STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
S. 4603 A. 7110
2011-2012 Regular Sessions
SENATE - ASSEMBLY
April 13, 2011
___________
IN SENATE -- Introduced by Sen. LAVALLE -- read twice and ordered print-
ed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Higher Educa-
tion
IN ASSEMBLY -- Introduced by M. of A. GLICK -- read once and referred to
the Committee on Higher Education
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to the practice of land
surveying
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 7203 of the education law, as added by chapter 987
2 of the laws of 1971, is amended to read as follows:
3 § 7203. Definition of practice of land surveying. 1. The practice of
4 the profession of land surveying is defined as practicing that branch of
5 the engineering profession and applied mathematics which includes [the
6 measuring and plotting of the dimensions and areas of any portion of the
7 earth, including all naturally placed and man- or machine-made struc-
8 tures and objects thereon, the lengths and directions of boundary lines,
9 the contour of the surface and] the application of rules and regulations
10 in accordance with local requirements incidental to subdivisions for the
11 correct determination, description, conveying and recording thereof or
12 for the establishment or reestablishment thereof, providing or offering
13 to provide professional services utilizing such sciences as mathematics,
14 geodesy, and photogrammetry, defined as the science or art of obtaining
15 reliable measurements through the use of aerial photography and/or other
16 active or passive sensor-based remote sensing technologies, involving
17 both a. the making of geometric measurements and gathering related
18 information pertaining to the physical or legal features on the earth,
19 improvements on the earth, the space above, on or below the earth and b.
20 providing, utilizing or developing the same into survey products such as
21 graphics, data, maps, plans, reports, specifications, descriptions, and
22 projects, including those in furtherance of the safeguarding of life,
23 health, safety, welfare and property of the public.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09300-01-1
S. 4603 2 A. 7110
1 2. Professional services include, but are not limited to, acts of
2 consultation, investigation, evaluation, providing expert testimony,
3 planning, mapping, assembling, estimating, deigning, supervision, and
4 interpreting gathered measurements and information related to any one or
5 more of the following:
6 a. Determining, by measurement, the actual or proposed configuration
7 or contour of the earth's surface or the position of fixed objects ther-
8 eon.
9 b. Determining, by performing geodetic surveys, the size and shape of
10 the earth or the position of any point related to the earth. A geodetic
11 survey being defined as the science of measuring the earth or large
12 portions of its surface; the determination of the earth's figure and
13 size.
14 c. Locating, relocating, establishing, reestablishing, or retracing
15 property lines or boundaries of any tract or tracts of land, road, right
16 of way, or easement.
17 d. Making any survey for a single lot or plot or for the division,
18 subdivision or consultation of any tract or tracts of land.
19 e. Locating or laying out alignments, positions or elevations for the
20 construction of fixed works.
21 f. Determining, by the use of principles of surveying, the position
22 for any survey monument (boundary or non-boundary) or reference point;
23 establishing or replacing any such monument or reference point.
24 g. Creating, preparing or modifying electronic, computerized or other
25 data, relative to the performance of the activities in the above
26 described paragraphs a through f of this subdivision.
27 3. Nothing in this article shall remove any previously granted legal
28 or regulatory rights or be construed as prohibiting a licensed land
29 surveyor from providing services for land planning, land use, land
30 development and/or environmental studies related thereto and the record-
31 ing or filing of documents with governmental bodies or agencies.
32 § 2. Subdivision 2 of section 7206-a of the education law, as amended
33 by chapter 32 of the laws of 1981, is amended to read as follows:
34 2. In lieu of the degree and experience requirements specified in
35 [subparagraphs (2)] paragraphs two and [(3)] three of subdivision one of
36 this section, an associates degree and eight years of practical experi-
37 ence in work satisfactory to the board may be accepted, provided that
38 each full year of college study in engineering or land surveying satis-
39 factory to the department may at the discretion of the board be accepted
40 in lieu of one year of the required eight years of experience.
41 § 3. Section 7208 of the education law is amended by adding two new
42 subdivisions q and r to read as follows:
43 q. The making of measurements utilizing the science of photogrammetry,
44 defined as the science or art of obtaining reliable measurements through
45 the use of aerial photography and/or other active or passive sensor-
46 based remote sensing technologies, except that any geodetic survey to
47 establish control points necessary to derive accurate measurements from
48 the imagery must be made by a licensed land surveyor. Any determination
49 of topography or contours, or depiction of physical improvements,
50 utilizing photogrammetric methods or other remote sensing technology by
51 persons not licensed as a land surveyor pursuant to this article, shall
52 not establish any boundary monumentation or boundary metes and bounds,
53 nor provide any measurement showing the relationship of any physical
54 improvements to any property line or boundary and all such products
55 reliant thereon must include a notification that states, "This was not
56 prepared under the direct supervision of a licensed land surveyor and
S. 4603 3 A. 7110
1 shall not be relied upon to establish boundary monuments or boundary
2 metes and bounds."
3 r. The following items are not to be included as exclusive activities
4 within the definition of surveying:
5 1. The creation of general maps:
6 (a) prepared by private firms or government agencies for use as guides
7 to motorists, boaters, aviators or pedestrians;
8 (b) prepared for publication in a gazetteer or atlas as an educational
9 tool or reference publication;
10 (c) prepared for or by education institutions for use in the curric-
11 ulum of any course or study;
12 (d) produced by an electronic or print media firm as an illustrative
13 guide to the geographic location of any event; or
14 (e) prepared by lay persons for conversational or illustrative
15 purposes. This includes advertising material and users guides.
16 2. The transcription of previously geo-referenced data into a GIS or
17 LIS by manual or electronic means, and the maintenance thereof, provided
18 the data are clearly not intended to indicate the authoritative location
19 of property boundaries, the precise definition of the shape or contour
20 of the earth, and/or the precise location of fixed works of humans.
21 3. The transcription of public record data, without modification
22 except for graphical purposes, into a GIS or LIS-based cadastre (tax
23 maps and associated records) by manual or electronic means, and the
24 maintenance of that cadastre, provided the data are clearly not intended
25 to authoritatively represent property boundaries. This includes tax maps
26 and zoning maps.
27 4. The preparation of any document by any federal government agency
28 that does not define real property boundaries. This includes civilian
29 and military versions of quadrangle topographic maps, military maps,
30 satellite imagery, and other such documents.
31 5. The incorporation or use of documents or databases prepared by any
32 federal agency into a GIS/LIS, including but not limited to, federal
33 census and demographic data, quadrangle topographic maps and military
34 maps.
35 6. Inventory maps and databases created by any organization, in either
36 hardcopy or electronic form, of physical features, facilities or infras-
37 tructure that are wholly contained within properties to which they have
38 rights or for which they have management responsibility. The distrib-
39 ution of these maps and/or databases outside the organization must
40 contain appropriate metadata describing, at a minimum, the accuracy,
41 method of compilation, data source or sources and date or dates, and
42 disclaimers of use clearly indicating that the data are not intended to
43 be used as a survey product.
44 7. Maps and databases depicting the distribution of natural resources
45 or phenomena prepared by foresters, geologists, soil scientists, geophy-
46 sicists, biologists, archeologists, historians, or other persons quali-
47 fied to document such data.
48 8. Maps and geo-referenced databases depicting physical features and
49 events prepared by any government agency where the access to that data
50 is restricted by statute. This includes geo-referenced data generated by
51 law enforcement agencies involving crime statistics and criminal activ-
52 ities.
53 § 4. This act shall take effect on the first of September next
54 succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law; provided,
55 however, that section two of this act shall take effect on the one
56 hundred eightieth day after this act shall have become a law.
