Comm No 0043.53 - Testimony - CA-26 - Qualifications for the Director DPW

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Testimony on CA -26, Hawaii Charter Commission, proposal to amend Section 6-2.2 relating to Qualifications for the Director of the Department of Public Works, to remove the requirement that the Director be a "registered professional engineer" (more accurately, "licensed professional engineer, or P.E.). June 7, 2019 Hawaii County Charter Commission Dear Commission Members, My name is Curtis Beck, 1 have been licensed in Hawaii as a professional engineer since 1983. I am opposed to amendment No. CA -26. At the risk of repeating arguments already made, I would just like to come from a slightly different perspective to point out that the concerns of the local P.E.'s of Hawaii about allowing the possibility of a non -engineer being in a position of "responsible charge" in the execution of vital engineering decisions, has long been an issue of national concern. Like some of my other colleagues, I have been deeply involved in the activities of the National Society of Professional Engineers, or "NSPE" for about. 20 years now. During that time, I have represented the Hawaiian Society at NSPE annual meetings, served three years on the NSPE Board of Directors, served six years on the NSPE Board of Ethical Review, other engineering "interest groups", and for the past four years have been serving on the Board of NSPEs National Institute for Certification of Engineering Technicians. In 2005, I served on a special Task. Force appointed by the NSPE Board of Directors entitled the "Task Force on Over -Ruling Engineering Judgement" which dealt with concerns related to those raised by local P.E's on proposed charter amendment CA -26. In its final report in 2006, the NSPE Task Force on Over -Ruling Engineering Judgement said this: "Today, engineers sometimes report to political scientists, public administrators, and MBAs at the head of their organizations. Sometimes this structure works well, relieving the engineers Comm. No. 43.53