Gov. Hutchinson details issues of special legislative session.

Thu, 21 May 2015 20:22:47 GMT

Gov. Hutchinson also wants lawmakers to pass several government efficiency items on his list, which would combine four government offices into four other already existing offices. Hutchinson says the move could save taxpayers $10 to $12 million dollars over five years.

“In managing government, small things matter and can add up,” said Hutchinson.

Gov. Hutchinson wants to merge the Division of Land Survey into the Arkansas Geographic Information Office. The plan also calls for merging Arkansas Building Authority into Department of Finance Management Services and merging Arkansas Department of Rural Services and Arkansas Science and Technology Authority into Arkansas Economic Development Commission.

AGENCY MERGERS

The governor also is asking the Legislature to consider merging the Arkansas Department of Rural Services and the Arkansas Science and Technology Authority with the Arkansas Economic Development Commission.

Also targeted for consolidation are the Arkansas Building Authority with the Department of Finance and Administration and the Land Survey Division with the Arkansas Geographic Information Office.

A state Department of Finance and Administration preliminary estimate of the proposed reorganization shows that 19 positions could be eliminated immediately with total immediate savings of $1.4 million and that 15 positions could be eliminated through attrition with possible total savings of $1.08 million, according to a department document obtained under the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act.

I can hardly wait,

DDSM

Wed, 27 May 2015 22:37:51 GMT

Does this mean surveyors will only have to meet GIS standards? They seem to be about 1 mile +-.

Sat, 30 May 2015 00:58:18 GMT

So since we are now a member of the Arkansas Geographic Information Office can someone please tell me who (our lobbyist?) is going to fix this mistake, and why were we not made aware of this issue before it happened? I am afraid that whoever dropped the ball on this may have hurt our profession more than anyone thought possible.

Sun, 31 May 2015 05:17:19 GMT

Quote:

Originally posted by K. Hazelwood:

I agree 100%, the calendar shows an ASPS board of directors meeting scheduled for next Friday (06/05/2015). I hope that the membership will be made aware of ASPS's plan to address the matter.

Corey

Act 8 of the 90th General Assembly, First Extraordinary Session, 2015

Mon, 1 Jun 2015 15:29:46 GMT

AGENCY MERGERS – May 29, 2015 4:37:32 PM

Hutchinson also signed SB1 by Senate Republican leader Jim Hendren of Sulphur Springs and HB1001 by Rep. David Branscum, R-Marshall, to merge four state agencies into three other agencies, estimating the savings will be more than $10 million over five years.

"Small things matter when you are looking out after the taxpayers' money," he said, adding that the legislation cleared the Legislature with no votes against it.

SB1 and HB1001 fold the Arkansas Science and Technology Authority and the Department of Rural Services into the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, effective July 1.

The Arkansas Building Authority will be consolidated into the Department of Finance and Administration, and the Land Survey Division will move into the Arkansas Geographic Information Office.

After the news conference, Economic Development Commission spokesman Scott Hardin said the assistant director position and grants analyst position at the new Rural Services Division won't be filled. The division will report to commission Deputy Director Amy Fecher, the former director of the Rural Services Department, he said.

Decisions will be made in the next couple of weeks about eliminating positions at the Science and Technology Authority, he said. The authority's director, Tim Atkinson, will start his new job at the state Department of Higher Education on Monday, Atkinson said.

Shelby Johnson, geographic information officer for the Arkansas Geographic Information Office, said that "we will study the budget, workload, and personnel over the next few months to find efficiencies" in the Land Surveys Division.

"Any personnel change would be through attrition," Johnson said.

Tim Leathers, deputy director of the finance department, said finance department officials will be making decisions about eliminating positions through attrition at the Arkansas Building Authority during the next few months.

ATTRITION

at·tri·tion

/əˈtriSH(ə)n/

noun

noun: attrition

the action or process of gradually reducing the strength or effectiveness of someone or something through sustained attack or pressure.

"the council is trying to wear down the opposition by attrition"

synonyms:

wearing down, wearing away, weakening, debilitation, enfeebling, sapping, attenuation; gradual loss

"the battle would result in further attrition of their already lame naval force"

(in scholastic theology) sorrow, but not contrition, for sin.

http://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/assembly/2015/2015S1/Pages/BillInformation.aspx?measureno=SB1

Tue, 9 Jun 2015 16:00:22 GMT

Your ASPS Board of Directors met with Rett Hatcher, Executive Assistant to the Chief of Staff for the Governor, Asa Hutchinson, and Shelby Johnson, of AGIO, on June 5, 2015 to discuss concerns with this bill. There were several guests in attendance including several past ASPS Presidents, the new Executive Director For the Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Professional Surveyors, Heather Richardson, State Land Surveyor, Everett Rowland, Executive Director for NSPS, Curt Sumner, and other ASPS members. President Tom Jacobs lead the discussion, and Vice President Jay Young read a statement from the ASPS Board outlining the issues the surveying community has with the bill.

Board members asked Mr. Hatcher to explain how the bill was submitted and why the State Land Surveyor was placed as subordinate to GIS. Curt Sumner (NSPS) expressed why this bill had upset the surveyors on the national scene and how it sets a bad precedent for the surveying profession. Mr. Hatcher commented that the bill was nothing they specifically targeted toward surveyors, but more of an effort to broadly and quickly address the Governor's agenda. He stated that he understood most of our concerns expressed, and committed to future discussions to consider revisions to the wording. President Tom Jacobs appointed a committee to work with Shelby Johnson (AGIO) and the Governor's office to address our concerns.

Act 8 Committee members are: Lanny Beavers (Chair), Robert Martin, Scott Foster, Charlie Storey, and Danny Boyett.

