Pub. 15 2022 Issue 1 • UCLS Foresights 9 As such, WFPS has researched what prices other FS prep courses are selling their information for, and we set our prep course lower than all of those. Setting this price point so low is to get more young people in our profession to move forward towards licensure. All WFPS member states only pay $199 for the program, and non-member states only pay $299. If you know a young surveyor struggling to pass the FS exam, have them check out the program at wfps.org/publications.html. 4.Scholarships and disaster relief fund: Sincemy last report in 2019, WFPS issued student scholarships to Nathan Mersino and Heather Keenan and awarded funds for disaster relief to an individual after losing her home to the California wildfires. More scholarship and disaster relief information, as well as the application forms, can be found at http://wfps.org/scholarships.html. In my mind, one of the biggest benefits of WFPS is the collaboration between the 13 states. For example, the UCLS may be struggling with getting a bill passed through the legislature, and maybe CLSA has already worked through its legislative process on the same issue. CLSA can give UCLS guidance, thoughts, ideas, and lessons learned so that the UCLS can hopefully get its bill through the legislature. Here are some highlights from each state as of our last meeting in Las Vegas prior to the last conference. HIGHLIGHTS FROMTHE 13WESTERN STATES ALASKA (ASPLS) SteveBuchanan – ASPLS co-hosted a virtual conference with HLSA. The conference was held at the end of April, featuring Gary Kent, Landon Blake, and Kris Kline as speakers, in addition to several Alaska and Hawaii-specific educational tracks. More information about ASPLS can be found on its website AlaskaPLS.org. ARIZONA (APLS) Mike Fondren – Current membership is 386. Last year APLS launched a firmmembership option in which firms can join a membership tier depending on howmany RLSs they have on staff, and all their survey technicians (associatemembers) are complimentary. This newmembership category has helped to get more survey technicians involved in APLS. In 2021, APLS successfully defeated a bill that would prohibit counties from requiring surveys as a condition for approving land divisions. The bill has resurfaced as HB 2554, and APLS is again on record as opposed. More information about APLS can be found on its website AzPLS.org. CALIFORNIA (CLSA) Ray Mathe & Kevin Hills – No report submitted. COLORADO (PLSC) Todd Beers & Steve Parker – Current membership is 408. PLSC continues to actively participate in Quality Based Selection (QBS) meetings. PLSC successfully amended a reciprocity bill to retain the requirement for the state-specific exam. There is a bill that would eliminate the position of County Surveyor from the state constitution, and PLSC is actively opposing the bill. PLSC introduced a bill to require real estate forms to include a line item for improvement location certificate. The Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) has voluntarily agreed to amend the forms, and PLSC has withdrawn the bill. GIS in the Rockies was held Sept. 28-29, 2022. PLSC continues to be active in outreach activities such as career days and guidance counselor events. More information about PLSC can be found on its website PLSC.net. HAWAII (HLSA) CliffYim– Current membership is 91. HLSA co-hosted a virtual conferencewith ASPLS, held April 28-30, 2022. The state of Hawaii has phased out most of theCOVID-19 restrictions. House Bill 2332 proposes an exemption on granting of easements on public lands from formal subdivision process.While the bill intends to facilitate the transfer of non-agricultural land from the Department of Natural Resources to the Department of Agriculture, HLSA is concerned regarding the vagueness of the language. HLSA isworkingwith the legislature to amend the bill for clarification. More information about HLSA can be found on itswebsiteHLSAhawaii.org. MONTANA (MARLS) Dick Smith & Russ Kluesner – MARLS 2022 Conference was held in February in Missoula, MT. Attendance was great, and people were happy to be back to in-person conferences. MARLS has hired a new website developer to maintain its website. The site is nowmore user-friendly. MARLS’ board approved funds to hire a lobbyist to assist with tracking bills that may affect the profession. MARLS continues to work on the update of its Standards of Practice manual, and the third edition of the MT Subdivision and Surveying Laws Digest is now available. More information can be found on its website MARLS.com. NEVADA (NALS) Trent Keenan & Greg Phillips – Current membership is 276. NALS membership continues to increase. NALS participated in the 2022 Western Regional Survey Conference with Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah and WestFed. The 2023 Conference will be held March 25-28 at the Silver Legacy in Reno, Nevada. There are currently 90 students enrolled in the Great Basin College (GBC) four-year degree program, and 12 will graduate this Continued on page 10
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