Texas Board of Professional Engineers Annual Financial Report: 2015 Page: -17-
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passed during the session that impacted Board procedures or the engineering community. A group
of bills required changes to Board Rules regarding administrative procedures, Licensing and
Enforcement. Rule revisions were approved by the Board in August to publish for public comment.
" Journey Toward Excellence - TBPE continues to focus on efficiency, quality, and excellence in
everything it does. As such, all of the agency's continuous improvement efforts - including the
Strategic Plan, Survey of Employee Engagement, Customer Service Surveys, and the Quality
Texas / Baldrige Criteria - have been combined under the umbrella of the Journey Toward
Excellence. The goal is to have a coordinated and unified approach to the work that is done by
the agency, to become more productive and efficient, and to improve communication and
management involvement. This continuous improvement program has been in effect at the TBPE
for several years with very positive results.
" Process review and improvement - TBPE has a major goal of continuous improvement all of its
processes and procedures, with a focus on efficiency, cost savings, and customer service. All
staff and leadership of the agency participate in the continuous improvement process to improve
all aspects of agency functions.
" Outreach - Communication to our various stakeholder groups is critical to the enforcement and
licensing mission of the agency. Since 2006, agency staff and Board members have made over
1,100 presentations reaching over 70,000 attendees, with 150 face-to-face and webinar
presentations to over 19,000 individuals during FY15. TBPE plans to continue to grow and
expand its highly successful outreach program and the Board has adopted a comprehensive
Visibility and Outreach Plan to achieve this goal. TBPE continues to coordinate and conduct
public speaking opportunities to provide ethics training and other public information to licensed
engineers, students, government entities and officials, and members of the general public. TBPE
has also developed and implemented a highly successful webinar program focused on licensed
engineers and students which has been very well received. In addition, TBPE is active on a
national and international level, including relationships with other licensing organizations in five
countries.
Fees
Senate Bill 277 (78h Regular Session, 2003) mandates that the Board establish fees in amounts that are
reasonable and necessary to cover the costs of administering the different licenses, exams and other
activities of the Board. The agency practices strict financial controls, responsible budget management,
and a comprehensive planning process. Fees for engineering licensure and firm registration are
reviewed annually as part of the budgeting process in order to keep the fees as low as possible, while still
meeting all budgetary and operating requirements. The annual renewal fee for license holders accounts
for approximately two-thirds of the agency's revenues. The $200 professional fee paid by licensees
generated over $7 million in contributions to the State's general revenue fund during Fiscal Year 2015.
-Beginning-in Fiscal Year 2016,-the professional-fee -wiO-no-longer-be -assessed--and-collected sincethe-
841 Legislature repealed this fee. SDSI has allowed the board the flexibility to manage its own spending
and revenue streams and still achieve an increase in value and services for the state. Currently, the
TBPE has approximately 60,000 licensed professional engineers.
SERVICE DEMOGRAPHICS
Changes in the rate of engineering licensure have historically been affected by economic factors such as
"right-sizing," high-tech start-ups or layoffs, petroleum prices, real estate development, and infrastructure
investment. The change in the rate of licensure usually lags the controlling condition by about a year. The
overall rate of licensure has remained fairly constant over the history of the Board.
The Board licenses qualified individuals in all different disciplines, with Civil, Mechanical, Electrical, and
Structural engineering representing almost 80% of the total population. To qualify for licensure as a
professional engineer, an individual must have graduated from a curriculum in engineering or a closely
related science such as physics, mathematics, chemistry, or computer science. Depending on
educational qualifications, each applicant must demonstrate a minimum of four years of creditable
engineering experience in active practice. Most applicants must also pass specialized national- 17 -
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Texas. Board of Professional Engineers. Texas Board of Professional Engineers Annual Financial Report: 2015, report, 2015; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth838388/m1/41/: accessed July 10, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.