The Board proposes to substantially rewrite Chapter 61G15-23, F.A.C., by reordering the content of Rule 61G15-23.001,F.A.C., to 61G15-23.002,F.A.C.; reordering the content of Rule 61G15-23.002, F.A.C., to 61G15-23.001, F.A.C.; substantially ...

 

DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL REGULATION

Board of Professional Engineers

RULE NOS.:RULE TITLES:

61G15-23.001Seals Acceptable to the Board

61G15-23.002 Seal, Signature and Date Shall Be Affixed

61G15-23.003Procedures for Signing and Sealing Electronically Transmitted Plans, Specifications, Reports or Other Documents

61G15-23.004 Procedures for Digitally Signing and Sealing Electronically Transmitted Plans, Specifications, Reports or Other Documents

61G15-23.005 Procedures for Electronically Signing and Sealing Electronically Transmitted Plans, Specifications, Reports or Other Documents

 

PURPOSE AND EFFECT: The Board proposes to substantially rewrite Chapter 61G15-23, F.A.C., by reordering the content of Rule 61G15-23.001, F.A.C., to Rule 61G15-23.002, F.A.C.; reordering the content of Rule 61G15-23.002, F.A.C., to Rule 61G15-23.001, F.A.C.; substantially rewriting Rule 61G15-23.003, F.A.C.; moving language from Rule 61G15-23.003, F.A.C., to the new Rule 61G15-23.004, F.A.C.; and adding language for the new Rule 61G15-23.005, F.A.C.,. The amendments also amend/modify existing language and add new language. The substantial rewrite will also include updating rule titles.

SUMMARY: The proposed substantial rewrite to Chapter 61G15-23, F.A.C., will reorder the content of Rule 61G15-23.001, F.A.C., to Rule 61G15-23.002, F.A.C.; reorder the content of Rule 61G15-23.002, F.A.C., to 61G15-23.001, F.A.C.; substantially rewrite Rule 61G15-23.003, F.A.C.; move language from Rule 61G15-23.003, F.A.C., to the new Rule 61G15-23.004, F.A.C.; and add language for the new Rule 61G15-23.005, F.A.C. The amendments also amend/modify existing language and add new language. The substantial rewrite will also update rule titles.

SUMMARY OF STATEMENT OF ESTIMATED REGULATORY COST: The agency has determined that this will not have an adverse impact on small business or likely increase directly or indirectly regulatory costs in excess of $200,000 in the aggregate within one year after the implementation of the rule. A SERC has not been prepared by the agency.  The agency has determined that the proposed rule is not expected to require legislative ratification based on the statement of estimated regulatory costs or if no SERC is required, the information expressly relied upon and described herein: The majority of the rule amendments reword, clarify, and re-order existing rule requirements. In addition, the new rules clarify procedures for sealing documents using technological means. The Board found the amendments will reduce confusion, clarify requirements, and assist in understanding and applying the rules' provisions. Accordingly, the Board found there will be no adverse impact on small business, nor are the amendments expected to increase costs, directly or indirectly, on any entity in excess of $200,000. Accordingly, no SERC is required, nor is legislative Ratification necessary.

Any person who wishes to provide information regarding a statement of estimated regulatory costs, or provide a proposal for a lower cost regulatory alternative must do so in writing within 21 days of this notice.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY: 471.008, 471.025, 471.033(2), 668.006 FS.

LAW IMPLEMENTED: 471.025, 471.033(1)(a)5, (d),(2), 668.006 FS.

IF REQUESTED WITHIN 21 DAYS OF THE DATE OF THIS NOTICE, A HEARING WILL BE ANNOUNCED IN THE NEXT AVAILABLE FLORIDA ADMINISTRATIVE REGISTER.

THE PERSON TO BE CONTACTED REGARDING THE PROPOSED RULE IS: Zana Raybon, Executive Director, Board of Professional Engineers, 2639 North Monroe Street, Suite B-112, Tallahassee, FL 32303.

 

THE FULL TEXT OF THE PROPOSED RULE IS:

 

(Substantial Rewrite Of The Rule. See Fac For Current Text)

61G15-23.001 Signature, Date and Seal shall Be Affixed Seals Acceptable to the Board.

(1) A professional engineer shall sign, date and seal:

(a) All final plans, prints, specifications, reports, or other documents prepared or issued by the licensee and being filed for public record;

(b) All final documents provided to the owner or the owner’s representative; and

(c) All documents required by any public entity or any provision of contract which requires the signing, dating and sealing of additional original documents.

