81-8,108.
LAND SURVEYING; DECLARATION OF POLICY; PROHIBITED ACTS.

In order to safeguard life, health, and property, any person practicing or offering to practice land surveying in this state shall submit evidence that he or she is qualified to practice and shall be registered as provided in the Land Surveyors Regulation Act. It shall be unlawful for any person to practice or to offer to practice land surveying in this state unless such person has been duly registered under the act.

81-8,108.01.
LAND SURVEYORS REGULATION ACT; ACT, HOW CITED.

Sections 81-8,108 to 81-8,127 shall be known and may be cited as the Land Surveyors Regulation Act.

81-8,109.
LAND SURVEYING; DEFINITIONS.

For purposes of the Land Surveyors Regulation Act, unless the context otherwise requires:

1. Board or examining board means the State Board of Examiners for Land Surveyors;
2. Land surveyor means a person who engages in the practice of land surveying;
3. Surveyor-in-training means a person (a) who is a graduate in an approved surveying or engineering curriculum of four years or more or who has had four or more years of experience in surveying work of a character satisfactory to the examining board and (b) who has successfully passed the examination in the fundamental surveying subjects and has received from the examining board a certificate stating that that portion of the examination has been successfully passed. The fee for such certificate and for the renewal of such certificate shall be set by the examining board; and
4. Land surveying means the establishment or reestablishment of corners and boundaries and the location of lots, parcels, tracts, or divisions of land, which may include distance, direction, elevation, and acreage, and the correct determination and description of lots, parcels, tracts, or divisions of land for, but not limited to, any of the following purposes:
1. To furnish a legal description of any tract of land to be used in the preparation of deeds of conveyance when the description is not the same as the one in the deed of conveyance to the current owner or when bearings, distances, or measurements are needed to properly describe the tract being conveyed;
2. To furnish a legal description of any land surveyed to be used in the platting or subdividing of the land;
3. To determine the amount of acreage contained in any land surveyed; or
4. To furnish a topographic plat of a lot, parcel, tract, or division of land and locating natural and artificial features in the air, on the surface or subsurface of the earth, and on the beds or surface of bodies of water for the purpose of establishing the facts of size, area, shape, topography, and orientation of improved or unimproved real property and appurtenances to the real property.

81-8,110.
LAND SURVEYING; BOARD OF EXAMINERS; DUTIES.

An examining board shall be established for the purpose of examining, testing and interviewing persons aspiring to become registered to practice land surveying. The examining board shall be independent of all other examining boards and is established for the purpose of determining the ability of persons coming before it to practice land surveying.

81-8,110.01.
EXAMINING BOARD; MEMBERS; TERMS; QUALIFICATIONS; REMOVAL; VACANCIES.

1. The examining board shall consist of four members appointed by the Governor who are duly registered under the Land Surveyors Regulation Act to practice land surveying and one lay member appointed by the Governor who is of the age of legal majority and has been a resident of Nebraska for at least one year immediately prior to appointment to the examining board. Such lay member shall be a representative of consumer viewpoints.
2. The members of the examining board shall be appointed to five-year terms. Each member shall serve until the appointment and qualification of his or her successor. Each member appointed to the examining board shall receive a certificate of appointment from the Governor. Each member so appointed, prior to beginning his or her term, shall file with the Secretary of State the constitutional oath of office. The Governor may remove any member of the examining board for misconduct, incompetency, incapacity, or neglect of duty or upon conviction of a crime involving moral turpitude. Vacancies on the examining board, however created, shall be filled for the unexpired term of the member by appointment by the Governor;

81-8,110.02.
EXAMINING BOARD; MEMBERS; RESIDENCE; QUALIFICATIONS.

Each member of the examining board who is a registered land surveyor shall be a resident of the State of Nebraska for at least one year immediately preceding his or her appointment to the examining board, shall have been engaged in the active practice of the discipline for at least ten years, and shall have been in responsible charge of work for at least five years prior to his or her appointment to the examining board.

81-8,110.03.
STATE SURVEYOR; EX OFFICIO SECRETARY OF EXAMINING BOARD.

The State Surveyor shall be ex officio secretary of the examining board and of all committees appointed by the examining board.

81-8,110.04.
EXAMINING BOARD; MEETINGS.

