Geocolleague:

The new Texas Board of Professional Geoscientists (Board) needs as solid an estimate as possible of the number of geo license applicants, particularly those applying over the next 1-2 years, to facilitate fee determination, estimating revenues, and developing their operating budget. They need this estimate for ALL geos - in and out of state - planning to apply for TX geo licensure.

To assist the Board in compiling a realistic estimate of licensee numbers, AIPG-Texas Section has developed a "Licensee Headcount Survey" and is requesting that YOU submit the following information to us, to be compiled into a "headcount" database, from which we can derive numbers to submit to the Board. Your response needs to contain the following data in the form of TAB DELIMITED TEXT, formatted as follows:

last name TAB first name TAB middle initial TAB residence city TAB state TAB employer TAB grandfathering eligible (Y or N) TAB email (optional)

For instance, if you are Robert T. Hill, live in Prairie, TX, work for the USGS, believe you're grandfather license eligible, and have email, your response will be:

Hill Robert T Prairie TX USGS Y black&grand@usgs.gov

Following this format is CRITICAL to facilitating direct import of your response into the database we will use to estimate total applicant numbers. You do not need to (and we'd prefer you not) include anything else in your response other than this formatted text. If you do include anything else with your response, please keep it separate. Set off this response text string as a separate paragraph.

Please refer to the Licensure Act (SB-405) to determine if you are eligible for licensure, including under the grandfathering provisions. You can download a copy of the Act from the AIPG-TX website at: www.aipg-tx.org/anmviewer.asp?a=1 .

In short, the qualifications for licensure are: a degree in Board recognized geoscience discipline, 5+ years of qualifying work experience, professional references, and payment of a yet to be determined application fee. For details, read Subchapter F of the Act, in particular Sections 6.03 through 6.06. The grandfathering "window" is only open through 8/31/03 (Section 12.01(e). After then, an exam becomes part of the licensure requirements. Also, a license is required to practice in Texas after this date, unless exempted

IMPORTANT #1: You may receive this query from more than one source. It is being sent out by AIPG, AEG, AAPG, and several other professional geo-groups, but may subsequently be forwarded. If you receive it more than once, please reply ONLY ONCE. We need to avoid duplication!!!

IMPORTANT #2: Since many potential licensees are NOT affiliated with any of the groups sending this query out, they may not receive it. PLEASE forward this query to ALL of your co-workers and colleagues who may apply for licensure - even out-of-staters. Stress that they follow the instructions exactly and respond ONLY ONCE. The Board needs responses from ALL geos, not just members of the various professional societies.

Email your response to: geos-jkm@swbell.net

Questions can also be sent to this address.

Thank you for your rapid response to this VERY IMPORTANT survey.

AIPG-TX John K. Mikels, CPG, geos-jkm@swbell.net