§ 7209 — Special provisions

§ 7209. Special provisions. 1. Every professional engineer, land\nsurveyor and professional geologist shall have a seal, approved by the\nboard, which shall contain the name of the professional engineer and the\nwords "Licensed Professional Engineer", the name of the land surveyor\nand the words "Licensed Land Surveyor" or the name of the professional\ngeologist and the words "Licensed Professional Geologist", and such\nother words or figures as the board may deem necessary. All plans,\nspecifications, plats and reports relating to the construction or\nalteration of buildings or structures, or geologic drawings and reports\nprepared by such professional engineer, all plans, specifications, plats\nand reports prepared by such land surveyor and all geologic drawings and\nreports prepared by such professional geologist or by a full-time or\npart-time subordinate under his or her supervision, shall be stamped\nwith such seal and shall also be signed, on the original with the\npersonal signature of such professional engineer, land surveyor or\nprofessional geologist when filed with public officials. No official of\nthis state, or of any city, county, town or village therein, charged\nwith the enforcement of laws, ordinances or regulations shall accept or\napprove any plans, specifications, or geologic drawings or reports that\nare not stamped:\n a. With the seal of an architect or professional engineer or land\nsurveyor or professional geologist licensed in this state and bearing\nthe authorized facsimile of the signature of such architect or\nprofessional engineer or land surveyor or professional geologist, or\n b. With the official seal and authorized facsimile of the signature of\na professional engineer or land surveyor or professional geologist not a\nresident of this state and having no established business in this state,\nbut who is legally qualified to practice as such in his or her own state\nor country, provided that such person may lawfully practice as such in\nthis state, and provided further that the plans, specifications, or\ngeologic drawings or reports are accompanied by and have attached\nthereto written authorization issued by the department certifying to\nsuch right to practice at such time.\n 2. a. To all plans, specifications, plats and reports to which the\nseal of a professional engineer or land surveyor has been applied, there\nshall also be applied a stamp with appropriate wording warning that it\nis a violation of this article for any person, unless he or she is\nacting under the direction of a licensed professional engineer or land\nsurveyor, to alter an item in any way. If an item bearing the seal of an\nengineer or land surveyor is altered, the altering engineer or land\nsurveyor shall affix to the item his or her seal and the notation\n"altered by" followed by his or her signature and the date of such\nalteration, and a specific description of the alteration.\n b. To all geologic drawings and reports to which the seal of a\nprofessional geologist or professional engineer has been applied, there\nshall also be applied a stamp with appropriate wording warning that it\nis a violation of this article for any person, unless he or she is\nacting under the direction of a professional geologist or professional\nengineer, to alter a drawing or report in any way. If an item bearing\nthe seal of a licensed professional geologist or professional engineer\nis altered, the altering party shall affix to the item his or her seal\nand the notation "altered by" followed by his or her signature and the\ndate of such alteration, and a specific description of the alteration.\nNothing contained in this article shall be deemed to authorize a\nprofessional geologist to practice professional engineering unless he or\nshe is licensed as a professional engineer pursuant to this article.\n 3. No county, city, town or village or other political subdivision of\nthis state shall engage in the construction or maintenance of any public\nwork involving engineering or land surveying for which plans,\nspecifications and estimates have not been made by, and the construction\nand maintenance supervised by, a professional engineer or land surveyor;\nprovided that this section shall not apply to the construction,\nimprovement or maintenance of county roads or town highways, nor to any\nother public works wherein the contemplated expenditure for the\ncompleted project does not exceed five thousand dollars. This section\nshall not be construed as affecting or preventing any county, city, town\nor village or other political subdivision of this state from engaging an\narchitect licensed in this state for the preparation of plans,\nspecifications and estimates for and the supervision of construction or\nmaintenance of public works.