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HSPE Testimony on Bill 64, 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.).
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Hawaii County Council
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Dear County Council Members,
My name is Irina Constantinescu, P.E., president of the Hawaii Society of. Professional
Engineers (HSPE). The HSPE is one of the many state societies that comprise the National co
Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE). The vision of NSPE is "A world where the public can
be confident that engineering decisions affecting their lives are made by qualified and ethically
accountable professionals."
HSPE members have for many years participated in the annual meetings of NSPE, and served
on key commissions, including the NSPE Board of Ethical Review (BER), "Professional
Engineers in Government" (PEG), and the "Task Force on the Over -Ruling of Engineering
Judgement". We can testify that serious concerns for the safety of the public, due to vital
engineering decisions made by licensed professional engineers being over -ruled by non -
licensed engineers or even non -engineers in the public sector, is shared nationally by NSPE
members.
What makes a PE different from an engineer?
• Only a licensed engineer may prepare, sign and seal, and submit engineering plans and
drawings to a public authority for approval, or seal engineering work for public and private
clients.
• PEs shoulder the responsibility for not only their work, but for the lives affected by that work
and must hold themselves to high ethical standards of practice.
• Licensure for a consulting engineer or a private practitioner is not something that is merely
desirable; it is a legal requirement for those who are in responsible charge of work, be they
principals or employees.
• Licensure for engineers in government has become increasingly significant. Many federal,
state, and municipal agencies require that certain governmental engineering positions,
particularly those considered higher level and responsible positions, be filled only by
licensed professional engineers.
As the 20'" century opened, anyone could work as an engineer without proof of competency.
But industrial processes and public works projects were becoming increasingly complex and
began to result in engineering disasters that caused widespread damage and fatalities. In one of
the iconic examples, in 1919 a poorly engineered 2-million-gallon molasses storage tank failed
in Boston, killing 21 people and injuring 150. In order to protect the public health, safety, and
welfare, states began following the lead of Wyoming, which had enacted the first engineering
licensure law in 1907. Unfortunately, there are many additional examples in which human life
was endangered by professional decisions made by unqualified administrators.
Now every state regulates the practice of engineering to ensure public safety by granting only
Professional Engineers (PEs) the authority to sign and seal engineering plans and offer their
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services to the public. Weakening the qualifications of the head of a local public works agency
goes against the very system of engineering licensure that has been laboriously set up over the
past century to protect public health and safety.
I, and the members of HSPE, are proud of the education and experience needed in order to call
ourselves engineers and as the Engineers' Creed states, we have dedicated our professional
knowledge to the advancement and betterment of public health, safety, and welfare.
The adverse risks of a non -engineer over -ruling the engineering judgement of local DPW
engineering staff (as well as engineering consultants supporting the County of Hawaii), have
been well -documented by the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE), and presents
an unacceptable risk for Hawaii County. That is why we, the Hawaii Society of Professional
Engineers, OPPOSE the proposed Bill 64 and its amendment to the Hawaii County Charter.
Thank you for hearing our testimony.
Sincerely,
Irina Constantinescu, P.E.
President, Hawaii Society of Professional Engineers