PROFESSIONAL AFFAIRS Introductory Note by the Editor:
The following article was written by Meredith Beswick, Chair, Sacramento Chapter of AEG, and was slightly edited by the AEG Licensure Committee, and is reprinted with her permission. It is an excellent summary of what it takes to have influence with the Legislature, and is a companion piece to the next article.
Steps to be Taken Regularly/ How to be
Proactive in Protecting Licensure and Other Geologic Programs
1. Understand how your state legislature works. a. When are they in session, when are deadlines, etc.
b. Identify committees that bills would be referred to regarding AEG issues.
2. Stay current on who is in office.
3. Take opportunities to meet with senator / representative / legislative committee consultants that work AEG topic areas.
a. Introduce yourself and AEG, explain why licensure is important in your state, what is a geologist and appli- cable projects that are critical for a professional geolo- gist to be a part of – good to cite project in your state that went poorly when a geologist wasn’t consulted or their advice not followed (ie CA – Oroville Dam).
b. This step could greatly reduce the “Angie’s List” approach to eliminate needless licenses.
c. Provide a one page fact sheet to leave behind visits, have a larger packet of information available for key members and staff.
4. Offer to be a resource for senator / representative / legisla- tive committees.
As a professional society you should offer your support of bills that align with your association’s mission with regard to legislative activity. This shows the committees/ Representatives/Senators that you are actively following the issues and earnest about your offer of being a sound- ing board.
5. Identify senator /representative/legislative committees who will be ‘allies’ if a bill to eliminate licensure is pro-
posed. Call prior to beginning of session and periodically to see if they hear of anything in the works. The point is to never get to the point of anything being written. Much easier to fight.
6. Stay current each year on list of bills by monitoring your state’s legislative website. Monitoring should be done
at a minimum on a weekly basis. Several states have compiled lists of key words to help more efficiently flag
ARIZONA RECIPROCITY
Contributed by R. Douglas Bartlett, CPG--8433
An interesting development in Arizona regarding pro- fessional licensing.
This notice came from Public Policy Partners - the lob- bying firm we used a few years ago when deregulation of geologists was proposed. A bill is pending the Governor’s signature that would mandate reciprocity for profession- als licensed in other states when they move to Arizona. This may mean deregulation is off the table for the time being.
LICENSEES WELCOME
The Governor mentioned reciprocity for occupational licensing in his State of the State speech and this week that bill cleared its last hurdle before heading to the Governor’s desk. HB2569 Occupational Licensing; Reciprocity, spon- sored by Representative Warren Petersen would require a regulating entity to issue an occupational license or certifi- cate to someone who has established residency in Arizona and has that same license or certificate in another state provided that person is in good standing and the previous state has the equal practice requirements. This”universal” license would only be valid in Arizona and does not affect any states in which Arizona has an interstate compact. See below for comments from both the Governor and bill sponsor.
“We’ve heard too many stories of licensed, experienced professionals denied the opportunity to work upon moving to Arizona. With this first-in-the-nation reform, Arizonans who have recently moved here will be able to put their skills to work faster and without all the red tape. I thank Representative Petersen for his leadership and for sponsor- ing the bill and members of the House and Senate for their bipartisan support.” - Governor Ducey
“For qualified professionals who move to our state looking to work, let’s get government out of the way and let them get to work. I’m proud to have introduced this important legislation to help put Arizonans to work and I thank my colleagues for their support to pass this bill. We look forward to Governor Ducey’s signature on this bill.” - Representative Warren Petersen
bills that could be a problem. A copy of the key word list is attached and also available on the AEG Website (after signing on, go to “resources” and then to “licensure resources” and follow the prompts).
7. Create email list of geologist professional societies in the state who can help advocate for geologist-related issues.
a. State Licensure board, Groundwater Resource Association, - these resource may know someone who can help when an issue comes up.
b. Remember that some state boards cannot advocate for political issues, but members can still serve as resources.
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