2024 Boards and Commissions

Nebraska Board of Engineers and Architects

General Information

Formal Name:Nebraska Board of Engineers and Architects
Contact Person:Jon Wilbeck, Executive Director; PO Box 95165, Lincoln NE 68509-5165; 402-471-3060
Purpose:The Board of Engineers and Architects was created to administer the Engineers and Architects Regulation Act which governs the practices of engineering and architecture in the State of Nebraska through licensure and regulation. The mission of the Board of Engineers and Architects is to establish requirements for education, experience, examination and enforcement for the practices of engineering and architecture through timely and quality regulatory services. A thorough review of applications and complaints is fundamental in meeting our mission. Information is an integral element of our enforcement component.
How Many Affectable:Safeguards life, health, property, and promotes public welfare of those in the State of Nebraska
How Many Served:Approximately 9,200 professional engineers, 1,950 architects, 2,450 organizations, 16 temporary engineeringarchitect permit holders, 180 engineer examinees, 1,200 engineer and architect emeritus (at end of FY23-24 fiscal year).
Year Created:Statutes cited in the Engineers and Architects Regulation Act, enacted by the Nebraska Legislature in 1997 named the Board as the Board of Engineers and Architects and replaced statutory provisions first enacted in 1937, which created the Board of Ex
Year Active:1937
Sunset Date:NA

Authorization

Authorization Citation: 81-3401 to 81-3455
Parent Agency:NA

Memberships and Meetings

Number Of Members:8
Who Appoints:Governor
Legislative Approval:NA
Qualifications Of Members:Three architect members, two appointed after consulting with the appropriate architectural professional organizations and one education member who is a faculty member of the University of Nebraska appointed upon the recommendation of the Dean of Architecture of the University of Nebraska; four professional engineer members, three appointed after consulting with the appropriate engineering professional organizations and one education member who is a faculty member of the University of Nebraska appointed upon the recommendation of the Dean of Engineering of the University of Nebraska; and one public member. Each member of the board shall be a citizen of the United States and a resident of the State of Nebraska for at least one year immediately preceding appointment. Each architect or professional engineer member shall have been engaged in the active practice of the design profession for at least ten years, shall have had direct supervision of work for at least five years at the time of his or her appointment, and shall be licensed in the relevant profession.
Per Diem:$100day
Expense Reimbursement:Yes
Term Length:5 years
Terms Rotate or Expire At Once:Terms Rotate

Meetings Required In:

Required FY 21-22:1
Held FY 21-22:12
Required FY 22-23:1
Held FY 22-23:11
Required FY 23-24:1
Held FY 23-24:11

Operations

Support Staff:8 FTE
Shared or Separate:Shared - Expenses for the Board and for the programs overseen by the Board are paid from the same cash fund. The State Board of Engineers and Architects employs an Executive Director, and seven full time staff.
FY 21-22 Budget:$673,751
FY 22-23 Budget:$693,833
FY 23-24 Budget:$769,246
Other Funding Sources:None
Spending Authority: 81-3432

Accomplishments

Since July 1, 2020:In the 2020 Legislative Session, successful passage of LB755 amended the Engineers and Architects Regulation Act (Act) to primarily reduce unnecessary barriers to licensure. It removed the requirement that professional engineer license candidates need to gain four years of experience prior to sitting for their national engineering exam. Candidates still need to gain the four years of experience before licensure, but the board removed it as a prerequisite for admittance to the engineering exam. The bill also removed the requirement that architect license candidates apply to the board for approval to take the national architectural exam, while keeping exam passage as a requirement for licensure. The bill also added degrees from Canadian-accredited institutions as satisfying the education requirement for licensure for both architects and professional engineers.The Board has also updated and modernized its regulations on three occasions since July 2020. In addition to making necessary changes to its rules due to passage of LB755, rules changes included clarifying what information licensees need to include on a set of drawings or plans, removing the need for those who fail an engineering examination four or more times to present evidence of additional education to the Board, increased the amount of qualified educational debt the Board may repay qualified architecture and engineering graduates, additions to the licensee Code of Conduct, and revising rules related to a projects coordinating professional.The Nebraska Board of Engineers and Architects held special operational planning meetings on May 4, 2021, May 5, 2022, May 4, 2023, and May 24, 2024.Several board members have had the privilege to serve on national boards through their Nebraska-board appointment. Professional engineer board members Jan Bostelman and Jason Suelter served on the Board of Directors for the National Council of Examiners for Engineers and Surveyors (NCEES), and architect board member Lenora Nelson served on the board for the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB). Both NCEES and NCARB are organizations composed of state licensing boards like us, and primarily support and advance licensure in order to safeguard the health, safety, and welfare of the public.The Board continues to see large increases in its compliance workload. The Act mandates that projects of a certain size and complexity must involve licensees if the project constitutes the practices of engineering or architecture. Prior to FY2016-17, the Board averaged about 20 active compliance cases per year. Since then, and with increased partner agency support, the Boards active caseload averages 43 active compliance cases and reviews hundreds of plans for compliance with the Act per year. The compliance caseload was large enough that the Board sought and was approved to hire an additional FTE to assist with the compliance caseload.The Board honors newly-licensed architects and professional engineers with a ceremony at the Capitol each November. At the ceremony, the Board presents new licensees with their license wall certificate. The ceremony is extremely well-received by new licensees, their families, and architectural and engineering professional organizations; and is a testament to the states commitment to protecting the health, safety, and welfare of its citizens.In 2022, the Board began regular online webinars, held on a quarterly basis. Topics of these ranged from reviewing renewal and continuing education requirements for regulated licensees to reviewing Act requirements that stipulate when an architect or professional engineer is required on a project. The latter webinars were targeted to local building officials to both make them aware of the Board and to be a resource for project owners in their locality when a project involving the practices of engineering and architecture is built. In 2023, the Board reduced operating expenses by moving its licensee newsletter from a printed publication to electronic.