The examining board shall hold as many meetings throughout each year as may be necessary to conduct the business of the examining board and to examine, within a reasonable time, the applicants seeking registration. An annual meeting of the examining board shall be held for the election of officers.

81-8,110.05.
EXAMINING BOARD; MEETINGS; NOTICE.

Notice of all meetings, including the annual meeting of the examining board, shall be in such manner as provided in the bylaws of the examining board.

81-8,110.06.
EXAMINING BOARD; OFFICERS; ELECTION; DUTIES.

The examining board shall elect from its membership at its annual meeting, officers for the coming year. The officers shall be a chairperson and a vice-chairperson. The duties of the chairperson shall be to preside at all meetings of the examining board. The vice-chairperson shall preside in the absence of the chairperson and shall, with the other officers, fulfill such other duties and obligations as provided in section 81-8,110.07 and the bylaws.

81-8,110.07.
EXAMINING BOARD; SECRETARY; DUTIES; LAND SURVEYOR EXAMINER'S FUND; CREATED; PURPOSE; INVESTMENT.

The secretary of the examining board shall receive and account for all money derived from the operation of the Land Surveyors Regulation Act and shall remit it to the State Treasurer for credit to the Land Surveyor Examiner’s Fund, which fund is hereby created. This fund shall be continued from year to year. When appropriated by the Legislature, this fund shall be expended only for the purposes of the Land Surveyors Regulation Act. When not reappropriated for the succeeding biennium, the money in this fund shall not revert to the General Fund. The fund shall be paid out only upon vouchers approved by the examining board and upon warrants issued by the Director of Administrative Services and countersigned by the State Treasurer. The expenditures of the examining board shall be kept within the income collected and remitted to the State Treasurer by the examining board. Transfers may be made from the fund to the General Fund at the direction of the Legislature. Any money in the Land Surveyor Examiner’s Fund available for investment shall be invested by the state investment officer pursuant to the Nebraska Capital Expansion Act and the Nebraska State Funds Investment Act.

81-8,110.08.
EXAMINING BOARD; RULES AND REGULATIONS; PUBLICATION.

The examining board shall make and adopt all bylaws and rules, not inconsistent with law, which are needed in performing its duties. Such rules shall be published in the roster of registrants as provided for in section 81-8,113.

81-8,110.11.
EXAMINING BOARD; MEMBERS; EXPENSES.

Each member of the examining board shall receive, when authorized, all necessary travel, meals, and lodging expenses incidental to the performance of his or her official duties or while attending national meetings or seminars as the official representative of the examining board as provided in sections 81-1174 to 81-1177 for state employees.

81-8,110.12.
EXAMINING BOARD; SEAL; ADOPT.

The examining board shall adopt and have an official seal, which shall be affixed to all registration and in-training certificates that are granted by the examining board. The dimensions of the seal shall be as provided in the bylaws.

81-8,110.13.
EXAMINING BOARD; REGISTRATION CERTIFICATE; ISSUANCE; REPLACEMENT CERTIFICATE; WHEN; FEE.

The examining board may issue a registration certificate or an in-training certificate to a qualified person. A new certificate of registration of a duly registered person may be issued to replace a certificate lost, destroyed, stolen, or mutilated, subject to the rules and regulations adopted by the examining board. A fee not to exceed fifty dollars shall be charged the applicant for the issuance of a new certificate to replace a previously issued certificate.

81-8,110.14.
EXAMINING BOARD; RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS AND APPLICATIONS FOR REGISTRATION; CONFIDENTIAL.

The examining board shall keep a record of its proceedings and a record of all applications for registration. The information and data retained by the examining board in its files for individual applicants shall be considered as confidential. The records shall not be available to any applicant or the public for any reason.

81-8,110.15.
EXAMINING BOARD; SUE AND BE SUED; LIABILITY OF MEMBERS.

The examining board may sue or be sued as the examining board, and its members need not be named as parties. Members of the examining board shall not be personally liable, jointly or severally, for any act or acts committed in the performance of their official duties as examining board members, nor shall any examining board member be personally liable for any hearing costs or court costs which may accrue in any action by or against the examining board.

81-8,111.
CODE OF PRACTICE; CONTENTS; BOARD; POWERS.

