HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

1720

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

 

relating to professional engineers.

 

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 

     SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that the counties suffer from a shortage of licensed professional engineers serving in their various planning departments, contributing to lengthy plan review periods.  The legislature further finds that there are certain higher-level engineering positions in county planning departments that require candidates to be licensed as professional engineers.  For example, in the department of planning and permitting of the city and county of Honolulu, promotion to the position of supervisory engineer requires a candidate to be licensed as a professional engineer.  The legislature additionally finds that in order for candidates to be eligible for professional engineering licensure, they must have a certain amount of lawful experience in engineering work.  Currently, compliance review of plans for construction does not qualify as lawful experience in engineering work.  However, this is the core responsibility of many engineers in county planning departments, meaning the experience they accumulate does not count toward lawful experience in engineering work for the purposes of professional licensure.  This may present a disincentive to potential applicants from seeking employment opportunities in county planning departments and encourage current employees to move to the private sector.

     Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to permit county employees to use their experience in code compliance review to meet the lawful experience in engineering work requirements needed for licensure as a professional engineer.

     SECTION 2.  Section 464-8, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:

     "(a)  No person shall be eligible for licensure as a professional engineer unless:

     (1)  The person is the holder of an unexpired license issued to the person by any jurisdiction, domestic or foreign, in which the requirements for licensure at the time the person was first licensed are of a standard satisfactory to the board; provided that if the board is in doubt as to whether the standards are satisfactory, or as to whether the holder was required to fully comply with them, it shall require that the holder successfully pass a written examination, prescribed by the board and designed to test the holder's knowledge, skill, and competency in the profession of engineering;

     (2)  The person [is the]:

          (A)  Is the holder of a master's degree in engineering from an institution of higher education approved by the board; [is]

          (B)  Is a graduate of a school or college approved by the board as of satisfactory standing and has completed an engineering curriculum of four years or more; [has had]

          (C)  Has three years of full-time lawful experience in engineering work of a character satisfactory to the board, or part-time experience [which] that the board finds to be the equivalent thereof; and [has]

          (D)  Has successfully passed a written examination, prescribed by the board and designed to test the person's knowledge, skill, and competency in the profession of engineering;

     (3)  The person [is the]:

          (A)  Is the holder of a master's degree in engineering from an institution of higher education approved by the board; [has had]

          (B)  Has four years of full-time lawful experience in engineering work of a character satisfactory to the board, or part-time experience [which] that the board finds to be the equivalent thereof; and [has]

          (C)  Has successfully passed a written examination, prescribed by the board and designed to test the person's knowledge, skill, and competency in the profession of engineering;

     (4)  The person [is a]:

          (A)  Is a graduate of a school or college approved by the board as of satisfactory standing, and has completed an engineering curriculum of four years or more; [has had]

          (B)  Has four years of full-time lawful experience in engineering work of a character satisfactory to the board, or part-time experience [which] that the board finds to be the equivalent thereof; and [has]

          (C)  Has successfully passed a written examination, prescribed by the board and designed to test the person's knowledge, skill, and competency in the profession of engineering;

     (5)  The person [is a]:

          (A)  Is a graduate of a school or college approved by the board as of satisfactory standing, and has completed an engineering technology or arts and science curriculum of four years or more; [has had]

          (B)  Has eight years of full-time lawful experience in engineering work of a character satisfactory to the board, or part-time experience [which] that the board finds to be the equivalent thereof; and [has]

          (C)  Has successfully passed a written examination, prescribed by the board and designed to test the person's knowledge, skill, and competency in the profession of engineering; or

     (6)  The person has [had twelve]:

          (A)  Twelve years of full-time lawful experience in engineering work of a character satisfactory to the board, or part-time experience [which] that the board finds to be the equivalent thereof; and [has successfully]

          (B)  Successfully passed a written examination, prescribed by the board and designed to test the person's knowledge, skill, and competency in the profession of engineering.

     For purposes of this subsection, "lawful experience in engineering work" for county employees includes code compliance review of plans for construction applicable to the specific engineering field."

     SECTION 3.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 4.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

 

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

 

 

Report Title:

Professional Engineers; County Employees; Licensure; Qualifications; Lawful Experience in Engineering Work; Code Compliance Review of Plans

 

Description:

Clarifies that a county employee's code compliance review of plans for construction applicable to the specific engineering field is considered lawful experience in engineering work for purposes of professional engineering licensure.

 

 

 

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.