(2) Plans and Prints: When an engineer must sign, date and seal plans or prints under the provisions of Section 471.025, F.S., and subsection (1) of this rule, every sheet within the plans and prints must be signed, dated and sealed by the professional engineer in responsible charge.

(a) A title block shall be used on each sheet of plans or prints and shall contain the printed name, address, and license number of the engineer who has signed, dated and sealed the plans or prints.

(b) If the engineer signing, dating and sealing engineering plans or prints is practicing through a duly authorized engineering business; the title block shall contain the printed name, address and certificate of authorization number of the engineering business.

(3) Engineering Specifications and Calculations: When an engineer must sign, date and seal engineering specifications or calculations under the provisions of Section 471.025, F.S., and subsection (1) of this rule, an index sheet shall be used and shall be signed, dated and sealed by each professional engineer who is in responsible charge of any portion of the engineering specifications or calculations.

(a) The index sheet must be signed, dated and sealed by those professional engineers in responsible charge of the production and preparation of each section of the engineering specifications or calculations, with sufficient information on the index sheet so that the user will be aware of each portion of the specifications or calculations for which each professional engineer is responsible.

(b) The index sheet shall include at a minimum:

1. The printed name, address and license number of each engineer in responsible charge of the production of any portion of the calculations or specifications.

2. If the engineer signing, dating and sealing calculations or specifications is practicing through a duly authorized engineering business; the printed name, address and certificate of authorization number of the engineering business.

3. Identification of the project, by address or by lot number, block number, section or subdivision and city or county.

4. Identification of the applicable building code and chapter(s) that the design is intended to meet.

5. Identification of any computer program used for engineering the specifications or calculations.

(4) Engineering Reports or Other Documents: When an engineer must sign, date and seal engineering reports or other documents under the provisions of Section 471.025, F.S., and subsection (1) of this rule, a signature page or cover letter shall be used and shall be signed, dated and sealed by each professional engineer who is in responsible charge of any portion of the report with sufficient information provided so that the user will be aware of each portion for which each professional engineer is responsible.

(a) If the engineer signing, dating and sealing an engineering report or other document is practicing through a duly authorized engineering business, the printed name, address and certificate of authorization number of the engineering business shall be placed on the signature page or cover letter.

(5) The date that the signature and seal is affixed as provided herein shall be entered on said plans, prints, specifications, reports or other documents immediately adjacent to the signature of the professional engineer.

(6) Professional engineers working for local, State or Federal Government agencies shall legibly indicate their name and license number, and shall indicate the name and address of the agency on all documents that are required to be signed, dated and sealed.

(7) A professional engineer may only sign, date and seal engineering plans, prints, specifications, reports or other documents if that professional engineer was in responsible charge, as that term is defined in subsection 61G15-18.011(1), F.A.C., of the preparation and production of the engineering document and the professional engineer has the expertise in the engineering discipline used in producing the engineering document(s) in question.

(8) A professional engineer shall not sign, date and seal any documents which are not final documents unless the professional engineer clearly notes any limitations on the use of those documents on the face of those documents by using terms such as “Preliminary,” “For Review Only,” “Not for Construction,” or any other suitable statement which denotes that the documents are for limited use, are not final and are not intended for permit, construction, or bidding purposes.

Rulemaking Authority 471.008, 471.025 FS. Law Implemented 471.025 FS. History–New 1-8-80, Amended 6-23-80, Formerly 21H-23.01, 21H-23.001, Amended 4-1-97, 2-5-04, 8-8-05, 11-16-09, 2-2-12,                    .

(Substantial Rewrite Of The Rule. See Fac For Current Text)

61G15-23.002 Seals Acceptable to the Board. Seal, Signature and Date Shall Be Affixed.

(1) Only the following seals are authorized to be used pursuant to Section 471.025, F.S.;

(a) Wet Seals: A Wet Seal is any seal physically applied to a printed document capable of leaving a permanent ink representation or other form of opaque permanent impression on the printed document that complies with Rule 61G15-23.002(2), F.A.C.,

(b) Embossing Seals: An Embossing Seal is any seal physically applied to a printed document capable of leaving a permanent crimped representation or other form of permanent raised impression on the printed document that complies with Rule 61G15-23.002(2), F.A.C., or

(c) Digitally Created Seals: A Digitally Created Seal is any seal created as part of the document and not physically applied that is an opaque permanent representation that complies with Rule 61G15-23.002(2), F.A.C. when the document is printed in its native full size.