We will keep our members updated as more information becomes available.

Tue, 9 Jun 2015 19:59:59 GMT

Thank you Lanny please keep us all updated on this situation. It is better to know that you are working toward an answer than to being kept totally in the dark. This definitely caught us all by surprise and hopefully be solved quickly.

Wed, 24 Jun 2015 09:24:24 GMT

As quoted from the Washington County Public Map System: " Washington County Public Map System County Disclaimer: These maps were created by Washington County using data created or acquired by its Assessor’s office, Dept. of Emergency Management, and Road Department and in accordance with Arkansas Code 15-21-502 (2) (B), which states “The digital cadastre manages and provides access to cadastral information. Digital cadastre does not represent legal property boundary descriptions, nor is it suitable for boundary determination of the individual parcels included in the cadastre.” and Arkansas Code 15-21-502 (6) which indicates that “Digital cadastre’ means the storage and manipulation of computerized representations of parcel maps and linked databases.” These maps have been developed from the best available sources. No guarantee of accuracy is granted, nor is any responsibility for reliance thereon assumed. In no event shall said Washington County be liable for direct, indirect, incidental, consequential or special damages of any kind, including, but not limited to, loss of anticipated profits or benefits arising out of use of or reliance on the maps. The parcel lines shown are considered a graphical representation of the actual boundaries. Washington County is in no way responsible for or liable for any misrepresentation or re-use of these maps. Distribution of these maps are intended for informational purposes and should not be considered authoritative for engineering, legal and other site-specific uses." These old law quotes were from the definitions section which now simply reads: "(5) "Digital cadastre" means the storage and manipulation of computerized representations of parcel maps and linked parcel databases;" and contains no such restrictions. I suppose that this has been taken out of the law completely. I can't find it anywhere. Let me know if you find it. Without this critical piece of the law, everything unravels. In the past, digital cadastre could not be used in place of a boundary survey by a professional surveyor. Now teams of technicians with no sacred trust have been propelled to a status ABOVE the professional surveyor. If the accuracy couldn't be proven last year, what has changed? This above all other considerations breaks the public land system. As of July first, all of Arkansas is in serious trouble. Anyone practicing surveying after July first has NO ABILITY TO PROTECT THE LIFE, HEALTH, AND PROPERTY OF THE CITIZENS OF ARKANSAS! I once spoke on these issues at an ASPS meeting about these very issues and was shouted at by the then ASPS president Tom Webb for the duration of my time. "you can't say that" he shouted repeatedly for as long as I spoke. This occurred during the meeting where our precious minimum standards were voted by your members to be decimated. The meeting in which I received my Professional Surveyor certificate. One of the worst days of my life. Only surveyors seem to know that land boundaries are a product of law and equity, not math and mapping. We now are facing the terrors that I foresaw so many years ago. God help us!

J. Scott Graber PS, Unemployed bum.

P.S. The emergency status of this legislation probably has to do with the smattering of city annexations which used parcel numbers and creative language in the legal description as was done with the City of Huntsville, Arkansas annexation. Tasked to put this boundary on the ground for a private citizen, my former company was unable to do so. The last job of a now defunct company, this situation destroyed my livelihood. Parcel numbers are a dynamic system subject to change. Deed and Survey records are a static system used since the founding of the United States of America. This legislation allows for coordinates to be used in lieu of metes and bounds. The latter holds over the former, but it opens the door to simply staking parcel data on the ground. This is NOT surveying, and surveyors should NEVER do this. What's to stop GIS practitioners from doing this? Nothing. How can GIS produced pins be distinguished from Surveyor produced pins? I suppose they won't have caps.

Act 8 Committee Report?

Mon, 27 Jul 2015 16:16:53 GMT

Quote:

Originally posted by L. BEAVERS:
Your ASPS Board of Directors met with Rett Hatcher, Executive Assistant to the Chief of Staff for the Governor, Asa Hutchinson, and Shelby Johnson, of AGIO, on June 5, 2015 to discuss concerns with this bill. There were several guests in attendance including several past ASPS Presidents, the new Executive Director For the Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Professional Surveyors, Heather Richardson, State Land Surveyor, Everett Rowland, Executive Director for NSPS, Curt Sumner, and other ASPS members. President Tom Jacobs lead the discussion, and Vice President Jay Young read a statement from the ASPS Board outlining the issues the surveying community has with the bill.

Act 8 Committee members are: Lanny Beavers (Chair), Robert Martin, Scott Foster, Charlie Storey, and Danny Boyett.

We will keep our members updated as more information becomes available.

Lanny,

Does the committee have anything to report?

DDSM

Act 8 Committee Report?

Wed, 26 Aug 2015 14:07:43 GMT

Dear ASPS Act 8 Committee,

I guess the work of this committee is so top secret that the rank and file members may never know what took, or is taking, place. Maybe I should just give up and join The Arkansas GIS Users Forum http://www.argisusers.org/

Take a look at this agenda for the 2015 Arkansas GIS Users Forum Training and Symposium – ROCK’IN GIS: http://media.wix.com/ugd/3b44a6_f87a26f7e767407481c9b7e3c76b3c76.pdf

Thursday, Sept. 3, 2015@ 10:45 in the Manning room – Migration of the Division of Land Surveyors to the Arkansas GIS Office.

Thursday, Sept. 3, 2015@ 2:15 in the Hoffman room – ArcGIS for Land Records.

Thursday, Sept. 3, 2015@ 3:30 in the Hoffman room – Field to Finish: The GLO Notes in the 21^st Century.

I wonder if Shelby has discussed with the PELS board the acceptability of GIS “classes” for Surveyors’ continuing education? Wink wink.

Maybe ASPS should join ranks with the GIS Users Forum.

DDSM