STATE OF FLORIDA

DIVISION OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS

LARRY FREEMAN,

Petitioner,

vs.

BOARD OF PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS,

Respondent.

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) Case No. 06-4191

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RECOMMENDED ORDER

Pursuant to notice, a formal hearing was held in this case before Daniel M. Kilbride, Administrative Law Judge of the Division of Administrative Hearings, on January 10, 2007, in Melbourne, Florida.

APPEARANCES

For Petitioner: Larry Freeman, pro se

1201 Knollwood Road

Palm Bay, Florida 32907

For Respondent: Lee Ann Gustafson, Esquire

Claudel Pressa, Esquire

Office of the Attorney General The Capitol, Plaza Level 01 Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1050

STATEMENT OF THE ISSUE

Whether Petitioner's application for the Principles and Practice Examination has met the requirements set forth in

Subsection 471.013(1)(a), Florida Statutes (2006),1 and Florida Administrative Code Rule 61G15-20.002(1)(b).

PRELIMINARY STATEMENT

Petitioner, Larry Freeman, made application to take the Principles and Practice Examination. His application was considered by the Board of Professional Engineers (Board or Respondent). On September 27, 2006, the Board filed a Notice of Denial, citing its determination that Petitioner had not demonstrated four years of professional experience prior to the application. Petitioner requested a hearing. On October 30, 2006, this matter was referred to the Division of Administrative Hearings, and was set for hearing.

At the January 10, 2007, hearing, Petitioner testified on his own behalf and entered four exhibits into evidence.

Respondent presented no witnesses, but entered one exhibit into evidence. At the request of Petitioner, the record remained open for the filing of an official transcript from the University of Central Florida (UCF), regarding Petitioner's completion of a master's degree. The time for filing post- hearing submissions was set for 15 days after the filing of the hearing transcript. The Transcript was filed on January 22, 2007. Petitioner's late-filed exhibit, a transcript from UCF, was filed on February 9, 2007. Respondent's proposed recommended order was filed on February 6, 2007.

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. On or about April 27, 2006, Petitioner filed an application (Application) with the Board seeking to take the Principles and Practice Examination for professional engineers.

2. Petitioner is not licensed in any other state as a professional engineer.

3. Petitioner is a resident of Florida, who is of good moral character, and completed his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Ohio State University in December 1999. On August 5, 2006, Petitioner was awarded the degree of Master's of Science in Electrical Engineering from UCF.

4. Petitioner is seeking to take the Florida Professional Engineering Examination in the area of electrical engineering.

5. Section 7 of the Application for the Licensure by Examination directs the Applicant to do the following:

   1. List, in order, all employment experience. A minimum of four years experience must be evidenced at time of submitting your application. All engineering experience after graduation or prior to graduation shall be verified by professional or practicing engineers. Non- engineering experience or periods of unemployment shall be listed, but is not required to be verified. List employment beginning with earliest experience. Refer to attached copy of Rule 61G15-20.002.

      
      

   2. Column # 1 of Section 7 directs the Applicant to identify the Experience Number.

   3. Column # 2 of Section 7 directs the Applicant to list Dates of Employment, Month, Day, and Year.

      
      

   4. Column # 3 of Section 7 directs the Applicant to list Title of Position, Names and complete address of the firm and immediate supervisor.

      
      

   5. Column # 4 of Section 7 directs the Applicant to list Total Time in # of Months in Professional (Engineering Related) and Non-Professional (Non-Engineering Related) work.

      
      

   6. Column # 5 of Section 7 directs the Applicant to provide the following: Details pertaining to nature of work. Distinguish clearly between professional and non- professional duties and responsibilities. For each employment, describe explicitly, but concisely, the work you did and one engineering decision you were required to make. Attach exhibits as necessary. Refer to definitions in Section 471.005, Florida Statutes, and Rule 61G15, Florida Administrative Code, when defining work, see attached copy of rule. All experience, whether or not engineering, shall be accounted for on this application. (Emphasis in Original)

      
      

6. Petitioner listed four separate professional experiences under Section 7.

7. From August 1, 1995, to March 1, 2000, Petitioner served as a research assistant in the Electroscience Laboratory at the Ohio State University, while studying for his degree in electrical engineering. Petitioner assisted Ph.D. researchers to investigate electrical phenomena built electrical research devices, in a laboratory setting.

