BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1177
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Date of Hearing: April 23, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS, PROFESSIONS AND CONSUMER
PROTECTION
Richard S. Gordon, Chair
AB 1177 (Bocanegra) - As Introduced: February 22, 2013
SUBJECT : Structural fumigation.
SUMMARY : Extends the sunset date for the Structural Fumigation
Enforcement Program (SFEP) under the Department of Pesticide
Regulation (DPR) for Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego Counties
to January 1, 2018, and removes Santa Clara County from the
program.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Authorizes the county agricultural commissioner (CAC) of Los
Angeles, Orange, Santa Clara and San Diego Counties to perform
increased structural fumigation, inspection, and enforcement
activities under the oversight of DPR using fees collected
from each fumigation performed in those counties. (Business
and Professions Code [BPC] Section 8698)
2)Requires an individual who performs a structural fumigation
treatment in Los Angeles, Orange, Santa Clara and San Diego
Counties to pay the respective CAC a $5 fee for each
fumigation treatment conducted at a specific building or
structure. (BPC 8698.1)
3)Requires the fees collected by CACs on behalf of the counties
participating in the SFEP to be used for the sole purpose of
funding enforcement and training activities directly related
to the SFEP. (BPC 8698.5)
4)Defines "structural pest control" and "pest control", unless
exempted, to refer to household pests and wood destroying
pests or organisms, or other such pests which may invade
households or other structures, including railroad cars,
ships, docks, trucks, and airplanes, and the advertisement,
solicitation, or performance of identifying, exterminating,
eliminating, controlling, preventing the infestation of such
pests, and making structural repairs or replacements, as
specified. (BPC 8505)
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5)Defines a "fumigator" as any individual licensed by the
Structural Pest Control Board (SPCB) as a structural pest
control operator or as a structural pest control field
representative in the branch of pest control which includes
fumigation, or the practice relating to the control of
household and wood-destroying pests or organisms by fumigation
with poisonous or lethal gases. (BPC 8505.14 and 8560)
6)Defines "fumigation" as the use of a substance to destroy
plant and animal life within an enclosed space that has a
vapor pressure greater than five millimeters of mercury at 25
degrees centigrade when labeled for those purposes. Lethal
fumigants include: methyl bromide, sulfur dioxide, propylene
oxide, sulfuryl fluoride, and aluminum phosphide. (BPC
8505.1)
7)Sunsets the SFEP on January 1, 2014. (BPC 8698.6)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Purpose of this bill . This bill would extend the sunset date
for the SFEP by four years to January 1, 2018, which would
allow the CACs of Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego Counties
to continue to collect a $5 fee for each fumigation treatment
performed in a household or structure within those respective
counties to fund local structural fumigation enforcement and
research activities. This bill also removes Santa Clara
County from the SFEP. This bill is author sponsored.
2)Author's statement . According to the author, "Absent
legislation, the SFEP lapses January 1, 2014. AB 1177 extends
the sunset date for the SFEP from January 1, 2014 to January
1, 2018. This bill allows for the CACs of Los Angeles, Orange
and San Diego Counties to continue contracting with the
Director of the DPR to perform fumigation, inspection and
enforcement activities."
3)Structural fumigation and toxic fumigants . "Fumigation" is
the use of a substance to destroy plant and animal life within
an enclosed space. Structural fumigation applies solely to
the fumigation of houses or other structures, such as railroad
cars, ships, docks, trucks, and airplanes. It does not apply
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to agricultural fumigation. To fumigate a home or structure,
it must be vacated and enclosed with a tent or tarps, and
after a fumigant is released the home or structure must remain
enclosed for a specified period of time to kill the pests.
Afterwards, the home or structure must be properly ventilated
before the inhabitants can return.
Structural fumigation is regulated primarily because it
utilizes large quantities of toxic chemicals, particularly
sulfuryl fluoride. Sulfuryl fluoride is a highly toxic
pesticide fumigant used to control termites and other pests in
homes and other structures. Sulfuryl fluoride is colorless,
odorless, and leaves no residue; if used incorrectly, it can
result in fluoride poisoning and cause illness or death in
humans. Los Angeles, San Diego, and Orange Counties are the
top three users of structural fumigation in the state, based
on the total pounds of sulfuryl fluoride used.
4)The creation of SFEP . The SFEP was established in 1993 as a
two-year pilot project in Los Angeles County in response to
the high number of substandard structural fumigations being
performed in Los Angeles and Orange Counties that were
negatively affecting the reputation of the local pest control
industry. Problems included operators who used the wrong
fumigant, neglected to follow safety procedures, or improperly
aerated a structure following fumigation. In response, local
pest control industry officials in Los Angeles asked CACs to
increase monitoring and enforcement of the structural
fumigation industry, and the SFEP was created to fulfill that
role in Los Angeles County. The SFEP was expanded to include
Orange and San Diego Counties in 1996, and Santa Clara County
in 2007.
The SFEP is an industry-supported program intended to increase
compliance among pest control operators and protect humans,
animals, plants, and the environment, particularly in areas of
high population density more vulnerable to exposure to toxins
because of poorer ventilation. The SFEP uses its
fee-generated revenues to pay for increased enforcement and
training activities, including hiring additional staff to
perform fumigation inspections, conduct undercover
surveillance, and research safer pest control methods.
