Section 43-15-29. Exceptions to operation of chapter

   (a) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as excluding a qualified architect registered in this state from such engineering practice as may be incident to the practice of his profession or as excluding a professional engineer from such architectural practice as may be incident to the practice of professional engineering.

(b) The following persons shall be exempt from this chapter:

   (1) A person working as an employee or a subordinate of a person holding a certificate of registration under this chapter or an employee of a person practicing lawfully under Code Section 43-15-21, provided such work does not include final design decisions and is done under the supervision of, and responsibility therefor is assumed by, a person holding a certificate of registration under this chapter or a person practicing lawfully under Code Section 43-15-21;

   (2) Officers and employees of the government of the United States while engaged within this state in the practice of professional engineering or land surveying for such government;

   (3) All elective officers of the political subdivisions of the state while in the practice of professional engineering or land surveying in the performance of their official duties; and

   (4) Officers and employees of the Department of Transportation, except as required by Title 46, while engaged within this state in the practice of professional engineering or land surveying for such department.

(c) This chapter shall not be construed as requiring registration for the purpose of practicing professional engineering or land surveying by an individual, firm, or corporation on property owned or leased by such individual, firm, or corporation unless the same involves the public safety or public health or for the performance of engineering which relates solely to the design or fabrication of manufactured products.

(d) This chapter shall not be construed to prevent or affect the practice of professional engineering and land surveying with respect to utility facilities by any public utility subject to regulation by the Public Service Commission, the Federal Communications Commission, the Federal Power Commission, or like regulatory agencies, including its parents, affiliates, or subsidiaries; or by the officers and full-time permanent employees of any such public utility, including its parents, affiliates, or subsidiaries, except where such practice involves property lines of adjoining property owners, provided that this exception does not extend to any professional engineer or land surveyor engaged in the practice of professional engineering or land surveying whose compensation is based in whole or in part on a fee or to any engineering services performed by the above-referenced utility companies not directly connected with work on their facilities.

(e) This chapter shall not be construed to affect the lawful practice of a person acting within the scope of a license granted by the state under any other law.

Ga. L. 1937, p. 294, § 20; Ga. L. 1945, p. 294, § 32; Ga. L. 1972, p. 222, § 12; Code 1933, § 84-2125, enacted by Ga. L. 1975, p. 1048, § 1; Ga. L. 1999, p. 81, § 43.