8. From March 1, 2000, to March 1, 2001, Petitioner was employed as an electrical engineer for Weldon Technologies in Columbus, Ohio, where he worked on design, construction and manufacture of electrical systems for integration onto mobile devices. Petitioner worked on designs for digital systems, multiplying systems, vehicle systems, mobile vehicle response systems, emergency vehicles, and airplane/aerospace powered supply designs.

9. From March 1, 2001, to December 1, 2001, Petitioner was employed as an electrical engineer for National Technical Systems in Foxborough, Massachusetts, where he worked to design, construct and perform electrical testing for domestic and international certification requirements and compliance verification.

10. From December 1, 2001, to the present, Petitioner has been employed as an electrical engineer for the Harris Corporation in Palm Bay, Florida, where he works to design and analyze electrical systems for performance and qualification verification on aircraft, mobile vehicles, and space communication systems.

11. Although staff had recommended that Petitioner's application be approved, Petitioner understood that the Board had to hear and approve the application.

12. Petitioner completed the application form himself and felt that he had fulfilled all of the requirements set forth in the Application, including those contained in Column 5 of Section 7.

13. Although Petitioner testified as to the details of the nature of the work he did at each of his employments after graduation, Petitioner failed to describe explicitly the work he did as required in Section 7, Column 5.

14. Petitioner was required to describe explicitly, but concisely, one engineering decision he was required to make during the course of his employment. Petitioner failed to do so on his application or at the formal hearing.

15. Petitioner has failed to show that he has met the requirements, set for in the Florida Statutes and in the Florida Administrative Code Rules, that he is entitled to sit for the Principles and Practice Examination for Professional Engineers.

    CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

    
    

16. The Division of Administrative Hearings has jurisdiction over the parties to and the subject matter of this proceeding. §§ 120.569 and 120.57(1), Fla. Stat.

17. Respondent has the authority to certify for licensure, any applicant who satisfies the requirements of Section 471.013, Florida Statutes.

18. Subsection 471.013(1)(a), Florida Statutes, provides the prerequisites to take an examination and provides, in pertinent part:

    (1)(a) A person shall be entitled to take an examination for the purpose of determining whether she or he is qualified to practice in this state as an engineer if the person is of good moral character and:

    
    

    1. Is a graduate from an approved engineering curriculum of 4 years or more in a school, college, or university which has been approved by the board and has a record of 4 years of active engineering experience of a character indicating competence to be in responsible charge of engineering.

    
    

19. Florida Administrative Code Rule 61G15-20.002, describes the Board's criteria for engineering experience and provides, in pertinent part:

    (1)(a) In order to meet the prerequisites for entry into the engineering examination, an applicant is required to have four years of acceptable experience in engineering at the time of application and four years of acceptable educational qualifications. In determining whether an applicant's experience background is sufficient to meet the requirements set forth in subsections 471.013(1)(a)1. and 2., F.S., the Board has determined that an individual must have the requisite number of years of acceptable engineering experience gained through education and through the requisite amount of full-time employment in engineering. The type of employment which shall be acceptable must principally involve activities in the field of engineering as defined in subsection 471.005(7), F.S. The Board may accept engineering experience in foreign countries if such experience is properly

    verified by the Board from evidence supplied by the applicant to be equivalent to that accepted as experience by the Board as to any state or territory.

    
    

    (b) Because the evaluation of experience is a complex and subjective matter, the Board establishes the following guidelines which shall be generally applicable absent extraordinary evidence and documentation supporting a departure therefrom:

    
    

    1. The acquisition of acceptable engineering experience should logically follow and constitute an application of the engineering education previously obtained.

       
       

    2. Engineering experience obtained prior to the completion of the engineering degree is usually of a subprofessional nature. Such experience, if deemed acceptable and properly verified, may be awarded experience credit at 25% of the actual time. If the experience is obtained after the completion of a substantial number of engineering design courses, and involves matters of average or above average complexity, experience credit may be awarded at up to 50% of actual time. In any event, the total engineering experience credit allowable for pregraduation experience shall not exceed 12 months.

       
       

    3. Experience credit is based on a 40-hour per week full-time basis. No additional credit is allowable for overtime work, or for part-time work experience obtained while pursuing engineering education on a full- time basis, or for the part-time pursuit of a masters or doctorate degree while obtaining full-time work experience.

       
       

    4. Experience must be progressive on engineering projects to indicate that it is of increasing quality and requiring greater responsibility.

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    7. Experience should be gained under the supervision of a licensed professional engineer or, if not, an explanation should be made showing why the experience should be considered acceptable.

    
    

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    11. Experience may not be anticipated. The experience must have been gained by the time of the application.

