UPDATE on SunSet Commission Activities
UPDATE (Details)
New Information (November 19, 2018) from TBPG on the Sunset decision: (here).
Based on information provided by Henry Wise, AIPG Texas Section President, who was present in Austin for the Sunset decision along with members representing the Texas Geoscience Council and the HGS, and others, the following are the details behind the Sunset Advisory Commission’s decision, which also contains 12 recommendations to the TBPG:
1) The first vote, which failed with 8 No to 4 Yes, was to abolish the Texas Board of Professional Geoscientists (TBPG) and transfer the regulation of geoscientists to the Texas Board of Professional Engineers (TBPE) by September 1, 2020. In the modified proposal that was voted on, geoscientists would have only had an advisory committee to the TBPE, not Board representation.
2) The second vote to continue the TBPG for another 6 years, until September 1, 2025, while implementing 12 recommendations passed by 10 Yes to 2 No.
Here are the recommendations that the TBPG must implement. They seem to be directed at reducing “government interference in business”. They appear to be tolerable considering the alternatives to either abolish the TBPG, or fold geoscientists into the TBPE.