(2) Wet Seals, Embossing Seals and Digitally Created Seals shall be a minimum of 1-7/8 inches in diameter and shall be of a design similar to those set forth in (a), (b) and (c) below.

(a) The seal must contain the licensee’s given name, the licensee’s license number immediately preceded by the designation “No”, the words “PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER” and the words “STATE OF FLORIDA” similar to that depicted here:

(b) If the seal is for a temporary license it must also contain the words “TEMPORARY LICENSE” and the date that the license expires in the form of “Month – Day – Year” immediately preceded by the word “EXPIRES” similar to that depicted here:

 

(c) For licensees who are in good standing under both Chapters 471 and 472, F.S., a seal similar to that depicted here may be used:

(d) Seals may contain an abbreviated form of the licensee’s given name or a combination of initials representing the licensee’s given name provided the surname listed with the Board appears on the seal and in the signature.

Rulemaking Authority 471.025, 471.033(2) FS. Law Implemented 471.025, 471.033(1)(a) FS. History–New 1-8-80, Amended 1-20-85, Formerly 21H-23.02, Amended 5-14-86, Formerly 21H-23.002, Amended 11-15-94, 8-18-98, 2-3-00, 2-22-01, 2-5-04, 1-31-08, 5-6-09,                                   .

 

(Substantial rewording of Rule 61G15-23.003 follows. See Florida Administrative Code for present text.)

61G15-23.003 Procedures for Physically Signing and Sealing Plans, Specifications, Reports or

Other Documents Procedures for Signing and Sealing Electronically Transmitted Plans, Specifications, Reports or Other Documents.

Engineering plans, specifications, reports or other documents which must be signed, dated and sealed in accordance with the provisions of Section 471.025, F.S., and Rule 61G15-23.001, F.A.C. may be physically signed, dated and sealed as provided herein by the professional engineer in responsible charge.

(1) The licensee shall sign by hand an original of the licensee’s signature on each page required to be sealed. A scanned, facsimile, digitally created or copied image of the licensee’s signature shall not be used.

(2) The licensee must then use a wet seal, a digitally created seal, or an embossing seal placed partially overlapping the licensee’s signature on each page required to be sealed. The placement of the seal shall not render the signature illegible.

Rulemaking Authority 471.025(1), 668.006 FS. Law Implemented 471.025 FS. History–New 8-18-98, Amended 9-4-05, 5-6-09, 1-5-12, 8-20-12, 12-10-13,          .

 

61G15-23.004 Procedures for Digitally Signing and Sealing Electronically Transmitted Plans,

Specifications, Reports or Other Documents.

(1) Engineering plans, specifications, reports or other documents which must be signed, dated and sealed in accordance with the provisions of Section 471.025, F.S., and Rule 61G15-23.001, F.A.C. may be signed digitally as provided herein by the professional engineer in responsible charge. As used herein, the terms “certification authority,” and “digital signature” shall have the meanings ascribed to them in Sections 668.003(2), (3) and (4), F.S.

(2) A professional engineer utilizing a digital signature to electronically sign and seal engineering plans, specifications, reports or other documents shall have their identity authenticated by a certification authority and shall assure that the digital signature is:

(a) Unique to the person using it;

(b) Capable of verification;

(c) Under the sole control of the person using it; and

(d) Linked to a document in such a manner that the digital signature and correspondingly the document is invalidated if any data in the document is changed.

(3) The affixing of a digital signature to engineering plans, specifications, reports or other documents as provided herein shall constitute the signing and sealing of such items.

(a) A digitally created seal as set forth in Rule 61G15-23.002, F.A.C. may be placed where it would appear if the item were being physically signed, dated and sealed.

(b) The date that the digital signature was placed into the document must appear on the document in accordance with Rule 61G15-23.001(5), F.A.C. and where it would appear if the item were being physically signed, dated and sealed.

(c) The engineering plans, specifications, reports or other documents being digitally signed and sealed shall include text to indicate the following and place it where an original signature would appear if the item were being physically signed, dated and sealed:

1. The same information required by Rule 61G15-23.002(2), F.A.C. if a digitally created seal is not use,

2. The item has been electronically signed and sealed using a Digital Signature, and

3. Printed copies of the document are not considered signed and sealed and all signatures must be verified on any electronic copies.

(d) Formatting of seals and text similar to that depicted below may be used.

