Senate file 96 would let professional licensing boards pursue discipline after licenses lapse

Senate File 96, presented to the Minnesota Senate Committee on State and Local Government on March 13, would give the Board of Architecture, Engineering, Land Surveying, Landscape Architecture, Geoscience, and Interior Design (and related professional societies) authority to pursue enforcement actions up to two years after a license has expired and make several administrative changes to licensure rules.

Committee member Senator Nick Hoffman, the bill's sponsor, told the committee, "I'm here to present for the next hour and a half Senate file 96." He said the bill has broad support from professional societies and outlined three principal reasons members back the proposal: retroactive enforcement against individuals within two years of license expiration, harmonizing authority with other boards and the Department of Labor and Industry, and simplifying licensure pathways for military applicants.

Why it matters: supporters said the changes would prevent people from evading discipline by allowing their Minnesota license to lapse, improve public protection, and align the board's authority with other licensing boards. Paul Brandt, a professional soil scientist and board member, said the board currently has "no way of informing other states of the bad practices that have occurred in this state," recounting cases where out‑of‑state licensees allegedly did poor work and left Minnesota before being disciplined.

Supporters also told the committee the bill would remove an age restriction for licensure equivalency, reduce the cost of temporary licenses for service members to $0, and broaden representation on the board. Phil Raines, representing the Minnesota Society of Professional Surveyors, said the bill "modernizes the statutes for the board and, helps us with military people coming in, helps us hold people accountable." Senator John Carlson, who identified himself as a licensed engineer, said he "encourage[d] a yes vote on this."

Action: The committee took no final passage vote on the bill. At the hearing's close Senator Hoffman announced that "Senate file 96 is laid over for possible inclusion," meaning the committee will retain the bill for further consideration but did not advance it that day.

Background and next steps: Testimony described the bill as aligning the board with authority already granted to other state licensing entities, including a 2019 grant of similar authority to the Board of Accountancy. No specific statutory citations were introduced during testimony beyond references to the board and to other licensing precedents. The committee did not adopt amendments or take a formal roll‑call vote on final passage during this hearing.

The committee hearing record includes written support from several professional groups, including the Society of Professional Engineers and the American Institute of Architects; witnesses said copies of those letters were provided to the committee.