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<\/a><\/p>\nSo, confident he had found a problem that needed to be addressed, J\u00e4rlstr\u00f6m bundled up his research and contacted Oregon\u2019s engineering board.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would like to present these facts for your review and comments,\u201d he wrote in a September 2014 letter. J\u00e4rlstr\u00f6m also noted his technical background in the letter, saying, \u201cI\u2019m an engineer.\u201d<\/p>\n
That proved to be a big mistake.<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t his research that interested the state \u2013 it was his referencing himself as an \u201cengineer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cORS 672.020(1) prohibits the practice of engineering in Oregon without registration \u2026 at a minimum, your use of the title \u2018electronics engineer\u2019 and the statement \u2018I\u2019m an engineer\u2019 \u2026 create violations,\u201d read the Oregon State Board of Examiners for Engineering and Land Surveying response.<\/p>\n
In the two years that followed, J\u00e4rlstr\u00f6m \u2013 who is not licensed as an engineer in Oregon \u2013 was accused of misrepresenting himself, and his year of collecting data \u2013 on his own time, free of charge \u2013 characterized as possibly having \u201cengaged in unlicensed engineering work in Oregon.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to the National Council of Examiners of Engineering and Surveying, there were 481,717 licensed engineers in the U.S. in 2016, but about 2 million people actually practice engineering, according to the National Society of Professional Engineers. Even Oregon State University\u2019s 45 faculty members of the Civil and Construction Engineering department only has 13 members who have engineering licenses, reported KOIN News.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not practicing engineering, I\u2019m just using basic mathematics and physics, Newtonian laws of motion, to make calculations and talk about what I found,\u201d J\u00e4rlstr\u00f6m said.<\/p>\n
The board insisted the citizen-engineer was legally prohibited from publishing or presenting his findings.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have stated I was a Swedish electronics engineer, but I based all the things from freedom of speech. I was just talking. That\u2019s literally what I did,\u201d J\u00e4rlstr\u00f6m said.<\/p>\n
The board\u2019s Law Enforcement Committee assessed J\u00e4rlstr\u00f6m a fine of $500, which he paid in November. But this week J\u00e4rlstr\u00f6m struck back, filing suit with the help of the Institute for Justice, arguing Oregon cannot own the word engineer.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnyone should be able to talk about the traffic signals \u2013 if they\u2019re too long or too short or anything \u2013 without being penalized,\u201d said J\u00e4rlstr\u00f6m.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople like Mats aren\u2019t designing bridges. They\u2019re talking, and the state is punishing them for that,\u201d said attorney Sam Gedge.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd it\u2019s not just Mats. Oregon\u2019s engineering board fined an activist for publicly criticizing a power plant. They fined a retired guy who wrote to complain about home water damage. It\u2019s even launched an investigation based on a political ad. This is a major First Amendment problem,\u201d Gedge added.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnder the First Amendment, you don\u2019t need to be a licensed lawyer to write an article critical of a Supreme Court decision, you don\u2019t need to be a licensed landscape architect to create a gardening blog, and you don\u2019t need to be a licensed engineer to talk about traffic lights. Whether or not you use math, criticizing the government is a core constitutional right that cannot be hampered by onerous licensing requirements.\u201d<\/p>\n
The legal group\u00a0is representing J\u00e4rlstr\u00f6m at no charge and seeking no monetary damages.<\/p>\n
___
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