New Mexico Register / Volume XXXIII, Issue 22 / November 29, 2022

 

 

This is an amendment to 16.39.3 NMAC Section 8 and 12, effective 12/16/2022.

 

16.39.3.8               ENGINEERING DISCIPLINES:

                A.            Licensure is granted as a professional engineer and shall be so stated on the certificate.  Although the Engineering and Surveying Practice Act makes no specific designation as to the disciplines of engineering practice on the certificates as issued by the board, the records and roster of the board shall indicate the discipline(s) in which the licensee is competent to practice in accordance with this section.  Only the discipline(s) of engineering for which the applicant has successfully been examined or approved by the professional engineering committee will be recorded.

                B.            Requests for engineering disciplines will be accepted from the following list; and the board's records and roster will be annotated with the corresponding alphabetical code:

                                (1)           architectural         A

                                (2)           aeronautical         B

                                (3)           civil                       C

                                (4)           agricultural            D

                                (5)           electrical and computer      E

                                (6)           network engineer                 F

                                (7)           geological/geotechnical      G

                                (8)           chemical                H

                                (9)           industrial               I

                                (10)         mechanical           M

                                (11)         mining/mineral                     N

                                (12)         metallurgical/materials       NN

                                (13)         petroleum              P

                                (14)         control systems                    Q

                                (15)         structural               R

                                (16)         nuclear                   T

                                (17)         fire protection                      U

                                (18)         environmental                      V

                                (19)         construction                         W

                                (20)         naval architecture and marine           Nm

                                (21)         software                                Sw

                C.            Other disciplines may be considered as reviewed and approved by the board.

                D.            A licensee may be listed in no more than three disciplines of engineering.  Subsequent to initial licensure, a licensee may apply for licensure in another discipline of engineering.  The licensee shall demonstrate competence in that discipline and may be required to appear before the board.  Demonstration of competence may be accomplished by presenting evidence as follows:

                                (1)           the licensee shall file a separate application for the additional discipline requested and pay an application fee for the additional application; and

                                (2)           complete the application forms to indicate clearly the education, experience, and three acceptable personal references which will substantiate proficiency in the discipline for which the licensee is applying; experience and personal references must be stated;

                                (3)           an applicant for licensure by endorsement may initially apply for up to three disciplines, provided substantial evidence is presented to the board to demonstrate competence for each requested discipline.

                E.            Structural discipline - except for an applicant with a B.S. degree with a structural option and a minimum of four years of post-baccalaureate structural engineering experience, listing as a structural engineer may be obtained by having gained an acceptable engineering degree which included a minimum of six hours of structural design; having licensure as a professional engineer; and having four years of structural experience gained after licensure and acceptable to the board.

                                (1)           Passing the NCEES structural tests part I & II may be substituted for two years of the required experience.

                                (2)           A master’s degree in structures may be substituted for one year of the required experience.

                                (3)           An applicant for licensure as a structural engineer by endorsement shall meet the requirements of Paragraphs (1) and (2) of Subsection D of 16.39.3.8 NMAC.

                F.            Specialty sub-disciplines - The professional engineering committee of the board may determine that the special practice of engineering within one or more of the engineering disciplines in Subsection B of 16.39.3.8 NMAC requires unique training/education and experience to adequately protect the public safety and health, and the professional engineering committee of the board shall declare this special practice of engineering to be a specialty sub-discipline.  The declaration of a specialty sub-discipline shall be based on a need identified by the state or any of its political subdivisions, availability of appropriate and timely training/education within the state of New Mexico, and the ability of the identification of a specialty sub-discipline to inform the public of the needed special practice of engineering.  If the professional engineering committee of the board declares a specialty sub-discipline, after a rules hearing, the requirements for the special practice of engineering shall be included in Title 16, Chapter 39 of the New Mexico administrative code for engineering and surveying:

                                (1)           the specialty sub-discipline rules shall specify the training/education and experience requirements to obtain certification for the special engineering practice, including provisions for equivalent training when a particular course of training/education is specified; in anticipation that more than one discipline identified in Subsection B of 16.39.3.8 NMAC will qualify for the specialty sub-discipline, the rules shall identify which engineering disciplines in Subsection B of 16.39.3.8 NMAC, are most likely to qualify for the specialty sub-discipline;

                                (2)           the board shall maintain a list of engineers who have been certified as meeting the requirements for the specialty sub-discipline; the list shall be available to the public upon request and pursuant to the inspection of public records; the professional engineering committee of the board shall establish a form for the application to obtain a certification for the specialty sub-discipline; upon approval by the professional engineering committee of the board, the qualified licensee’s name shall be added to the list of licensees having the specialty sub-discipline;

