(a) The term "responsible charge" directly
relates to the extent of control a licensed land surveyor or civil engineer
legally authorized to practice land surveying (hereinafter referred to as
"legally authorized civil engineer") is required to maintain while exercising
independent control and direction of land surveying work or services and the
land surveying decisions which can be made only by a licensed land surveyor or
legally authorized civil engineer.
(1) Extent
of Control. The extent of control necessary to be in responsible charge shall
be such that the land surveyor or legally authorized civil engineer:
(A) Makes or review and approves the land
surveying decisions defined and described in subdivision (a)(2)
below.
(B) In making or reviewing
and approving the land surveying decisions, determines the applicability of
survey criteria and technical recommendations provided by others before
incorporating such criteria or recommendations.
(2) Land Surveying Decisions. The term
"responsible charge" relates to land surveying decisions within the purview of
the Professional Land Surveyors' Act.
Land surveying decisions which must be made by and are the
responsibility of the land surveyor or legally authorized civil engineer in
responsible charge are those decisions concerning permanent or temporary work
which could create a hazard to life, health, property, or public welfare, and
may include, but are not limited to:
(A) Selecting the methods, procedures, and
tolerances of field work.
(B)
Determining calculation and adjustment methods.
(C) Determining and specifying the
information to be shown on maps or documents furnished in connection with land
surveying services, including the format of the information and the format of
the maps or documents.
(D) The
decisions related to the preparation of maps, plats, land surveying reports,
descriptions, and other land surveying documents furnished in connection with
the land surveying services.
(E)
Reviewing the sufficiency and accuracy of the work product.
(3) Reviewing and Approving Land Surveying
Decisions. In making or reviewing and approving land surveying decisions, the
land surveyor or legally authorized civil engineer shall be physically present
or shall review and approve through the use of communication devices the land
surveying decisions prior to their implementation.
(b) Responsible Charge Criteria. In order to
evaluate whether a person authorized to practice land surveying is in
responsible charge, the following must be considered: The land surveyor or
legally authorized civil engineer who signs surveying documents must be capable
of answering questions asked by licensees of the Board who are fully competent
and proficient by education and experience in the field or fields of
professional land surveying relevant to the project. These questions would be
relevant to the decisions made during the individual's participation in the
project, and in sufficient detail to leave little question as to the land
surveyor's or legally authorized civil engineer's technical knowledge of the
work performed. It is not necessary to defend decisions as in an adversarial
situation, but only to demonstrate that the individual in responsible charge
made, or reviewed and approved, them and possessed sufficient knowledge of the
project to make, or review and approve, them.
Examples of questions to be answered by the land surveyor or
legally authorized civil engineer could relate to criteria for measurement,
surveying methods, analysis, and conclusions made including, but not limited
to, the retracement of government surveys, interpretation and construction of
deed descriptions, conflicts between construction drawings and actual
conditions, determination of the proper control datum and epoch, application of
proportion methods, and analysis of evidence related to written and unwritten
property rights. The individual shall be able to clearly express the extent of
control and how it is exercised and to demonstrate that the land surveyor or
legally authorized civil engineer is answerable within said extent of
control.
(c) Successor
Licensee. In situations when the professional land surveyor or legally
authorized civil engineer in responsible charge of a land surveying project is
unavailable to complete the project, a professional land surveyor or legally
authorized civil engineer (hereinafter referred to as the "successor licensee")
may assume responsible charge of the project as long as the successor licensee
exercises the extent of control and assumes responsibility for the surveying
decisions as required by subdivision (a) and meets the criteria described in
subdivision (b), as well as meeting the requirements of the Professional Land
Surveyors' Act and Sections
411 and
415. Except as provided in Section
8761.2 of the Code, the original
licensee is not relieved of any responsibility arising from the land surveying
services of which he or she was in responsible charge.
(d) Portions of Projects. Nothing in this
section prohibits a professional land surveyor or legally authorized civil
engineer from providing services for portions of or to add to or to modify a
land surveying project performed under the responsible charge of another
licensee as long as the professional land surveyor or legally authorized civil
engineer exercises the requisite extent of control and assumes responsibility
for the land surveying decisions as required by subdivision (a) and meets the
criteria described in subdivision (b), as well as meeting the requirements of
the Professional Land Surveyors' Act and Sections
411 and
415. The professional land
surveyor or legally authorized civil engineer need only be in responsible
charge of the portions, additions, or modifications or the portion of the
project affected by the addition or modification and not of the entire project.
Except as provided in Section
8761.2 of the Code, the original
licensee is not relieved of any responsibility arising from the land surveying
services of which he or she was in responsible charge.
(e) The term "responsible charge" does not
refer to any of the following:
(1) the
concept of financial liability;
(2)
management control in a hierarchy of land surveyors or legally authorized civil
engineers except as each of the individuals in the hierarchy exercises
independent land surveying judgment and thus responsible charge;
(3) such administrative and management
functions as accounting, labor relations, personnel performance standards,
marketing of services, or goal setting. While a land surveyor or legally
authorized civil engineer may also have such duties in this position, it should
not enhance or decrease one's status of being in responsible charge of the
work.
Notes
Cal. Code Regs.
Tit. 16, §
404.2
1. New section
filed 8-10-83; effective thirtieth day thereafter (Register 83, No.
33).
2. Change without regulatory effect amending subsection (b)
filed 4-19-99 pursuant to section
100, title 1, California Code of
Regulations (Register 99, No. 17).
3. Amendment of section heading,
section and NOTE filed 8-29-2005; operative 9-28-2005 (Register 2005, No.
35).
Note: Authority cited: Section
8710,
Business and Professions Code. Reference: Sections
8703,
8704,
8705,
8726,
8729,
8741,
8759,
8761,
8761.2,
8775.1
and
8780,
Business and Professions Code.
1. New section filed
8-10-83; effective thirtieth day thereafter (Register 83, No. 33).
2. Change without regulatory effect amending subsection (b) filed 4-19-99
pursuant to section 100, title 1, California Code of Regulations (Register 99,
No. 17).
3. Amendment of section heading, section and Note filed
8-29-2005; operative 9-28-2005 (Register 2005, No.
35).