1. The Legislature hereby finds and declares that a code of practice established by the board by which land surveyors could govern their professional conduct would be beneficial to the state and would safeguard the life, health, and property of the citizens of this state. The code of practice shall include provisions on:
1. Professional competence;
2. Conflict of interest;
3. Full disclosure of financial interest;
4. Full disclosure of matters affecting public safety, health, and welfare;
5. Compliance with laws;
6. Professional conduct and good character standards; and
7. Practice of land surveying.
2. The board may adopt and promulgate rules and regulations to establish a code of practice.
3. The board may publish commentaries regarding the code of practice. The commentaries shall explain the meaning of interpretations given to the code by the board.

81-8,113.
EXAMINING BOARD; RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS; ROSTER OF SURVEYORS.

The examining board shall keep a complete record of all its proceedings which, together with all other records and files of the examining board, shall be filed in the office of the State Surveyor. A roster showing the names and places of business of all registered land surveyors shall be prepared by the secretary of the examining board each year. Copies of this roster shall be sent to all persons so registered and shall be furnished to the public on request.

81-8,114.
LAND SURVEYING; APPLICATION FOR REGISTRATION.

Applications for registration shall be on forms prescribed and furnished by the examining board and shall be filed with the secretary of the examining board. Such applications shall contain a statement, made under oath, showing the applicant’s education and detailed summary of his or her technical work, the applicant’s social security number, and such other information as the examining board shall require.

81-8,115.
LAND SURVEYING; EXAMINATION OF APPLICANTS.

The applicant for registration must pass an examination administered by the examining board which covers generally the matters confronting land surveyors as provided in the rules and bylaws.

81-8,117.
LAND SURVEYING; ELIGIBILITY FOR REGISTRATION; REQUIREMENTS.

1. No person shall be eligible for registration unless:
1. He or she has successfully passed an examination, designed to determine his or her proficiency and qualification to engage in the practice of land surveying. No applicant shall be entitled to take such examination until he or she shows the necessary practical experience in land surveying work; and
2. He or she (i) has not less than six years of surveying experience of which five years must be as defined in subdivision (4) of section 81-8,109, and three of such five years must have been in a responsible position as a subordinate to a licensed land surveyor, or (ii) has graduated, after a course of not less than four years in surveying, engineering, or other approved curriculum, with proportionate credit for lesser time, from a school or college approved by the examining board as of satisfactory standing and has an additional two years of practice in a responsible position.
2. For purposes of this section, responsible position means a position that requires initiative, skill, and independent judgment and does not include the position of chainman, rodman, instrument person, ordinary drafter, or other position performing routine work.

81-8,118.
LAND SURVEYING; APPLICATION AND REGISTRATION FEES; EXAMINATION FEE; FAILURE TO PAY FEES, EFFECT.

To pay the expense of the operation and enforcement of the Land Surveyors Regulation Act, the examining board shall establish application and registration fees. Total application and registration fees shall not exceed two hundred dollars and shall be in addition to the examination fee which shall be set to recover the costs of the examination and its administration. The board may direct applicants to pay the examination fee directly to a third party who has contracted to administer the examination. At the time the application for registration is submitted the board shall collect from the applicant a nonrefundable application fee. If the applicant successfully qualifies by examination, he or she shall be registered until April 1 of the immediately following odd-numbered year upon payment of a registration fee as set forth in the rules or regulations. After the issuance of a certificate of registration, a biennial fee of not less than five nor more than one hundred fifty dollars, as the examining board shall direct, shall be due and payable on or before January 1 of each odd-numbered year. Failure to remit biennial fees when due shall automatically cancel the registration effective the immediately following April 1, but otherwise the registration shall remain in full force and effect continuously from the date of issuance, unless suspended or revoked by the examining board for just cause. A registration which has been canceled for failure to pay the biennial fee when due may be reinstated within one year, but the biennial fee shall be increased ten percent for each month or fraction of a month that payment is delayed. Nothing in this section shall prevent the examining board from suspending or revoking any registration for just cause.

81-8,119.01
CERTIFICATE OF REGISTRATION; RENEWAL; PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT REQUIREMENTS; INACTIVE STATUS.

