PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS’ DAY
Bringing strength in numbers to the State Capitol.
It is critical the voice of Florida engineers is heard, and the message resonates in Florida’s halls of power. Join us in Tallahassee for our annual Professional Engineers’ Day for an opportunity to be briefed on current issues that affect our profession. Legislators will join us for an update on issues and our team will set up groups to meet with individual legislators from your community.
Show your support for Florida engineers at our Capitol. If we don’t get involved, decisions will be made for us and affect the quality of life of people in this great state. Together, we can provide facts, knowledge and expertise to help guide legislators, to write and pass legislation that will be the best decisions for our growing state.
2023 Professional Engineers Days Recap
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, 2023, 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 that puts training into practice and was 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 PE’s in training from the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), the FES and ACEC Florida members attended over 60 meetings with legislators and legislative staff to discuss issues ranging from transportation, water resources, 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.
Members also examined fully funding FDOT’s Moving Florida Forward program, authorizing FDOT to utilize Phased Design-Build 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 were 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 $5,000,000.
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.
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.
Florida Senator Jennifer Bradley (R-6) speaks to FES & ACEC Florida members
FELI Class of 2023 on the steps of the Historic Florida Capitol
2023 Florida Senate President Kathleen Passidomo
