2023 Professional Engineers Day at the Capitol

BY ALLEN DOUGLAS

More than 130 members of the Florida Engineering Society (FES) and the American Council of Engineering Companies of Florida (ACEC Florida) gathered at the Florida Capitol on March 22, as a part of Professional Engineers Days, to meet with state lawmakers as they consider legislation that directly impacts the state’s engineering industry.

The group included 40 members of the Florida Engineering Leadership Institute (FELI) Class of 2023. FELI is a leadership program created to transition engineering professionals into community professionals and leaders within our societies, communities and workplaces. The program consists of six sessions held in key cities throughout Florida, and the third session coincided with Professional Engineers Legislative Days in Tallahassee.

Joined by 20 PEs in training from the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), the FES and ACEC Florida members attended more than 60 meetings with legislators and legislative staff to discuss issues ranging from transportation and water resources to structural and the recent attempt to exempt public universities from the Consultants Competitive Negotiation Act (CCNA). The language exempting the state’s universities was introduced the day before as part of the Senate’s budget package, meaning the language could become law without being heard in a single committee in the House of Representatives.

Florida Senate President Kathleen Passidomo

Members also examined fully funding FDOT’s Moving Florida Forward program, authorizing FDOT to utilize Phased DesignBuild as a method of procurement, and changes to last year’s legislation requiring milestone inspections of condominium buildings, all supported by FES and ACEC Florida.

Additional topics members discussed with legislators and their staff included a possible attempt to ratify a proposed Florida Department of Environmental Protection rule requiring unreasonable reductions in stormwater nutrients and the increase of statutory limits on liability for tort claims against state and local government agencies from $300,000 to $5 million.

Florida Engineering Society (FES) and the American Council of Engineering Companies of Florida (ACEC Florida) gather for Professional Engineers Days

The day concluded with an evening reception in the Old Capitol Museum, with many Florida House and Senate legislators attending, followed by a social hosted by the FES Big Bend Chapter at Harry’s Seafood Bar and Grille.

FELI Class of 2023 on the steps of the Historic Florida Capitol

This annual event is a vital component of the FES and ACEC Florida legislative program, and the leadership and staff of both organizations sincerely appreciate the efforts of those members who participated this year.