    
    

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    (2) In order to verify an applicant's experience record, the Board will require evidence of employment from employers or supervisors who are employed in the engineering profession or are professional engineers, who shall set forth the quality and character of the applicant's duties and responsibilities. In addition to the employer verification, an applicant must list three personal references who are professional engineers. Should the Board find the information submitted by the applicant is insufficient or incomplete, the Board may require the applicant to supply additional references or evidence regarding the applicant's experience and background or both so that an intelligent decision may be made on whether admittance to the examination is allowable. The Board will accept as equivalent to one year's experience a masters degree in engineering from a college or university from a Board approved engineering program as defined in subsection 61G15-20.001(2), F.A.C. The Board will also accept as equivalent to one year's experience a doctorate in engineering from a college or university from a Board approved engineering program as defined in subsection 61G15-20.001(2), F.A.C.

20. The general rule is that "the burden of proof, apart from statute, is on the party asserting the affirmative of an issue before an administrative tribunal." Florida Department of Transportation v. J.W.C. Company, Inc., 396 So. 2d 778, 788 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981). Petitioner has the burden of proving by a perponderance of the evidence that he should be allowed to sit for the Principles and Practice Examination. Antel v Department of Professional Regulation, Florida Real Estate Commission, 522 So. 2d 1056, 1058 (Fla. 5th DCA 1988).

21. Petitioner failed to include one engineering decision that he was required to make, while working as an electrical engineer. This requirement was clearly set forth and underlined in Column 5, Section 7, of the Application. As a result, the undersigned Administrative Law Judge is unable to determine whether Petitioner's engineering experience meets the requirements of Subsection 471.013(1)(a), Florida Statutes, and Florida Administrative Code Rule 61G15-20.002(1)(b).

22. Although Petitioner has shown that he has completed his master's degree from UCF, the rest of the evidence is insufficient to determine whether Petitioner has a record of four years of active engineeing experience of a character indicating competence to be in responsible charge of engineering, as required by Subsection 471.013(1)(a), Florida Statutes.

23. Petitioner has failed to prove by a preponderance of evidence that he has demonstrated that he meets the requirements set forth in Subsection 471.013(1)(a), Florida Statutes, and Florida Administrative Code Rule 61G15-20.002(1)(b), in order to be approved to take the Principles and Practice Examination.

24. Petitioner's testimony at the hearing suggests that he may have had the engineering experience needed to receive approval to sit for the Principles and Practice Examination if he submits new application that is explicit, but concise, with supporting documentation.

RECOMMENDATION

Based on the foregoing Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, it is

RECOMMENDED that:

The Board of Professional Engineers enter a final order denying the application of Petitioner, Larry Freeman, for application for the Principles and Practice Examination.

DONE AND ENTERED this 23rd day of February, 2007, in Tallahassee, Leon County, Florida.

S

DANIEL M. KILBRIDE

Administrative Law Judge

Division of Administrative Hearings The DeSoto Building

1230 Apalachee Parkway

Tallahassee, Florida 32399-3060

(850) 488-9675 SUNCOM 278-9675

Fax Filing (850) 921-6847 www.doah.state.fl.us

Filed with the Clerk of the Division of Administrative Hearings this 23rd day of February, 2007.

ENDNOTE

1/ All references to Florida Statutes are to Florida Statutes (2006), unless otherwise indicated.

COPIES FURNISHED:

Larry Freeman

1201 Knollwood Road Palm Bay, Florida 32907

Lee Ann Gustafson, Esquire Office of the Attorney General The Capitol, Plaza Level 01 Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1050

Claudel Pressa, Esquire

Office of the Attorney General The Capitol, Plaza Level 01 Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1050

Paul J. Martin, Executive Director Board of Professional Engineers Department of Business and

Professional Regulation 2507 Callaway Road, Suite 200

Tallahassee, Florida 32303-5267

Josefina Tamayo, General Counsel Department of Business and

Professional Regulation 1940 North Monroe Street

Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0791

Patrick Creehan, Esquire Chief Prosecuting Attorney

Florida Engineers Management Corporation 2507 Callaway Road, Suite 200

Tallahassee, Florida 32303-5267

NOTICE OF RIGHT TO SUBMIT EXCEPTIONS

All parties have the right to submit written exceptions within

15 days from the date of this recommended order. Any exceptions to this recommended order should be filed with the agency that will issue the final order in this case.

Docket for Case No: 06-004191

Orders for Case No: 06-004191