What do these men, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson have in common, other than being presidents? The answer is that they were all Land Surveyors before they were presidents. There is currently two bills (HB#.333) and (SB#386) in our state House of Representatives and Senate that would give well intentioned people, the right to survey land without state or national testing in our state. Land Surveyors including myself, have had to pass several tests (I personally studied two years on my own before I attempted this test), along with seven years experience in responsible charge to become licensed to practice the Art of Surveying in our great state. Others, such as as my son, have spent upwards of $100,000 .00 to obtain a surveying degree(required by law as of 2008) just to be able to take a portion of our test. They then have to have four years of practice and experience with a licensed surveyor to even sit for the last tests, before they can even become licensed! This bill proposes to allow individuals to survey in rural areas ( areas with less than 5,000 people) without testing or education. The bills author has implied that there is a shortage of surveyors in rural counties, and that the surveyors that do work in these counties charge excessive fees to go there. That is simply not the truth. The truth is that surveying in these rural areas can be very difficult for the professional. Usually costs are somewhat higher for these services because of the time it takes to drive to these areas and the difficulty in surveying rural lands (lack of maps, records or old surveys).
As our state grows, all rural areas will one day become urban areas, it would be a terrible injustice to the people of this state to depend on unqualified individuals to survey, what for most people, is the biggest investment, they will ever make.
In closing I would ask that you contact your State House representative and Senator to oppose these bills, as this is a message for disaster for our state.. As stated previously, when Washington, Lincoln and Jefferson surveyed our country it was very much rural, yet these were the types of men that they trusted to survey the most valued possession of all Americans.
S.Matthew Orrell
Professional Land Surveyor
V. P. Polysurveying