April 2014   REGION DIRECTOR'S REPORT Board Tackles Strategic Topics; Elects 11 Distinguished Members; Votes on LA Section’s Proposal to Form 501(c)6 Jennifer Epp, P.E., M.ASCE, your Region 9 Director, is a member of the Los Angeles Section and is a Water Resources Control Engineer with the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board in San Luis Obispo, California. Jennifer represented you at the the March 21-22, 2014, ASCE Board of Direction meeting, which was held in Arlington, Virginia. Jennifer and her fellow ASCE Board of Direction members dealt with a variety of issues, including the following: The Board began its meeting with a facilitated strategic planning session as part of its ongoing role to shape policy for the future of ASCE and the profession. In break-out groups, Board members were asked to explore the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and strengths (SWOT) of both the civil engineering profession and ASCE as an association. The groups then singled out what issues might be most important to tackle first and reported out. Results will be consolidated and further discussed and refined offline and at future meetings. Furthering its strategic approach under ASCE’s new governance structure of fewer Board committees and more communication, the Board participated in discussions led by three of the eight Board and Strategic Initiative committees.  Michael Mucha, P.E., M.ASCE, chair of the Committee on Sustainability, challenged the Board to consider whether ASCE could embrace a future in which civil engineers are defined not just by what they build, but also by what they don’t build. In another committee session, chair of the Raise the Bar Committee Blaine Leonard, P.E., D.GE, Pres.10.ASCE, sought feedback from the Board on the potential for a new, more robust approach in leading the charge to adopt the NCEES model law, and its increased education requirements for licensure, in a number of states. The Board will explore the possibilities further at its July meeting. In her time before the Board, Committee on Advancing the Profession (CAP) chair Renee Schwecke, P.E., M.ASCE, touched on topics ranging from technologist credentialing to diversity in the profession. The Board asked CAP to study the possible development of an ASCE policy on the issue of allowing engineers to sit for the P.E. exam prior to the completion of the experiential requirement, a provision that is now part of the NCEES Model Law. The nature of the P.E. exam itself will likely become a focus for study as well. The question arises whether the exam truly tests content that one learns from experience.  After careful deliberation, the  Board voted not to approve a proposal from the Los Angeles Section to create a new, parallel 501(c)6 organization, which would have allowed the Section to do unlimited lobbying and potentially gain greater access to public policy discussions with lawmakers through the establishment of a Political Action Committee (PAC). Prior to the vote, there was robust discussion, reflecting a range of views among Board members. There was widespread belief that the Society should enable self-governance of its units to the greatest degree possible, and a belief that the LA Section leaders had done an admirable job of presenting their case. On the other hand, there was great concern expressed that a PAC with ASCE’s name, even if just a local or regional entity, risked irrevocably altering ASCE’s stature as a non-partisan, non-political organization.   The Board elected 11 members to the grade of Distinguished Member. Other than president, Distinguished Member is the highest honor the Society bestows on an individual. Congratulations to the newest Distinguished Member from Region 9, Anne S. Kiremidjian, Ph.D., Dist.M.ASCE (EMI, San Francisco Section). In an executive session, the Board discussed the task ahead to find a new executive director to succeed Pat Natale, who will be retiring at the end of 2014. The Board identified what it believes are the most important qualifications for this position, and provided input for use by the search committee, chaired by Past President Greg DiLoreto. The search is now underway and applications are due May 31. See www.asce.org/EDsearch for more information. Board members are interested in your views on the issues they are considering. To share your views, or other ideas on how ASCE can better serve its members and the profession, please  email Jennifer.  REGION 9 WATER COMMITTEE Legislature needs to do ‘more, much more’ to address record drought In an April report, the chair of Region 9’s water committee, Mark Norton, P.E., F.ASCE, details the latest action by California to tackle the state’s massive drought challenges, including passage of emergency legislation totaling $687.4 million. “Our committee is supportive of the recent legislative action that authorizes expedited funding for projects and programs to address the dire water needs of communities hit so hard by the drought across the State. Still we recognize that more, much more needs to be done,” Norton writes.  “The $11.1 billion California Water Bond originally proposed for the State ballot back in 2010 has been postponed twice and will again be considered for Nov. 2014. … If passed, such an influx of funding would go a long way to boost water infrastructure.”   Read the report>>          LOS ANGELES SECTION First ‘Eggstravaganza’ for school students by younger members is a hit Photo courtesy Sabrina Rivera, Los Angeles YMF Los Angeles fourth graders watch as their balloon carrying an egg aloft floats above them inside City Hall, part of the first Egg Drop Eggstravaganza hosted by the Los Angeles Younger Member Forum and members of the L.A. City Council. “The idea started out as a casual comment during an MLAB Government Affairs Committee (GAC) meeting,” writes the event coordinator, Sabrina Rivera, EIT, A.M.ASCE. “It quickly grew to be one of the largest and most successful events of the year!”  Article, more photos>>     Section website>>  SACRAMENTO SECTION Region 9 Legislative Advocate offers update on state infrastructure action Deferred maintenance of infrastructure across California totals $64.6 billion, according to the five-year infrastructure plan issued in January by Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration, reports Richard Markuson, A.M.ASCE, Region 9 legislative advocate in his April Legislative Update. As a starting point for the Legislature, Brown’s budget proposal puts a small dent in that maintenance need by allocating $815 million. Of the more that 2,100 bills pending in the Legislature, 113 relevant to civil engineering are being reviewed by Region 9 committees, Markuson reports.  Read the Legislative Update>>    Section website>> LOS ANGELES SECTION Los Angeles inventories vulnerable structures A multifaceted project in Los Angeles seeks to assess the performance of older concrete buildings in earthquakes and develop an accurate inventory of structures that remain vulnerable. Learn about the Grand Challenge Project in ASCE’s online Civil Engineering magazine. Read story>>  Outreach event? Concrete Canoe? Let us know and we'll announce it here! Spring is here (in much of the world), and we're moving into a very busy time of year. If you’re a local ASCE leader and your Section, Branch, Younger Member Group, or Student Chapter has staged any special events, engaged in outreach from grade-school kids to lawmakers, ramped up for Concrete Canoe regionals, or anything of the sort, let ASCEnews Weekly know and we may include it in next month’s Region report. You may already have written about it and posted pictures in your newsletter, website, or social media. Share the details and any photos at asce.org/localnews. Got questions? Write to submissions@asce.org. Missed last month's Region 9 update? See the March edition of News Around Region 9 Share this page via social media and email: