August 10, 1939

Honorable

F. E. Rightor,

Secretary Texas State Board of Registration for Professional

Engineers P. 0. BOX 23 Austin,Texas

Dear Sir: Opinion No. O-1019 Re: Construction

of Reciprocity provision

of Act Regulating the Practiceof Professional Engineering.
This will acknowl.edge receiptof your letterof June 20, 1939, in which you submit for an opinionof this department, the que,stion

therein contained. Thequestion submitted, based upon SenateBill No. 74, Acts 1937,Regular Sessionof the 45th Legislature,

page 816, Chapter404, same being Article 327la,R. C. S. of Texas, 1925, ie as follows:

'Would you kindly advise if, in your opinion,it is necessary

that applicants

for registration

under Section21, and particularly those who present

a certificate of qualification from the National

Bureau of Engineering

Registration,

must complyalso with the requirements

of Section 13 that five references be given, or, to ask the questionin another way, Is the Board authorieed

to pass to registration, under Section 21, applicants who present certificates of quallficationfrom the National Bureauwithout other support ing."
Section 13 of the Act reads as follows: "Applications

for registration

shallbe on forms prescribed

and furnished

by the Board, shall contain statements

made under oath, showingthe applicant's education

and a detailedsummary of his technical work, and shall contain not less than five (5) references,of whom three (3) or more shallbe engineers havingpersonal

knowledge

of his engineering

experience.Honorable F. E. Rightor,

Page 2 (o-1019)

"The registration fee for professional engineers shallbe Twenty-five($25.00) Dollars,

Fifteen ($15.00) Dollars of which shall accompany the application,

the remaining

Ten ($10.00)

Dollarsto be paid upon issuance of certificate.When a certificate of qualification issuedby the National Bureau of EngineeringRegistration is accepted

as evidence

of qualification,

the total fee for registration as professional

engineer shallbe Ten ($10.00) Dollars."
Section21, known as the Reciprocity provision

of the Act, provides

that:
"The Board may, upon application therefor,

and the paymentof a fee of Ten ($10.00) Dollars,issue
a certificate

of registration

as a professional

engineerto any personwho holds a certificate of qualification

or registration

issuedto him by properauthority of the National Councilof State Boards of Engineering

Examiners,

or of the National

Bureau of Engineering

Registration,

or of any state or territory or possession of the United States,or any country

providedthat the requirement6 for the registration

of professional

engineers

under which said certificate

of qualification

or registration

was issued do not conflict with the provisions of this Act and are of a standard not lower than that specified in Section 12 of this Act."
The courtshave had no occasion to pass upon your question. To answer it, therefore, we must read the whole Act, in the light of familiarrules of statutory construction,

and determine therefrom

whether the legislature intended

to except

persons making application under the Reciprocity provision

of the Act,,Section

21, from filingan application meetingthe requirements of Section 13 of the Act.

There are other parts of the Act which aid in this respect. Section 10 of the Act reads as follows:

'The Board shall keep a record of its proceedings and register

of all applications for registration, which registershall show (a) the name, age and residence of each applicant; (b) the date of the application; (c) the place of businessof such applicant; (d) his educational and other qualifications; (e) whether.or

not an examination

was required;(f) whether the applicant

was.~rejected;

(g)'whether

a certificate of registration was ,granted;

(h) the date of theHonorable F. E. Rightor,

Page 3 (O-1019)

action of the'Board; and (I) such other information as may be deemednecessary,by the~Board.
"The recordsof the Board shallbe available to the public at all times and shallbe prima facie evidence of the proceedings of the Board set forth therein;and a t&script thereof, duly certified

by the Secretary of the Board under seal, shallbe admissible 'In evidence

with the same force and effectas if the original

was produced."
Since the Act requires that the recordbe one of "all applications"

received

and that it contain ,certain specified-- formation,

,the logicalconclusion is that the.

legislature

intended that every applicant, withoutexception,,~ffle an application

containing that information. No tintion is made of application6 filed under Section 21. Had the legislature intended

to make an exception of the latterclass, we think it would have .sostated.
'The legislature

must have had some purpose in requiring that the recordbe "available to the public at all times." If
an applicant

under Section:21

were not required

to furnishsuch information,

then that purpose,

whatever it was, would be defeated.
Under the general.requirements for registration,

to which there Is no exception made in the Act, is included Section 12(o) which reads ,in

part: "Provided,

that no person shallbe eligiblefor registration

as a professional

engineer

who is not of good character

and reputation;

. . ."
'Theobvious'purpose~of the legislature

in requiring

lettersof reference (see Section 13) was to enable the board to satisfyitself as to the character and reputation

of an applicant. The law contemplates

that the applicant

be of good moral character at the time he 16 registered. If an applicant under Section21'werenot required

to submitreferences, as set out in Section 13, the board would have .no

basis upon which to judge the character of the applicant,

as of the time of his registration.

The provisions

of Section 13 itself, indicate that the legislature

intended

that all applications should contain

the same information.

The last sentence

of Section 13 refers to the amount of the fee to be paid by an applicant under Section 21, whose certificate

Issued by the National

Bureau of Engineering, is acceptedas evidence

of his qualification.It is to be observed that this sentenceis a part of the very section which also provides What shallbe contained in an application. If the legislature. . -.

Honorable

F. E. Rightor,

Page 4 (O-1019)

had intended

that there be.a difference betweenthe applications in the two instances, we must presume it would have said so. Instead, It started

Section 13 off with the word "applications", thus showingits intention that it be read "all applications".

For:the foregoing

reasons,it is .our conclusion

that an applicant

for a certificate

of registration

8s a,professional engineer in Texas, seekingregistration under Section21 of the Act,,nust

fully complywith the.provisions of Section 13 of the Act.

It follows .that, in the opinionof this department,applicantsfor registration under Section21 of the Act under discussion

must gives

five references

as required

by Section 13, or to answer your question phrased in the alternative, the Board ia not authorized

to pass .to

registration

such applicants

without requiring

completefulfillment of the minimumrequirements set out for applications in Section 13 of the Act.

Yours very truly

ATIORREY

GENEXULOFTFXAS

By fsf James Noel

James Noel Assistant

JN:FL:I.M

, This opinionha6 been considered in conference,

approved and orderedrecorded.

/s/.Gerald C, Mann Gerald C,.

Manu A’ !3ORN?IX GENE3ALOFTEXAS