                                (3)           a licensee’s name may be removed from the list of persons certified for the specialty sub-discipline, upon determination by the professional engineering committee of the board that the licensee no longer qualifies for the certification specialty sub-discipline; such removal shall be only after the appropriate process/hearing by the professional engineering committee of the board;

                                (4)           the failure to obtain certification for the specialty sub-discipline shall not limit the practice of engineering within any of the engineering disciplines identified in Subsection B of 16.39.3.8 NMAC, and the failure to obtain certification in the specialty sub-discipline shall not constitute practice outside the licensee’s area of competence; however, the failure to obtain certification for a specialty sub-discipline and a determination by the professional engineering committee of the board of inappropriate practice of engineering within the engineering specialty may be cause for determination that the engineering practice is not within the licensee’s authorized discipline, and that appropriate disciplinary action can be taken;

                                (5)           the certification of a specialty sub-discipline shall be for a period established by the professional engineering committee of the board, but not less than two years or more than six years; renewal of the specialty sub-discipline shall be concurrent with license renewal;

                                (6)           the professional engineering committee of the board may remove the specialty sub-discipline from the rules for engineering and surveying, after a rules hearing, upon the finding that the training/education is no longer available or that the designation of the specialty sub-discipline in no longer needed to protect the public safety and health.

[16.39.3.8 NMAC - Rp, 16 NMAC 39.3.8, 1/01/2002; A, 7/01/2006; A, 1/01/2007; A, 7/1/2015; A, 12/28/2017; A, 12/16/2022]

 

16.39.3.12             SEAL OF LICENSEE:

                A.            Each licensed professional engineer shall obtain a seal/stamp, which shall appear on all final engineering design drawings, the certification page of all specifications and engineering reports prepared by the licensee in responsible charge.  Adjacent to the seal/stamp shall appear the original signature of the licensee along with the date the signature was applied.  Rubber stamps signatures are not acceptable.  Electronic signatures as provided by law and board’s policy shall be acceptable.

                B.            The seal/stamp shall be the impression type seal, the rubber type, or a computer-generated facsimile.  Computer generated seals shall be bona fide copies of the actual seal/stamp specific to the work being presented.

                C.            The design of the seal/stamp shall consist of either:

                                (1)           three concentric circles, the outermost circle being one and one-half inches in diameter, the middle circle being one inch in diameter, and the innermost circle being one-half inch in diameter.  The outer ring shall contain the words, "professional engineer" and the licensee's name.  The inner ring shall contain the words "New Mexico".  The center circle shall contain the license number issued by the board.  Any border pattern used by the manufacturer is acceptable; or

                                (2)           a design approved by the board which contains the words "professional engineer", the licensee's name, "New Mexico", and the license number issued by the board each in text no less than [0.2] 0.1 inches in height.

                D.            Professional engineers who were licensed prior to the enactment of these current rules and who have maintained that license without lapse, may retain and use the seals, stamps, and wall certificates previously approved.

                E.            For the purposes of the Engineering and Surveying Practice Act, a licensee of this board has "responsible charge of the work" as defined in Subsection O of Section 61-23-3 NMSA 1978 and may sign, date and seal/stamp plans, specifications, drawings or reports which the licensee did not personally prepare when plans, specifications, drawings or reports have been sealed only by another licensed engineer, and the licensee or persons directly under his personal supervision have reviewed the plans, specifications, drawings or reports and have made tests, calculations or changes in the work as necessary to determine that the work has been completed in a proper and professional manner.

                F.            The seal and signature shall be placed on work only when it is under the licensee’s responsible charge.  The licensee shall sign and seal only work within the licensee’s area of discipline.

                G.            When the document contains more than one sheet, the first or title page shall be sealed and signed by the licensee who was in responsible charge.  Two or more licensees may affix their signatures and seals provided it is designated by a note under the seal specific subject matter for which each is responsible.  In addition, each sheet shall be sealed and signed by the licensee or licensees responsible for that sheet.  When a firm performs the work, each sheet shall be sealed and signed by the licensee or licensees who were in responsible charge of that sheet and, in the case of multiple licensees, explicitly identify the portion of work attributable to each licensee.

                H.            An electronic signature, as an option to a permanently legible signature, is acceptable for professional documents.  The licensee shall provide adequate security regarding the use of the seal and signature. If the document contains more than one licensee and is electronically transmitted as specified under the preceding paragraph, each signature must contain an independent electronic signature.

[16.39.3.12 NMAC - Rp, 16 NMAC 39.3.12, 1/01/2002; A, 7/01/2006; A, 7/1/2015; A, 12/28/2017; A, 3/12/2022; A, 12/16/2022]