Board approves moving retrospective rule package forward after clarifying 'responsible charge' language

The Tennessee Board of Examiners for Land Surveyors authorized staff Nov. 22 to proceed with a retrospective rule package and to set a rule‑making hearing after discussing several cleanups and clarifying language about who may be the registrant 'in responsible charge' of a firm or office.

Staff explained the edits were largely administrative and intended to harmonize cross‑references and remove redundant provisions already covered by statute. A central focus of debate was the language that previously used the term 'resident' in connection with a registrant 'in responsible charge' of "each place of business." Several board members and counsel worried that the word could be read as a residency requirement (i.e., living in Tennessee) and suggested deleting it to avoid constitutional or competitive concerns. Chief counsel Laura Martin said the board could prioritize licensure and oversight without imposing residency requirements and recommended striking 'resident' while preserving the requirement that offices have a full‑time registrant assigned to that place of business.

Board members also discussed practical constraints (one registrant cannot effectively oversee an unlimited number of satellite offices) and agreed to additional clarifying language allowing multiple registrants to be in responsible charge of surveys for which they are qualified while retaining the requirement that each place of business have at least one registrant spending sufficient time there.

The board approved a motion to move the package forward and schedule a rule‑making hearing with the agreed edits (including striking 'resident' from part 4 and adding clarifying text to part 1). The motion passed by voice vote.

Next steps: staff will publish the proposed rule changes, set a rule‑making hearing and circulate the red‑lined language to stakeholders; counsel noted the edits are housekeeping in nature but flagged potential constitutional considerations if residency language is reinstated.