BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1177|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1177
Author: Bocanegra (D)
Amended: 8/13/13 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE BUSINESS, PROF. & ECON. DEVELOP. COMM. : 10-0, 7/1/13
AYES: Lieu, Emmerson, Block, Corbett, Galgiani, Hernandez,
Hill, Padilla, Wyland, Yee
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 5-2, 8/26/13
AYES: De León, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
NOES: Walters, Gaines
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 71-1, 5/24/13 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Structural fumigation
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill extends the sunset date, to January 1,
2018, for the Structural Fumigation Enforcement Program
(Program) under the Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) for
Los Angeles, Orange, Santa Clara, and San Diego Counties; and
increases the fee paid under the Program, from $5 to $8.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
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1. Establishes the Program in Los Angeles, Orange, Santa Clara,
and San Diego Counties under the oversight of the DPR and
authorizes the county agricultural commissioner
(commissioner) of each county to perform increased structural
fumigation, inspection, and enforcement activities those
counties. Sunsets the Program on January 1, 2014.
2. Under the Program, requires any person who performs a
structural fumigation in the county to pay a $5 fee to the
commissioner for each fumigation performed.
3. Requires the funds collected by the counties under the
Program to be used for the sole purpose of funding
enforcement and training activities directly related to the
Program.
4. Defines the following terms:
A. "Structural pest control" and "pest control" 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, eliminating, exterminating, controlling or
preventing the infestation of such pests, and making
structural repairs or replacements, as specified.
B. "Fumigator" as any individual licensed by the
Structural Pest Control Board 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.
C. "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. Further specified that lethal fumigants
include methyl bromide, sulfur dioxide, propylene oxide,
sulfuryl fluoride and aluminum phosphide.
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This bill:
1. Extends the sunset date of the Program for Los Angeles,
Orange, Santa Clara, and San Diego Counties to January 1,
2018.
2. Increases the fee paid under the Program, for each structural
fumigation, from $5 to $8.
Background
The Program was originally established in 1993 as a two-year
pilot project in Los Angeles County as a way to help ensure the
safety of fumigation operators. The Program sought to ensure
the proper handling of chemicals and the correct use of safety
equipment among other important features. The sunset date has
been extended a number of times since then. In 1996, the pilot
project status was removed and the Program was expanded to also
include Orange County and San Diego County. In 1999, San Diego
County opted out of the Program. In 2007, Santa Clara County
was included in the Program, and in 2008, San Diego County was
again added to the Program.
The Program exercises oversight of the structural fumigation
industry and DPR inspects fumigation companies to ensure
regulatory compliance and protect the public, industry workers
and the environment. Any person who performs a structural
fumigation in Los Angeles, Orange, Santa Clara, and San Diego
Counties must pay the county agricultural commissioner a fee of
$5 for each treatment.
Counties use this fee-generated revenue to increase monitoring
of pesticide use in structural fumigations through undercover
inspections and surveillance. While the DPR licenses and
regulates commercial applicators, dealers, consultants and other
pesticide professionals statewide, the Program originated from
an increased need to enforce local structural pest control
fumigation laws in counties where most fumigations are performed
by collecting fees for more inspectors and research on safer
pest control methods.
Fumigation . "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
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structures, such as railroad cars, ships, docks, trucks and
airplanes. It does not apply 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 they use.
Recent program inspection activities . The following table
reflects the recent inspection activities in the counties that
participate in the program for 2010-2012, as reported by the
Pest Control Operators of California (PCOC).
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| County | Los Angeles | Orange | Santa Clara | San Diego | Totals |
| | 2010-2012 | 2010-2012 | 2010-2012 | 2010-2012 | |
|----------------+----------------+----------------+----------------+----------------+----------------|
|Number of | 85,351| 41,049| 20,289| 50,986| 197,675|
|Fumigations | | | | | |
|----------------+----------------+----------------+----------------+----------------+----------------|
|Number of | 4148| 1400| 274| 868| 6,690|
|Inspections | | | | | |
|----------------+----------------+----------------+----------------+----------------+----------------|
|Rate of | 4.86%| 3.41%| 1.35%| 1.7%| 3.4%|
|Inspection | | | | | |
|----------------+----------------+----------------+----------------+----------------+----------------|
|Revenue | $426,755| $205,245| $101,445| $254,930|$988,375 |
|Generated | | | | | |
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FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
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According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, extending the
sunset on this fee-funded program will not result in new state
costs. Increasing the fee on businesses performing structural
fumigations will result in a significant revenue increase; that
revenue will be used by the DPR for enforcement activities.
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/27/13)
California Agricultural Commissioners and Sealers Association
Pest Control Operators of California
Terminix
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : PCOC states that the Program,
originally conceived by PCOC, provides additional self-generated
revenues to the Commissioners of Los Angeles, Orange, Santa
Clara, 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. PCOC argues that the Program 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 PCOC.
The California Agricultural Commissioners and Sealers
Association (CACASA) states the Program is a cooperative
relationship between county agricultural commissioners and the
local pest control operators. This bill extends the
authorization to collect the fee to continue the local programs
in Los Angeles, Orange, Santa Clara, and San Diego counties.
This bill also appropriately increases the $5 fee to $8 per
fumigation, which will ensure that the program will meet
expected benchmarks and benefit the industry that support the
program for the added enforcement and oversight. CACASA
supports extending the sunset.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 71-1, 5/24/13
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom,
Blumenfield, Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan,
Ian Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley,
Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Eggman, Fong, Fox, Frazier, Beth
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Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gordon, Gorell, Gray, Hagman,
Hall, Harkey, Roger Hernández, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Levine,
Linder, Logue, Lowenthal, Maienschein, Mansoor, Medina,
Melendez, Mitchell, Morrell, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian,
Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez,
Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Salas, Stone, Ting, Wagner, Weber,
Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez
NOES: Donnelly
NO VOTE RECORDED: Bonta, Grove, Holden, Skinner, Waldron, Wilk,
Vacancy, Vacancy
MW:d 8/27/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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