The Texas Board of Professional Engineers’ (TBPE) Board e-Newsletter

June 19th, 2013

The TBPE eNewsletter is your quarterly update on information about the Texas PE License and Licensing Board and is a supplement to the TBPE Express annual printed newsletter.

In this issue of the TBPE eNewsletter:

• Legislative Update

• Ethics Webinar

• New TBPE Website

• Board Meeting update:

  • New rules adopted and proposed

  • Disciplinary actions

Read below for more info:

Legislative Update

The 83rd Legislative Session of the Texas Legislature convened on January 9 and adjourned on May 27, 2013, and then immediately reconvened in a special session the same day. The two Sunset bills relevant to TBPE were passed and will become effective September 1st. To read more about the legislation related to engineering you can visit the Texas Legislature Online.

Outreach – TBPE Ethics Webinars a Success
Earlier this month TBPE presented our second round of ethics webinars. The webinars were presented by Executive Director Lance Kinney, P.E., Director of Licensing David Howell, P.E., and Director of Compliance & Enforcement C.W. Clark, P.E. and attended by 1,085 engineers from all over Texas and the United States (we even had some engineers log in from Turkey, Japan, and Kuwait). Feedback for these presentations has been overwhelmingly positive. The one-hour ethics training will continue on a quarterly basis, with the next series scheduled for September 12th. Visit our webinar info page for more information. Registration for the events will be announced a month in advance.

New TBPE Website
You may have noticed that the TBPE website has undergone a facelift. In an effort to make information more accessible to our licensees and the general public, the new web design was rolled out this Spring. We included changes based on customer feedback received via the latest customer service survey. More improvements will be phased in over the next few months as we continue to streamline pages, make the website easier to navigate, and improve the content that you expect from TBPE.

The Texas Board of Professional Engineers Quarterly Board and Committee Meetings were held May 22 and 23, 2013.

• Adopted Rule: §137.5 The agency adopted a new rule that would clarify current policies regarding reporting disciplinary actions in other states. To view the current Law and Rules, please visit our website and see the Resources section on the right hand side.

• New Rule Proposal: §131.35 Modifies existing rules regarding agency training.

• Disciplinary actions: All enforcement actions approved in the board meeting are posted on the TBPE website: http://engineers.texas.gov/disciplinary.htm. Enforcement actions are reported based on board meeting date.

• Video: Video clips of the Board Meeting are available: http://engineers.texas.gov/vid/52313/52313.html

And more:

• If you are interested in scheduling a TBPE Ethics presentation, please contact outreach coordinator Dorothy Gonzales to make your request at outreach@engineers.texas.gov

• Let us know how we are doing!  TBPE is focused on improving our service to the public and our customers.  You can share your feedback and suggestions via our customer service survey:  http://engineers.texas.gov/feedback

• In keeping with our efforts to modernize and increase communication with our licensees and the public, you can now follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and via an RSS feed.  Join today!

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You received this message because you are licensed or registered with the Texas Board of Professional Engineers and have indicated that you wish to receive electronic correspondence from the Board.  If you wish to discontinue receipt of this e-Newsletter and other messages from the Board, as a PE you can change your preferences online using the ECHO system:  https://engineers.texas.gov/echo