\n 4. Engineers, land surveyors, geologists, architects, and landscape\narchitects may join in the formation of a joint enterprise, or a\npartnership or a professional service corporation or a design\nprofessional service corporation or may form any desired combination of\nsuch professions and may use in the name of such corporation the title\nof any of the professions which will be practiced. After the name of\neach member his or her profession shall be indicated.\n 5. A firm name may be continued by employees having at least fifteen\nyears of continuous service if the retired members and legal\nrepresentatives of deceased members consent to such continuance.\n 6. It shall be lawful for a corporation organized and existing under\nthe laws of the state of New York which on the fifteenth day of April,\nnineteen hundred thirty-five and continuously thereafter, was lawfully\npracticing engineering or land surveying in New York state, to continue\nsuch practice provided that the chief executive officer shall be a\nprofessional engineer licensed under this article, if practicing\nengineering, or a land surveyor licensed under this article, if\npracticing land surveying, and provided further that the person or\npersons carrying on the actual practice of engineering or surveying on\nbehalf of, or designated as "engineer" or "surveyor", with or without\nqualifying or characterizing word, by such corporation shall be\nauthorized to practice engineering or land surveying as provided in this\narticle. It shall be lawful for a corporation which, on account of or as\na result of requirements, restrictions or provisions of federal law, was\norganized subsequent to April fifteenth, nineteen hundred thirty-five\nfor the purpose of taking over an existing engineering organization\nestablished prior to such time and which has taken over such\norganization and continued its engineering activities, provided that the\nchief executive officer of such corporation shall be a professional\nengineer licensed under this article and provided further, that the\nperson or persons carrying on the actual practice of engineering on\nbehalf of, or designated as "engineer", with or without qualifying or\ncharacterizing word, by such corporation, shall be authorized to\npractice engineering as provided in this article. No such corporation\nshall change its name or sell its franchise or transfer its corporate\nrights, directly or indirectly to any person, firm or corporation\nwithout the consent of the department. Each such corporation shall\nobtain a triennial registration on payment of a fee of fifty dollars.\n 7. Nothing in this article shall be construed to apply:\n a. To the preparation or execution of designs, drawings, plans or\nspecifications for the construction or installation of machinery, or\napparatus constructed or installed by the corporation preparing such\ndesigns, drawings, plans or specifications if the supervision of the\npreparation of any such designs, drawings, plans or specifications,\nconstruction or installation is done under the general direction of a\nprofessional engineer or land surveyor licensed under this article; or\n b. To alterations to any building or structure costing ten thousand\ndollars or less which do not involve changes affecting the structural\nsafety or public safety thereof nor to farm buildings, including barns,\nsheds, poultry houses and other buildings used directly and solely for\nagricultural purposes; nor to residence buildings of gross floor area of\nfifteen hundred square feet or less, not including garages, carports,\nporches, cellars, or uninhabitable basements or attics.\n 8. Nothing in this article shall prohibit a corporation organized and\nexisting prior to the fifteenth day of April, nineteen hundred\nthirty-five under the laws of any state other than the state of New\nYork, the name of which includes the word "engineers", from obtaining a\ncertificate of authority to do business in the state of New York,\nprovided that the business proposed to be done by such corporation\nwithin this state, as set forth in the statement and designation\nprovided for by section thirteen hundred four of the business\ncorporation law, shall not include the practice within this state of\nengineering or land surveying.\n 9. a. Any person who knowingly damages, destroys, disturbs, removes,\nresets, or replaces any boundary marker placed on any tract of land by a\nlicensed land surveyor, or by any person at the direction of a licensed\nland surveyor, for the purpose of designating any point, course or line\nin the boundary of such tract of land in which he or she has no legal\ninterest, shall be punished by a civil fine of not more than five\nhundred dollars and shall be liable for the cost of reestablishment of\nsaid boundary marker.\n b. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph a of this subdivision,\na licensed land surveyor licensed under section seventy-two hundred\nthree of this article or a person acting at the direction of any such\nlicensed land surveyor, may remove an existing marker if substandard in\nnature in order to place an upgraded marker in the same location and\nshall note the same on the map of survey.\n