1. As a condition for renewal of a certificate of registration issued pursuant to the Land Surveyors Regulation Act, a certificate holder who has previously renewed his or her registration shall be required to successfully complete thirty hours of professional development within the preceding two calendar years. Any certificate holder who completes in excess of thirty hours of professional development within the preceding two calendar years may have the excess, not to exceed fifteen hours, applied to the requirement for the next biennium.
2. The examining board shall not renew the certificate of registration of any certificate holder who has failed to complete the professional development requirements pursuant to subsection (1) of this section, unless he or she can show good cause why he or she was unable to comply with such requirements. If the examining board determines that good cause was shown, the examining board shall permit the registered surveyor to make up all outstanding required hours of professional development.
3. A certificate holder may at any time prior to the termination of his or her registration request to be classified as inactive. Such inactive registrations may be maintained by payment of a biennial fee of not less than five nor more than fifty dollars as determined by the examining board. Holders of inactive certificates of registration shall not be required to complete professional development as required in subsection (1) of this section. Holders of inactive certificates shall not practice land surveying. If the examining board determines that an inactive registrant has actively practiced land surveying, the examining board may immediately revoke his or her certificate of registration.
4. A holder of an inactive certificate of registration may return his or her certificate to an active registration to practice land surveying by the applicant electing to either:
1. Complete one and one-half the biennial requirement for professional development. Such requirement shall be satisfied as set forth in the rules or bylaws; or
2. Take such examination as the examining board deems necessary to determine his or her qualifications. Such examination shall cover areas designed to demonstrate the applicant’s proficiency in current methods of land surveying practice.

Additionally he or she shall pay the biennial fee as required in section 81-8,118.

81-8,119.02.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS; RULES AND REGULATIONS.

The examining board shall adopt and promulgate such administrative procedures and rules and regulations as are necessary for the effective delivery and certification of all programs of professional development required in section 81-8,119.01.

81-8,120.
LAND SURVEYING; NONRESIDENT; REGISTRATION; FEE; SERVICE OF PROCESS.

A nonresident of this state who is registered as a land surveyor in another state may be registered under the Land Surveyors Regulation Act by filing an application with the secretary of the examining board and making payment to the examining board of a fee in the sum of not less than twenty-five dollars and not more than one hundred fifty dollars as set forth in the rules or bylaws. The applicant shall be required to take such examinations as the examining board deems necessary to determine his or her qualifications, but in any event he or she shall be required to pass an examination of not less than four hours’ duration which shall include questions on laws, procedures, and practices pertaining to the practice of land surveying in this state. Before a nonresident of this state is registered under the Land Surveyors Regulation Act, he or she shall first file a written consent that actions and suits at law may be commenced against him or her in any county of this state in which any cause of action may arise because of any survey commenced or conducted by such nonresident surveyor or his or her agent or employees in such county.

81-8,121.
LAND SURVEYING; REGISTERED LAND SURVEYOR; RIGHTS AND PRIVILEGES; SEAL.

The issuance of a certificate of registration by the examining board shall be evidence that the person named therein is entitled to all rights and privileges of a registered land surveyor and that the recipient thereof is admitted to the practice of land surveying in this state while the certificate remains unsuspended, unrevoked, or unexpired. The examining board shall provide for each person registered a seal bearing the registrant’s name and the legend Registered Land Surveyor. Plats, reports, and field notes issued by a registered land surveyor may be stamped with his or her seal or a facsimile thereof which is approved by the examining board during the life of his or her certificate. It shall be unlawful for any one to stamp or seal any documents with a seal or facsimile thereof after the certificate of the registrant named thereon has been suspended or revoked or has expired.

81-8,122.
LAND SURVEY; WHERE FILED.

When the county shall receive an official copy of a survey from a registered land surveyor or from the survey record repository established pursuant to section 84-412, such copy shall be placed on file in the office of the county surveyor in the county where the land is located. If no regular office is maintained in the county courthouse for the county surveyor, it shall be placed on file in the office of the county clerk.

81-8,122.01.
LAND SURVEY; FILING; CONTENTS.

Whenever a survey has been executed by a land surveyor who is registered under the Land Surveyors Regulation Act, a record of such survey bearing the signature and seal of the land surveyor shall be filed in the survey record repository established pursuant to section 84-412 if such survey meets applicable regulations. Surveys which are within the corporate limits of a city with a population in excess of fifteen thousand inhabitants as determined by the most recent federal decennial census or the most recent revised certified count by the United States Bureau of the Census and do not reference, recover, retrace, or reestablish the original government corners or lines or do not create a new subdivision are not required to be filed in the survey record repository but shall be filed in the county surveyor’s office in the county where the land is located if they meet applicable regulations. If no regular office is maintained in the county courthouse for the county surveyor, it shall be filed in the survey record repository. The record of survey shall be filed within ninety days after the completion of the survey, or within any extension of time granted by the office in which it is required to be filed for reasonable cause, and shall consist of the following minimum data:

1. plat of the tract surveyed,
2. legal description of the tract surveyed,
3. description of all corners found,
4. description of all corners set,
5. ties to any section corners, quarter corners, or quarter-quarter corners found or set,
6. plat or record distances as well as field measurements, and
7. date of completion of survey.