1. When a digitally created seal is used:

 

2. When a digitally created seal is not used:

 

 

 

 

 

 

(e) When engineering plans, specifications, reports or other documents contain multiple sheets or pages, the licensee may apply a single digital signature per electronically transmitted item as set out in Rule 61G15-23.001, F.A.C. A digital signature applied to an item in electronic form shall have the same force and effect as signing all of the individual sheets or pages contained within that item unless otherwise limited as specified in subsection 61G15-30.003(3), F.A.C.

(f) In the case where multiple licensees sign and seal a single item, each licensee shall apply their digital signature and include qualifying language with those items required in section (e) of this rule thoroughly describing what portions the licensee is taking responsibility for.

Rulemaking Authority 471.025(1), 471.033(2), 471.008 FS. Law Implemented 471.025, 471.033(1)(d), 668.006 FS. History–New____________.

 

61G15-23.005 Procedures for Electronically Signing and Sealing Electronically Transmitted Plans,

Specifications, Reports or Other Documents.

(1) Engineering plans, specifications, reports or other documents which must be signed, dated and sealed in accordance with the provisions of Section 471.025, F.S., and Rule 61G15-23.001, F.A.C. may be signed electronically as provided herein by the professional engineer in responsible charge. As used herein, the term “electronic signature” shall have the meanings ascribed to them in Sections 668.003(2), (3) and (4), F.S.

(2) A professional engineer utilizing an electronic signature to electronically sign and seal engineering plans, specifications, reports or other documents shall:

(a) Create a “signature” file that contains the licensee’s given name, the licensee’s license number, a brief overall description of the engineering documents to be signed and sealed, a list of the electronic files to be signed and sealed, and the SHA-1 authentication code or Secure Hash Standard for each electronic file to be signed and sealed. The SHA-1 authentication code is described in Federal Information Processing Standard Publication 180-3 “Secure Hash Standard,” October 2008, which is hereby adopted and incorporated by reference by the Board and can be obtained from the Internet Website: http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-00790, .

(b) Create a “signature” report that contains the licensee’s given name, the licensee’s license number, a brief overall description of the engineering documents to be signed and sealed and the SHA-1authentication code of the signature file,

(c) Print and manually sign, date and seal the signature report in compliance with Rule 61G15-23.003, F.A.C.,

(d) Transmit the signed, dated and sealed signature report to the authority having jurisdiction along with the signed, dated and sealed signature file. The signature file is considered to be signed and sealed if the signature file’s authentication code matches the authentication code on the manually signed, dated and sealed signature report. Each electronic file listed within the signed and sealed signature file is considered to be signed and sealed if the listed SHA-1 authentication code in the signature file matches the electronic file’s SHA-1 authentication code.

(3) The affixing of an electronic signature to engineering plans, specifications, reports or other documents as provided herein shall constitute the signing and sealing of such items.

(a) A Digitally created seal as set forth in Rule 61G15-23.002, F.A.C. may be placed where it would appear if the item were being physically signed, dated and sealed.

(b) The date that the electronic signature is to be placed into the document must appear on the document in accordance with Rule 61G15-23.001(5), F.A.C. and where it would appear if the item were being physically signed, dated and sealed.

(c) A scanned, facsimile, digitally created or copied image of the licensee’s signature shall not be used on electronically signed and sealed engineering plans, specifications, reports or other documents.

(d) The engineering plans, specifications, reports or other documents being electronically signed and sealed shall include text to indicate the following and place it where an original signature would appear if the item were being physically signed, dated and sealed:

1. The same information required by Rule 61G15-23.002(2), F.A.C. if a digitally created seal is not use,

2. The item has been electronically signed and sealed using a SHA-1 authentication code, and

3. Printed copies of the document are not considered signed and sealed and all SHA-1 authentication code must be verified on any electronic copies.

(e) Formatting of seals and text similar to that depicted below may be used.

1. When a digitally created seal is used:

 

 

 

2. When a digitally created seal is not used:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rulemaking Authority 471.025(1), 471.033(2), 471.008, FS. Law Implemented 471.025471.033(1)(d), 668.006 FS. History–New_______.

NAME OF PERSON ORIGINATING PROPOSED RULE: Board of Professional Engineers

NAME AGENCY HEAD WHO APPROVED THE PROPOSED RULE: Board of Professional Engineers

DATE PROPOSED RULE APPROVED BY AGENCY HEAD: February 11, 2015

DATE NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULE DEVELOPMENT PUBLISHED IN FAW: May 28, 2015