By Moneth G. Deposa
Variety News Staff

THE Board of Professional Licensing says it was not consulted by the Senate when it unanimously approved legislation that would grant nonresident engineers and architects a “temporary license” to practice here.
Senate Bill 15-87, which amends the provision on the issuance of temporary licenses to applicants, was authored by Senate President Joseph M. Mendiola, Covenant-Tinian, and was passed by the Senate on March 30.
Francisco Q. Guerrero, the licensing board chairman, said they do not support the bill and questioned its intent.
He asked the members of the House of Representatives to support local professionals by rejecting the legislation.
Under the law, as long as an applicant from another jurisdiction meets the licensing requirements, he can apply for a temporary license.
S.B. 15-87 wants an applicant to meet the “minimum” requirements as established by the board.
It will repeal Section 3214, which is related to temporary licenses, two years after the effective date of the measure.
“Such a sunset provision will repeal permanently the original intent to allow for a temporary license,” Guerrero said in a letter to the House. “What is actually the intent of this bill? If this bill is passed, is the board supposed to come up with a definition of ‘minimum’ requirements in the regulation to accommodate certain foreign applicants who cannot meet the present U.S. standard requirements?”
Guerrero said the bill shows that some lawmakers are encouraging applicants from Korea, China, Japan, India and the Philippines to come in and apply for temporary licenses.
Guerrero said under the regulations, all civil engineering applicants are required to take and pass the California Civil Seismic Examination before they can qualify for a license.
He reminded lawmakers that “the law includes real property appraisers and it is mandated by the Appraisal Qualifications Board, a federal agency, to promulgate their criteria for the licensing of appraisers.”
He added, “If this section of the statute is passed and it includes the appraisers, we will hear from (the Appraisal Qualifications Board) that the foreign applicants will just have to meet the requirements as required in the present regulations.”
Presently, all applicants must meet the education, experience, and examination requirements.
For engineers, an applicant must have an engineering degree from a university accredited with the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology; at least four years of experience; and pass the NCEES exams.
These requirements are standard in all states and territories of the U.S.