SB 2706 Mississippi Senate · 2026 Regular Session

Professional Engineers and surveyors; revise code sections related to.

SB 2706 merges the licensing of land surveyors into Mississippi’s existing board for professional engineers and surveyors. It revises definitions, increases application and renewal fees for both professions, and creates new rules allowing surveyors to enter land for work without criminal trespass liability (with limited civil liability). The bill also establishes a six-year term for board members, requires four quarterly meetings annually, and repeals separate licensing sections for surveyors. This directly affects current and future licensed engineers and surveyors in Mississippi by changing their regulatory structure and fees.

Bill status died 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Jan 19, 2026 Last action Feb 12, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

As Introduced → Current version · 10 edits

MAJOR

This bill expands Mississippi's engineering licensure to include land surveyors, creating a unified Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Surveyors. It establishes new definitions for surveying practice, increases fees for licensure and renewal, and creates protections for surveyors entering private property to perform their duties. The bill also repeals older surveying licensure sections and updates related statutes to conform to the new unified board structure.

Scope change

The bill significantly expands the scope of the Board of Licensure to include professional surveyors alongside professional engineers, creating a single regulatory body for both professions. It also extends protections to surveyors entering private property for surveying work, which was not explicitly covered in the original engineering-focused bill.

SCOPE

Created a unified Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Surveyors with six engineer members and three surveyor members, replacing the previous separate surveyor board structure.

Repealed Sections 73-13-71 through 73-13-105 which previously provided separate licensure provisions for land surveyors.

REQUIREMENT

Changed board member terms from four years to six years and increased required board meetings from two to four quarterly meetings per year, with removal provisions for missing two consecutive meetings.

Added civil liability protections for surveyors, limiting landowner liability for surveyor injuries to cases involving intentional tortious conduct by the landowner or their agent.

DEFINITION

Added comprehensive definitions for surveying practice, including specific activities like determining land boundaries, geodetic surveys, and creating survey data products.

Added new exemptions for county surveyors (those elected or appointed before December 31, 1983) and railroad employees performing surveying within the exclusive scope of their employment.

ENFORCEMENT

Created new Section 73-13-47 allowing surveyors to enter private lands without criminal trespass liability when performing surveying duties, with requirements to identify themselves and make good faith attempts to announce intentions.

FISCAL

Increased application fees from $75 to $150, renewal fees from $50-$100 to $100-$200, and certificate of authority fees from $250-$400 to $350-$700.

TECHNICAL

Added new Section 73-13-49 clarifying that certain activities like litigation support, utility work, and geology mapping are not prevented by the licensure requirements.

ELIGIBILITY

Updated surveyor licensure requirements to include multiple pathways based on education and experience combinations, ranging from bachelor's degrees with 4-7 years experience to high school diplomas with 12 years experience.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Jan 28, 2026

Upper · Passed

Title Suff Do Pass Comm Sub

upper

Jan 19, 2026

Committee

Referred To Business and Financial Institutions

upper

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors