Senate Bill No. 537
(By Senator Dittmar)
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[Introduced February 20, 1995; referred to the Committee
on Government Organization.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section nine, article thirteen,
chapter thirty of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to eliminating
the power of board of registration for professional
engineers to require that registered professional engineers
demonstrate continuing professional competency in
engineering as a condition of renewal or reregistration.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section nine, article thirteen, chapter thirty of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 13. ENGINEERS.
§30-13-9. Board Powers.
(a) The board may adopt and amend bylaws not inconsistent
with the constitution and laws of this state. The board may
promulgate and shall adopt "rules of professional responsibility
for professional engineers." These rules are binding to any
person registered with the board under the provisions of this
article. These rules are also applicable to firms holding a
certificate of authorization as provided in section seventeen of
this article.
(b) The board may subpoena witnesses and compel their
attendance and it may also subpoena books, papers, documents or
other pertinent data in any disciplinary matters or in any case
involving an allegation of a violation of the provisions of this
article. The board may apply to the circuit court of Kanawha
county to enforce compliance with any subpoena it issues.
(c) The board may seek an injunction in circuit court to
enforce the provisions of this article or to restrain a person or
entity from violating a provision of this article. In pursuing
injunctive relief under this section, the board shall not be
required to prove that an adequate remedy at law does not exist
or that substantial or irreparable damage would result from the
continued violation. The members of the board may not be personally liable for any decisions made in good faith in
pursuing injunctive relief.
(d) The board may require all applicants for registration to
take and successfully pass an examination of their fitness and
qualifications to become registered.
(e) The board may require that a registered professional
engineer demonstrate continuing professional competency in
engineering as a condition of renewal or reregistration.
(f) (e) Board members are exempt from civil liability for
any decision made or any act done in good faith in the
performance of any duty or the exercise of any power granted
under this article.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to abolish the
requirement that professional engineers demonstrate continuing
professional competency in engineering as a condition of license
renewal or reregistration.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.