all the bills that did not pass last year have been discarded and many will be re-introduced this session.

One of the bills expected to be re-introduced is the Engineers and Surveyors’ Practice Act. This bill did not move last session, but the interest among the engineering community is high and successful passage is expected this session.

Also, infrastructure funding did not move last year. However, acting Speaker, Rep. Jay Lucas, convened an ad-hoc committee on infrastructure funding. It has met three times and is expected to make recommendations on transportation funding.

Several business organizations are promoting transportation funding next session, including South Carolinians to Fix Our Roads and the SC State Chamber of Commerce. Although the Governor has promised to veto any increases in gasoline user fees, there is optimism for new funds dedicated to transportation.

SCSPE Past President and ACEC-SC Board Members Attend Registration Board Meeting
Marguerite McClam, 2013-2014 SCSPE President, attended the SC State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Surveyors Nov. 10 board meeting where the revisions for the Engineers’ and Surveyors’ Practice Act was discussed.

Also, Kylie Page and Melvin Williams, two ACEC-SC board members attended the meeting. This meeting with engineer representation was important to show support for introducing Practice Act legislation in 2015.

Joe Jones, ACEC-SC and SCSPE Executive Director, reviewed the proposed legislation that is expected to be introduced no later than January when the General Assembly is convened. He informed the board of potential amendments that may come up during the legislative process.

Following an executive session to discuss issues in the proposed bill and legal advice on the role of individual board members may play in the legislative process; the board said it would convene via a conference call to make its official position on the practice act. 

Fall Symposium Sells Out in Charleston and Greenville
The Fall Symposia have always been popular with engineers looking for PDHs and because SCSPE offers the programs in Greenville and Charleston, the 2015 session is no different with both sessions at capacity participation.

SCSPE launched its series of Fall Symposia four years ago. This series has offered engineers PDHs on numerous subjects from project management to engineering training in business and marketing.

The 2015 Fall Symposium is offered in two locations: Nov. 12 at the TD Convention Center in Greenville and Nov. 13 at the Doubletree Hotel and Suites in North Charleston.

Mel Lester, a veteran trainer of design professionals, leads the 8 PDH session on “A Business Edge for Design Professionals.”

SCSPE offered a special membership promotion this year. New members may attend one of the following programs at no charge: the Fall Symposium, the SCSPE Winter Meeting, or its program on disaster preparedness. Also, current members who recruit new members have the same opportunity of attending one of the programs at no charge. SCSPE has recruited new members and rewarded current members through this offer.

Mark Golden Reports on Recent NSPE Board of Directors Meeting
Mark J. Golden, NSPE Executive Director, reported on the Oct. 17-18 Board of Directors meeting held in Alexandria, VA.

Golden said, “Feedback from the October 17-18th board of directors meeting has been generally positive, although as an organization committed to continuous improvement, we are still a work in progress.”

I don’t think I will be contradicted when I say that even though we (NSPE) have a ways yet to go, we are definitely moving in the right direction. He said, “Good boards observe the 80/20 rule: focusing 80% of their time on the strategic and 20% on the operational/tactical.”

The executive director said the board’s willingness to engage in the “strategic dialogues” on mega-issues with open minds, deep commitment and a wealth of experience and knowledge yielded a wealth of insights, new information, and new questions that will inform future board actions as we translate the strategic plan aspirations into delivered results. We’re moving forward.