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BlackWatch
Posts: 12
Location: Orlando, FL USA
Joined: 10/17/2008
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Whatcha want to talk about? |
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Hello boys and girls and welcome to the Legal Issues Forum. There are several ways we could go in this topical forum. We could talk about legal issues that arise in the course of land boundary surveying, such as the rules of evidence and reconciliation of adjacent surveys that do not agree. We could even talk about my favorite subject, finding multiple pins to locate a single property corner when I go to layout a new construction project.
An entirely different direction for our conversation is the law as it relates to the regulation of surveying through licensure. One variation of this line of discussion is the resolution of practice boundary issues related to surveying, photogrammetry, and GIS. Should photogrammetry be contained within the licensed practice of surveying? Would it be better for the technical aspects of surveying practice to be regulated through a national certification program, with the states left to regulate the legal aspects?
A branch of this direction of discussion is to talk about the NCEES Model Law & Rules of practice. So far, only one state has adopted it. Does this mean that it does not meet the requirements of the profession? What do you think needs to be done to either fix the model law and rules or start to get it adopted more widely?
Yet another branch of the discussion could involve qualification-based selection (QBS) procedures for procuring surveying, photogrammetry, and GIS services. Many states require these services to be procured without price competition. Two years ago, the Management Association for Professional Photogrammetric Services (MAPPS) filed suit in federal court to require all federal procurements of spatial data and services to be accomplished through QBS rules already in place for engineering and architectural services, what most people call the Brooks Act. To make their argument, they had to contend that all mapping is part of surveying, and that all surveying is part of engineering and architecture. They lost that legal battle, to some degree because other professions demonstrated to the court that others made maps besides surveyors. MAPPS recently worked with the American Society for Photogrammetry & Remote Sensing (ASPRS) to propose an Imagery Procurement Guideline that emphasizes the use of QBS for all professional services. That document is now open for comments. How do you feel about QBS?
Wherever you want to take the conversation is fine, just please keep it civil.
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Saturday, October 25, 2008 at 3:17:05 PM |
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Isleno
Posts: 40
Location: Gonzales, La USA
Joined: 10/20/2008
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Re: Whatcha want to talk about? |
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| Yes. No ifs, ands or buts. No lawyer, no para-legal, No secretary, no draftsman, no clerk, nobody but a Registered Professional Land Surveyor, hilmself, personally.
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