Definitions.

For the purposes of this chapter, the following words and phrases shall have the respective meanings ascribed by this section:

(1) BOARD. The State Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors, provided for by Section 34-11-30.

(2) DESIGN COORDINATION. The review and coordination of technical submissions prepared by persons other than the principal engineer, including, as appropriate and without limitations, consulting engineers, architects, landscape architects, land surveyors, and other professionals working under the direction of the engineer.

(3) DISCIPLINARY ACTION. Any final written decision, order, consent agreement, public reprimand, or other formal action taken against an individual or firm by the board based upon a violation of this chapter or a board rule.

(4) ENGINEER INTERN. An individual who has been certified as an engineer intern by the board.

(5) ENGINEER or PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER. An individual who, by reason of his or her special knowledge of the mathematical, physical, and engineering sciences and the principles and methods of engineering analysis and design, acquired by engineering education and engineering experience, is qualified to practice engineering as hereinafter defined and has been licensed by the board as a professional engineer. The board may designate a professional engineer, on the basis of education, experience, and examination, as being licensed in a specific discipline or branch of engineering signifying the area in which the engineer has demonstrated competence.

(6) ENGINEERING SURVEY. All survey activities required to support the sound conception, planning, design, construction, maintenance, and operation of engineered projects, rights-of-way, and easement acquisitions relative to the centerline of the project. Engineering surveys may be used to locate, relocate, establish, reestablish, layout, or retrace any road, right-of-way, easement, or alignment relative to the centerline of the project. Additionally, engineering surveys may be performed to determine areas, volumes, or physical features of the earth, elevation of all real property, improvements on the earth, and the configuration or contour of the surface of the earth or the position of fixed objects thereon by measuring lines and angles and applying the principles of mathematics. All engineering surveys shall exclude the surveying of real property for the establishment of any property line or land boundaries, setting of corners or monuments, and the dependent or independent surveys or resurveys of the public land survey system.

(7) FIRM. Any form of business or entity other than an individual operating as a sole proprietorship under his or her own name.

(8) LAND SURVEYOR INTERN. An individual who has been certified as a land surveyor intern by the board.

(9) LAND SURVEYOR or PROFESSIONAL LAND SURVEYOR. An individual who is a professional specialist in the technique of measuring land, educated in the principles of mathematics, the related physical and applied sciences, and the relevant requirements of law for adequate evidence and all requisites to surveying of real property, is qualified to practice land surveying, and has been licensed as a professional land surveyor by the board.

(10) MANAGING AGENT. An individual who is licensed under this chapter and who has been designated pursuant to this chapter by a firm.

(11) PERSON. An individual or firm.

(12) PRACTICE and OFFER TO PRACTICE. Any person shall be construed to practice or offer to practice engineering or land surveying, within the meaning and intent of this chapter, who practices any discipline or any branch of engineering or land surveying; or who by verbal claim, sign, advertisement, letterhead, card, or in any other way represents himself or herself to be a professional engineer or a professional land surveyor, or through the use of some other title implies that he or she is a professional engineer or a professional land surveyor or that the person is licensed or authorized under this chapter; or who represents himself or herself as able to perform or who does perform any engineering or land surveying service or work or any other service designated by the practitioner which is recognized as engineering or land surveying.

(13) PRACTICE OF ENGINEERING. a. Any professional service or creative work, the adequate performance of which requires engineering education, training, and experience in the application of special knowledge of the mathematical, physical, and engineering sciences to such services or creative work that includes any one or more of the following:

1. Consultation, investigation, evaluation, planning, design and design coordination, or commissioning of engineering works, products, and systems.

2. Planning the use of land, air, or water.

3. Performing engineering surveys and studies.

4. The review of construction for the purpose of monitoring compliance with drawings and specifications.

b. Any service or work described in paragraph a., either public or private, that is made in connection with any utilities, structures, buildings, machines, equipment, processes, work systems, projects, communications systems, transportation systems, industrial or consumer products, or equipment of a control system; or is of a mechanical, electrical, hydraulic, pneumatic, chemical, environmental, or thermal nature, insofar as the service or work involves safeguarding health, life, safety, welfare, and property. The term includes other professional services as may be necessary to the planning, progress, and completion of any engineering services.

c. The term does not include the practice of architecture except such architectural work as is incidental to the practice of professional engineering; nor shall the term include work ordinarily performed by persons who operate or maintain machinery or equipment.

d. The practice of engineering includes the offering of expert opinion in any legal proceeding in Alabama regarding work legally required to be performed under an Alabama engineer's license number or seal, which opinion may be given by an engineer licensed in any jurisdiction. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, in qualifying a witness to offer expert testimony on the practice of engineering, the court shall consider as evidence of his or her expertise whether the proposed witness holds a valid Alabama license for the practice of engineering; provided, however, the qualification by the court shall not be withheld from an otherwise qualified witness solely on the basis of the failure of the proposed witness to hold a valid Alabama license or license from another jurisdiction.

(14) PRACTICE OF LAND SURVEYING. a. Professional services using such sciences as mathematics and geodesy, and involving the making of geometric measurements and gathering related information pertaining to the physical or legal features of the earth, the space on, above, or below the earth, and providing, utilizing, or developing the same land survey products such as graphics, data, maps, plans, reports, descriptions, or projects, improvements on, above, or below the earth.

b. The term includes consultation, project coordination, including the coordination of technical submissions proposed by others, investigation, testimony, evaluation, planning, mapping, assembling, and interpreting gathered measurements and information relating to any one or more of the following:

1. Determining by measurement the configuration or contour of the earth's surface or the position of fixed objects thereon by measuring lines and angles and applying the principles of mathematics or photogrammetry.

2. Determining by performing geodetic surveys the size and shape of the earth or the position of any point on the earth.

3. Locating, relocating, establishing, reestablishing, or retracing property lines or boundaries of any tract of land, road, right of way, alignment or easement or elevation of all real property whether or not fixed works are sited or proposed to be sited on the property.

4. Making any survey for the division, subdivision, or consolidation of any tract or tracts of land or for condominiums.

5. Locating or laying out alignments, positions, or elevations for the construction of fixed works.

6. Determining, by the use of principles of land surveying, the position for any survey monument or reference point, or establishing or replacing any such monument or reference point.

7. Geodetic surveying which includes surveying for determination of the size and shape of the earth both horizontally and vertically and the precise positioning of points on the earth utilizing angular and linear measurements through spatially oriented spherical geometry.

8. Creating, preparing, or modifying electronic or computerized or other data, including land information systems and geographic land information systems relative to the performance of the activities described above.

c. The term may include the performance of engineering surveys.

d. The term does not include functions unique to engineering as specified by rules of the board, geographic information systems professionals holding certification from the GIS Certification Institute, or remote sensing professionals holding certifications from the American Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing or other nationally recognized accreditation group as determined by the board.

e. Nothing herein shall in any way prohibit mapping, plotting, or locating, or other similar use of GPS, GIS, or other similar data by those not licensed to practice land surveying, provided the work is not used in the conveyance of property.

(15) RESPONSIBLE CHARGE. Direct control and personal supervision of engineering work or land surveying work.

(Acts 1961, Ex. Sess., No. 79, p. 1976, §2; Acts 1967, No. 739, p. 1576, §1; Acts 1997, No. 97-683, p. 1332, §1; Act 2002-514, p. 1323, §1; Act 2007-365, p. 715, §1; Act 2014-375, p. 1390, §1; Act 2018-550, §1.)