I think the important aspect here is that you're not applying your stamp climb your stamp and being an expert witness. And a stamp is applied to a report then it makes it a report for that state the report for that state that the person is licensed in so therefore if you are PE in one state and the report is being signed in a specific state that you are not licensed in then you should not have PE after your name.
Actually a lot of states have this already in the rules.
Original Message:
Sent: 7/19/2021 4:04:00 PM
From: Bevin Beaudet
Subject: RE: Non licensed person listed as a PE
I am a licensed engineer but not in RI. I was hired by the Burrillville Sewer Commission as an expert witness in a case against an equipment vendor. The job required a lot of engineering calculations. The dependents filed an objection to my expert witness role because I am not registered in RI. Here is what my client's attorney dug up which the judge used to deny their request. It's a good read, especially the RI Supreme Courts written judgement.
"The Rhode Island Supreme Court recently held in Owens v. Payless Cashways, Inc., et al, 670 A.2d 1240 (R.I. 1996) that the lack of an engineering license was not a bar to accepting a person as an expert witness. Id at 1241. In that case, the defendants objected to an engineering expert proffered by the plaintiff, and asserted that the statutory definition of the phrase 'practice of engineering' included the giving of expert testimony in a court of law. Id. at 1242. The trial justice stated that he was not able to 'separate' the witness's conduct as an expert from 'all of the professional activity that is required for him to reach the opinion,' and concluded that the plaintiff's witness could not give his opinion because he was not a licensed engineer. Id. at 1243. The Supreme Court disagreed, stating 'We find no language in chapter 8 of title 5 mandating registration as a prerequisite to expert witness qualification.' Id. at 1244. The Court stated:
'If we were to adopt defendants' contention made on oral argument, we would in effect preclude expert testimony from, for example, Archimedes himself, the Greek mathematician, physicist, and inventor -- credited with the discovery of the principle of the lever -- had he come to testify in our courts without first obtaining his license to practice engineering in Rhode Island. Wernher von Braun, the father of our national space program, absent a Rhode Island license, would also fall into that category of ineligibility. We do not believe that our Legislature intended that persons of great learning in the engineering field should be barred from testifying in our courts, and assisting the triers of fact, merely because they have not been licensed here in their respective fields of expertise.'"
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Bevin Beaudet P.E., M.ASCE
President/Owner
Bevin A. Beaudet, P.E., LLC.
Bethlehem PA
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Original Message:
Sent: 07-19-2021 01:29 PM
From: Ralph Grismala
Subject: Non licensed person listed as a PE
Rhode Island does allow a 30-day exemption (per year) for temporary licensing of non-residents: "The practice or offer to practice of engineering by a person not a resident of or having no established place of business in this state, when that practice does not exceed in the aggregate more than thirty (30) days in any calendar year; provided, the person is legally qualified by registration to practice engineering, as defined in § 5-8-2(h), in his or her own state or country. The person shall make application to the board, in writing, and after payment of a fee set by the board in an amount not to exceed two hundred dollars ($200) may be granted a written temporary certificate of registration for a definite period of time to do a specific job; provided, no right to practice engineering accrues to an applicant as to any work not prescribed in the temporary certificate."
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Ralph Grismala P.E., M.ASCE
Technical Director
ICF International
Hermitage TN
Original Message:
Sent: 07-19-2021 01:04 PM
From: Ralph Grismala
Subject: Non licensed person listed as a PE
I ran across this restriction in Rhode Island many years ago and just checked that it is still current. According to 430-RICR-00-00-1 Rules and Regulations for Professional Engineering, "It shall be unlawful for any person to practice, or to offer to practice, engineering in this State, or to use in connection with his or her name or otherwise assume, or advertise any title or description tending to convey the impression that he or she is an engineer unless that person has been duly registered or exempted under the provisions R.I. Gen. Laws § 5-8-1 et seq." Also, "Any individual and/or firm who submits a response to a request for proposals ("RFP"), or any other bidding method which requires the performance of any engineering work or services, shall be construed to be offering to practice engineering in this State." This seems to state that regardless of how a project might ultimately be staffed, any proposal for engineering work would need to be submitted by a RI P.E. Any use in connection with a name "tending to convey the impression that he or she is an engineer" would also appear to be a violation unless the P.E. is registered in Rhode Island.
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Ralph Grismala P.E., M.ASCE
Technical Director
ICF International
Hermitage TN
Original Message:
Sent: 07-09-2021 01:37 PM
From: George Miles
Subject: Non licensed person listed as a PE
Just wanting to know the thoughts out there. I reviewed a report signed by a Licensed Engineer in my state. In the body of the report it listed anther persons name with PE after it then noted they are not licensed in my state. Checking with the state, they are not and wondering thoughts on do I call them, turn them in, or just let it go?
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George Miles P.E., M.ASCE
President
Alligator Engineering Inc
Edgewater FL
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