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Senate panel approves 5-year 'first step' licensure pathway for surveyors
Summary
SB 320 would create a five-year demonstration 'first step' license allowing apprenticeship and national industry certification to substitute for a four-year degree; the Committee on Commerce and Tourism reported the bill favorably after questions about workforce size, education requirements and moral-character language.
Senator Gates told the Committee on Commerce and Tourism that SB 320 would create an alternate licensure pathway for land surveyors and mappers by substituting industry certification, apprenticeship experience and a recommendation from a licensed Florida surveyor for the current four-year college degree requirement.
Under the bill as explained, the change would be a five-year demonstration project. An applicant who meets all Florida land-survey certification requirements except passing the Department of Agriculture examination would be issued a stamped “first step” or probationary license if the applicant holds a national industry certification in land surveying and receives verification of competence from a licensed Florida surveyor. The holder would be required to take the Department of Agriculture exam every other year; failure to pass by the end of the five-year period would suspend the first-step license.
Senator Gates said the bill responds to what he described as a chronic labor shortage in surveying, with roughly 1,000 open positions reported to him by industry representatives. He told the committee the shortage is exacerbated by an aging workforce and that licensed surveyors told him the four-year degree requirement can block otherwise competent candidates.
Committee members asked detailed questions. Senator Smith sought historical context on the shortage and asked about total current workforce numbers; Gates said he did not have that total but offered to find it. Senator Smith and others also asked whether the bill provides a pathway for applicants here on work visas; Gates said the bill’s qualification language applies regardless of an applicant’s immigration status. Senator Davis asked about the absence of any educational requirement; Gates confirmed the bill contains no degree requirement and relies instead on national certification, apprenticeship experience and passing the Department of Agriculture exam during the five-year term. Davis also asked about the bill’s “good moral character” language; Gates said that phrase mirrors existing Department of Agriculture practice and left its interpretation to the department.
After no amendments or debate, the committee reported SB 320 favorably. The roll call reflected the committee’s present members voting to report the bill; DeSigli and McLean were recorded as excused earlier in the meeting. The committee chair announced the motion passed and the bill was reported favorably.