5)Structural fumigation enforcement . DPR's enforcement of
pesticide use in the field is largely carried out by the CACs
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and their staff (approximately 400 inspector/biologists). CAC
biologists inspect home pesticide applications, such as
structural fumigations for termites, and check structural pest
control employees for proper training and equipment. Since
many pesticides are used in non-agricultural settings - such
as sanitizers in municipal water treatment plants or
disinfecting chemicals in food service facilities and
hospitals - pesticide laws may overlap.
Structural pest control companies are required to annually
register with the CAC before conducting business in that
county. Each of California's 58 counties may perform
fumigation inspections at the CAC's discretion, and may work
with DPR to determine a target fumigation inspection rate.
Some CACs may not perform structural fumigation inspections
due to a dearth of structural fumigations or prioritization of
other types of inspections.
Complaints relating to the use of pesticides, along with
consumer health and worker safety issues are filed with the
DPR. Individuals can file complaints about pest control
operators and the performance of their work with the SPCB,
which licenses and regulates individuals engaging in the
practice of structural pest control. SPCB licensees may
perform structural repairs or replacements and use pesticides,
insecticides, rodenticides, fumigants, allied chemicals or
substances, or mechanical devices for the purpose of
eliminating, exterminating, controlling or preventing
infestations or infections of pests. The main source of pest
control complaints generally originate from homeowners or
their real estate agents.
6)Enforcement funding . Under the SFEP, Los Angeles, Orange,
Santa Clara, and San Diego Counties impose a $5 fee on each
county fumigation treatment to fund increased enforcement and
inspection activities.
According to data provided by CACs participating in the SFEP,
the program allows CACs to increase inspection rates, but
total county enforcement expenditures still exceed SFEP
revenues. County pest control operator registration fees,
unclaimed gas taxes, county taxes, and funding from DPR help
cover the remainder of the enforcement costs. In counties
where the additional SFEP revenue is insufficient to allow for
hiring of any additional personnel, CACs are faced with the
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dilemma of balancing existing work plans with added fumigation
inspection requirements. For this reason, the SFEP has
historically been limited to those counties with the highest
number of fumigations performed.
7)Question for the Committee . Santa Clara was added to the SFEP
in 2007, but this bill would remove the county from the
program. According to the author, the Santa Clara County CAC
and pest control industry are still considering whether Santa
Clara County should continue to participate in the SFEP.
The Committee may wish to inquire of the author as to the
rationale for removing Santa Clara County from the program.
8)Arguments in support . According to the Pest Control Operators
of California (PCOC), "AB 1177 would extend the sunset date
for the SFEP from January 1, 2014 to January 1, 2018. This
program, originally conceived by [the PCOC], provides
additional self-generated revenues to the CACs of Los Angeles,
Orange, and San Diego Counties for heightened fumigation,
inspection and enforcement activities. Existing law provides
that the funds collected from the fees shall be paid to the
county and used for the sole purpose of funding enforcement
and training activities directly related to the structural
fumigation program? The SFEP is needed to provide effective
review, control, and enforcement of fumigation regulations.
The law protects workers, public health, consumers and the
environment from improper and illegal use of fumigants."
According to the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors
(Santa Clara County BoS), "The Santa Clara County BoS urges
your support of AB 1177, if amended to include Santa Clara
County in the SFEP. Until now, Santa Clara County has been
included in the SFEP since 2008 along with the counties of Los
Angeles, Orange and San Diego. The SFEP is partially funded
from industry fees, and requires the CAC to inspect structural
fumigations that are performed in the county.
"For the past few years, the number of fumigation inspections
[performed in Santa Clara County] did not meet the
expectations of the PCOC Fumigation Enforcement Committee.
The inspections decreased because of a shift in resources to
combat local pest infestations such as Light Brown Apple Moth
and European Grapevine Moth. These pest eradication projects
demanded [an] immediate response in order to protect [Santa
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Clara County's] local agricultural industry and protect
consumers by minimizing any chemical treatments required in
the treatment process. With recent staffing changes made by
the Santa Clara CAC and with more detailed fumigation notices
by the local pest control operators, the fumigation
enforcement program is now meeting industry expectations for
the number of inspections performed. The majority of local
industry companies are not opposed to amending AB 1177 to
reinstate Santa Clara County."
9)Previous Legislation . AB 1736 (Ma), Chapter 238, Statutes of
2010, extended the sunset date of the SFEP to January 1, 2014.
AB 2223 (Horton), Chapter 450, Statutes of 2008, re-added San
Diego County in the existing SFEP and extended the SFEP sunset
date to January 1, 2011.
AB 126 (Beall), Chapter 379, Statutes of 2007, added Santa
Clara County to the SFEP and added a January 1, 2010 sunset
date to the SFEP.
SB 230 (Figueroa), Chapter 42, Statutes of 2006, eliminated
the SFEP sunset date.
SB 2026 (Committee on Business, Professions, and Economic
Development), Chapter 1013, Statutes of 2002, extended the
SFEP sunset date to July 1, 2006.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Pest Control Operators of California
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Joanna Gin / B.,P. & C.P. / (916)
319-3301
AB 1177
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