BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1874
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Date of Hearing: April 20, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Lorena Gonzalez, Chair
AB
1874 (Wood) - As Introduced February 10, 2016
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|Policy |Business and Professions |Vote:|16 - 0 |
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: YesReimbursable:
No
SUMMARY: This bill revises the definition of a "qualifying
manager" to add a requirement that a licensed operator be
physically present at the licensee's principal office or branch
office location for a minimum of 72 hours every three
consecutive calendar months, and to require that the hours be
documented and provided to the Structural Pest Control Board
(SPCB) upon request.
FISCAL EFFECT:
AB 1874
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Minor and absorbable costs to the Department of Consumer
Affairs.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. According to the author, this bill "adds a
requirement that 'qualifying managers' be physically present
in the offices of the companies they qualify for a minimum of
72 hours every three consecutive calendar months. The
addition of this requirement will help ensure that the
companies performing structural pest control will do so with
adequate supervision."
The change this bill seeks to make was approved by the SPCB's
Act Review Committee, which reviews the structural pest
control practice act and recommends changes to the full SPCB.
The approval was adopted by the SPCB at its January 14, 2015
meeting.
2)Background. In order to provide structural pest control
services, a business organization must register with the SPCB
and designate a "qualifying manager." The qualifying manager
must be a structural pest control operator, an individual who
is licensed by the SPCB and is responsible for supervising the
daily business of the organization. Currently, the qualifying
manager must "be available to supervise and assist the
company's employees." However, "be available to supervise and
assist" is not defined.
The sponsor, the Pest Control Operators of California, states
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that the lack of a definition has resulted in a loophole where
licensed operators are "renting" their licenses to a
registered company that needs to designate a qualifying
manager. Because there is no language specifying that a
licensed operator has to be physically available, many simply
charge a registered company a recurring fee to use their
license number with minimal involvement in the company.
According to the sponsors, bad actors are able to argue that
they can satisfy the availability and supervision requirements
over the phone or through video conferencing.
This bill seeks to remedy this by imposing a minimum physical
presence requirement on operator licensees of 72 hours in a
three-consecutive-month period.
Analysis Prepared by:Jennifer Swenson / APPR. / (916)
319-2081