The Wise Report
On November 21, 2014 the Governor of New York signed Chapter 475 of the Laws of 2014 which provides for the licensure of professional geologists under Title VIII of the Education Law. The Law does not take effect until November 21, 2016. Under the provisions of the new law, Geology has been added to the current State Board for Engineering and Land Surveying (State Board). As of November 21, 2016, the State Board will be known as the State Board for Engineering, Land Surveying and Geology. To assist the Board of Regents and the Department in implementing geology licensing provisions, the Board of Regents appointed qualified geologists to the State Board. The State Board has assisted the Board of Regents and the Department in developing the regulations that establish the education, experience, examination, age, moral character and fee requirements for applicants seeking licensure as a professional geologist. These regulations were adopted at the July 2016 Regents meeting and will become effective November 21, 2016 and can be found on our web site (http://www.op.nysed.gov/prof/geo/geolaw.htm).
The New York State Education Department is accepting applications for licensure under the grandparent provision or through endorsement for applicants who are licensed in another jurisdiction. Applications will be accepted immediately and licenses will be issued to those applicants meeting the qualifications for licensure through the grandparent provision or endorsement starting November 21, 2016. The grandparent provision of the law expires on November 20, 2017. Therefore, all applications made under the grandparent provision of the law must be postmarked by the expiration date of November 20, 2017.
Henry M. Wise, P.G.
The Wise Report