Controls Systems Engineers, Chemical Engineers and other professional engineers licensed in California have what is called a "title" license. No other state in the US, Puerto Rico, Guam or anywhere else has this dual license system for engineering licensing.

The State of California commissioned an extensive study to determine whether these licenses should be converted to "practice" licenses, and the study recommended doing so. However, opponents of the change were able to wield their political muscle and these changes were never instituted. Today the law remains unchanged, out of sync with the rest of the United States. With the support of engineering association members, CLCPE is working to change that.

If you are a PE or are considering working for your PE license, you should attend this meeting to learn how CSE and other PE disciplines are treated as second class in California as compared with other states.

Our speaker, Walter Okitsu, P.E., Treasurer of California Legislative Council of Professional Engineers , will give an overview of the status of the PE license in California, and explain how CLCPE works on behalf of Control Systems Engineers, Chemical Engineers and other disciplines.

After his presentation, Walter will lead a roundtable discussion to explain the current status of the "title" PE licenses in California and what CLCPE is doing to help elevate them to "practice" status.

The most recent attempt by CLCPE to correct the law was in 2006 with the introduction of Senate Bill SB246. Virtually everyone supported the bill ( See the list of hundreds of supporters, PDF) ), from Fortune 500 companies, engineering firms, major oil companies, water districts, regulatory agencies, consulting engineers, trade unions, the Sierra Club, city governments, professional associations and seven Deans of Schools of Engineering from prominent California universities. With all this support, why did it fail to pass? Politics 101.

After the California Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors first introduced SB 246, CLCPE developed support for the bill; however, "the lack of active support from those who use engineering services to sponsor, or actively support the bill was the cause of failure of SB 246," according to a source in Sacramento.

ISA has been a member and strong supporter of CLCPE for years, along with American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE), American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), California Industrial Engineers, California Manufacturing Engineers, California Nuclear Engineers, California Society of Professional Engineers (CSPE), Institute of Electrical & Electronic Engineers (IEEE), Mechanical Engineers Association of California (MEAC), Registered Traffic Engineers of America, and Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE).

Walter Okitsu, P.E. is a founder of KOA Corporation, formerly Katz, Okitsu & Associates, a planning and engineering firm in Monterey Park, California, that provides transportation planning and design, traffic engineering and development services. Customers include Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority, the City and County of Honolulu; and, through it's subsidiary, Crane and Associates, Fox Studios Expansion, Amgen Campus site in Thousand Oaks, and The Grove at Farmers Market. They have a professional staff of more than 110 employees at offices in Monterey Park, Ontario, San Diego, Orange County, and Oakland.

Meeting Details

Date: Tuesday, August 26

Time: 5:00-Pizza; 5:30-Program

Important: This event is members only. RSVP is required. No walk-ins, please.

Location: Paramount Petroleum Corp., 14700 Downey Ave, Paramount; Training Room, Southwest Corner of Parking Lot Directions: Bounded by 91, 105, 710 and 605 Freeways, between Rosecrans and 91 Fwy. Enter the Main Gate and park to the right hand side if spaces are available, otherwise park where ever a space is available. Note: The entry gate closes at 6:00 PM. Exit gate will remain open. Online map and directions

Cost: Due to the large turn-out expected for this topic, this is a "CLCPE members only" event. Cost of dinner to ISA members and students; those from other CLCPE member associations add $25 (see list above); non-members add $85 to join ISA at the door.

RSVP: To John Prince at (714) 968-5501 or jprince@calcems.com . In your RSVP, please indicate your name, job title, PE status, company, address, work phone and, if not a member of ISA, which association you are a member of. Thank you!


Updated August 15, 2008



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