Talking Points on Proposed Surveying Legislation

• Current Surveying Legislation needs to be changed – the definition is overly broad and predates modern GIS and GPS technologies
• Changes proposed by the NYS Association of Professional Licensed Surveyors are not acceptable to the geospatial community (S04396/ A01927)
• Changes proposed may negatively impact the ability of GIS professionals to do their job – under the proposed law they may be accused of doing "surveying" if they perform certain GIS activities
• A blue ribbon panel of the (National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying) NCEES identified similar problems and recommended revisions to the model law and model rules
• The revised NCEES Model Law more clearly distinguishes the practices of Land Surveying from those of GIS professionals.
• The Model Rules offer specific citations of activities included in the practice of Land Surveying as well as activities specifically excluded from the practice of Land Surveying.
• Lack of inclusion of the Model Rules, either directly or by reference, means that the State Education Department will be interpreting professional practices complaints (i.e. regarding GIS practitioners practicing Land Surveying without a license) without the clarity and distinctions in the NCEES Model Rules. 
• States like Oregon have included both the model law and rules in their legislation and we want that national solution to be adopted in NYS
• The proposed legislation does not follow that solution in its entirety and unnecessarily broadens the scope of surveying to include GIS related activities and inhibit the ability of New York State to become a leader in this rapidly expanding industry
• Recommend that the NYS GIS Association be included in the legislation revision process