The record of survey so filed shall become an official record of survey, and shall be presumptive evidence of the facts stated therein, unless the land surveyor filing the survey shall be interested in the same. Plats or maps which are prepared only for the purpose of showing the location of improvements on existing lots, which are not represented as surveys or land surveys and no corners are established or reestablished, shall be specifically exempt from all requirements of this section.

81-8,122.02.
SURVEY; FAILURE TO FILE RECORD; EFFECT.

Any registered land surveyor who fails to file a record of survey as provided in section 81-8,122.01 shall be reported to the examining board which shall take whatever action, as provided in section 81-8,123, that it deems appropriate.

81-8,123.
LAND SURVEYING; COMPLAINT; PROBATION, SUSPENSION, OR REVOCATION OF REGISTRATION; GROUNDS.

The examining board may, upon its own motion, and shall, upon the sworn complaint in writing of any person, investigate the actions of any land surveyor. It shall have the power to place any land surveyor on probation or to revoke or suspend any registration under the Land Surveyors Regulation Act when the land surveyor has been found guilty of any of the following practices: (1) Fraud or deceit in obtaining a registration; (2) negligence or incompetency in the performance of his or her duties; or (3) misconduct in the performance of his or her duties.

81-8,124.
LAND SURVEYOR; SUSPENSION OR REVOCATION OF REGISTRATION; HEARING; NOTICE.

Before the examining board revokes or suspends the registration of any land surveyor, it shall give the registrant a hearing on the matter and shall, at least twenty days prior to the date set for the hearing, notify such registrant in writing. Such notice shall contain an exact statement of the charges against the land surveyor and the date and place of hearing. Such registrant shall be heard in person or by counsel before an examiner appointed by the examining board in reference to such charges. Such notice may be served by delivering it personally to the registrant or by sending it by either registered or certified mail addressed to his or her last-known business address as shown by his or her registration.

81-8,125.
LAND SURVEYOR; SUSPENSION OR REVOCATION OF REGISTRATION; HEARING; ATTENDANCE OF WITNESSES; RECORD; FINDINGS; ORDER; EFFECT.

The examiner shall have power to compel the attendance of witnesses and to administer oaths and shall take testimony and proof concerning the charges stated in the complaint. A complete record shall be made of all testimony taken and evidence received at such hearing, which record shall be filed with the secretary of the examining board. The examiner conducting such hearing shall make in writing complete findings and recommendations to the examining board. Thereafter, the examining board shall, in writing officially signed by all members concurring therein, make its findings, determination, and order in the matter. If the examining board finds that the registrant has been guilty of any of the practices set forth in section 81-8,123, the land surveyor shall be placed on probation or his or her registration shall be revoked or suspended. As a condition of probation the examining board may restrict the land surveyor’s scope of practice or require supervision of the land surveyor’s practice.

81-8,126.
ACT; APPLICABILITY.

The Land Surveyors Regulation Act shall not apply to (1) any land surveyor working for the United States Government while performing his or her duties as an employee of the government, (2) any person employed as an assistant to a land surveyor registered under the act, or (3) any professional engineer or person working under the direct supervision of a professional engineer licensed under the Engineers and Architects Regulation Act doing work which does not involve the location, description, establishment, or reestablishment of property corners or property lines or work which does not create descriptions, definitions, or areas for transfer of an estate in real property.

81-8,127.
LAND SURVEYING; UNLAWFUL PRACTICE OR USE OF TITLE; PENALTY.

Any person, firm, partnership, limited liability company, corporation, or joint-stock association who or which practices or offers to practice land surveying or uses the title of land surveyor in this state without being registered or any person not registered under the Land Surveyors Regulation Act who fails to file a copy of the plat and field notes as provided in section 81-8,122 shall be deemed guilty of a Class III misdemeanor.