The Wise Report
Henry M. Wise, P.G.
August 14, 2010
John K. Mikels, with GEOS Consulting, attended the Texas Board of Professional Geoscientists (TBPG) Legislative Affairs Committee meeting on August 13, 2010. The following is the Committee's agenda for policy issues and Mr. Mikels' comments:
General Geoscience Policy: Probably Senate Natural Resources Committee and House Licensing and Administrative Procedures Committee
Professional Services Procurement Act: Probably Senate Administration or Natural Resources Committee and House State Affairs Committee
1. Increase the administrative penalty authority from $ 100 to $ 1,500 per instance. 1002.452(b). Matthew Cowan, with the Texas Association of Professional Geoscientists (TAPG), suggests raising it to $3,000. The general opinion was that penalties should be substantive, not simply a "slap on the wrist." Mr. Mikels believes that amount is more appropriate. The Texas Board of Professional Engineer's (TBPE's) authority is up to $3,000 per instance. Mr. Mikels' impression was that the Legislation Committee was only luke-warm to increasing penalty fees.
2. Clarify language at 1002.351 (b) to reflect that only engineering firms that perform geoscience work or service that is incidental and specific to an engineering project is exempt from rules adopted by the TBPG relating to the public practice of geoscience by a firm or corporation.
3. Possible bill, if driven by the oil and gas community—amend the exemption of geoscientific work performed exclusively in exploring for and developing oil, gas, or other.... to include work that is presented publically in support of an investment in a project. Mr. Mikels is not certain of what clarifications would need to be made to achieve what various parties would want.
4. Mr. Mikels believes that some TBPG Board members may want to consider whether to try to remove the
provision at 1002.255 (b) that allows the Board to accept qualifying experience in lieu of the educational requirement in 1002.255 (a).
5. Amend the Professional Services Procurement Act to include professional geoscience/professional geoscientists. Mr. Mikels had the impression that the Committee, and perhaps the TBPG Board, may be reluctant to to pursue this at this time. Govenor Perry vetoed the bill that added geologists, among others, to the list during the last session. Mr. Mikels had the impression that the Legislative Committee was reluctant to pursue anything new or hot-button, they prefer to focus on clarification and clean-up-loose-ends type issues.
6. Seek clarification of Occupations Code, Chapter 1002.202(e) regarding the confidentiality of complaints. The issue here is that the language in the Act seems to prohibit the TBPG from sharing complaint information with another agency. This could be a problem if we get a complaint that reveals evidence of criminal violations or violations of another jurisdiction's laws or rules (for example TCEQ or TBPE rules). Kevin Colman, former TBPG Board member and chairman, agrees this is an issue.
Matthew Cowan believes the next legislative session, scheduled to begin in January 2011, will probably be dominated by budget issues, redistricting, gambling, and immigration.
Henry M. Wise, P.G.
The Wise Report
8/14/2010