A bill for an act authorizing county boards of supervisors to employ firms of professional engineers as the county engineer.

HF 650 allows Iowa county boards of supervisors to hire engineering firms (rather than individual licensed civil engineers) as county engineers. This directly affects county governments and engineering firms that may bid for these contracts. The bill amends state law to permit boards to contract with a professional engineering entity, where the firm’s licensed engineers perform all required duties, while maintaining the same bond requirement ($2,000-$5,000) that currently applies to individual engineers. Counties must still approve the bond covering the firm’s engineers as if it were for a single engineer. This change provides counties with more flexibility in how they secure engineering services for infrastructure projects.