BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1874|
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CONSENT
Bill No: AB 1874
Author: Wood (D)
Amended: 6/14/16 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE BUS., PROF. & ECON. DEV. COMMITTEE: 9-0, 6/20/16
AYES: Hill, Bates, Block, Gaines, Galgiani, Hernandez, Jackson,
Mendoza, Wieckowski
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 76-0, 4/28/16 (Consent) - See last page for
vote
SUBJECT: Structural pest control
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill requires a licensed "qualifying manager" to
be physically present at the licensee's principal office or
branch office location for a minimum of nine days every three
consecutive calendar months, and requires that the days be
documented and provided to the Structural Pest Control Board
upon request.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Establishes the Structural Pest Control Board (SPCB) under the
Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) to regulate the practice
of structural pest control.
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Page 2
(Business and Professions Code (BPC) §§ 8500 - 8697.4)
2)Defines "structural pest control," with respect to household
pests and wood destroying pests or organisms, as performing or
offering to perform any of the following: (BPC § 8505)
a) Identification of infestations or infections.
b) The making of an inspection or inspections for the
purpose of identifying or attempting to identify
infestations or infections of household or other structures
by those pests or organisms.
c) The making of inspection reports, recommendations,
estimates, and bids, whether oral or written, with respect
to those infestations or infections.
d) The making of contracts, or the submitting of bids for,
or the performance of any work including the making of
structural repairs or replacements, or the use of
pesticides, or mechanical devices for the purpose of
eliminating, exterminating, controlling or preventing
infestations or infections of those pests, or organisms.
3)Defines "registered company" as a sole proprietorship,
partnership, corporation, or other business organization that
is registered with the SPCB to engage in the practice of
structural pest control. (BPC § 8506.1)
4)Defines "qualifying manager" as the licensed operator or
operators designated by a registered company to supervise the
daily business of the company and to be available to supervise
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Page 3
and assist the company's employees. (BPC § 8506.2)
5)Defines "structural pest control operator" as any individual
licensed by the SPBC to practice structural pest control.
(BPC § 8506)
6)Requires every company that engages in the practice of
structural pest control, as a sole proprietorship,
partnership, corporation, or other organization or any
combination thereof, to be registered with the SPCB. (BPC §
8610(a))
7)Requires each registered company to designate an individual or
individuals who hold an operator's license to act as its
qualifying manager or managers. The qualifying manager or
managers must be licensed in each branch of pest control in
which the company engages in business. The designated
qualifying manager or managers shall supervise the daily
business of the company and shall be available to supervise
and assist all employees of the company, in accordance with
regulations which the board may establish. (BPC § 8610(c))
This bill:
1) Redefines "qualifying manager" as the licensed operator or
operators designated by a registered company to supervise the
daily business of the company and to be physically present at
the principal office or branch office location for a minimum
of nine days every three consecutive calendar months to
supervise and assist the company's employees
2) Requires the qualifying manager to document the days and
provide the documentation to the SPCB upon request.
Background
In California, a "registered company" is defined as any business
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Page 4
organization, such as a sole proprietorship or corporation. In
order to provide structural pest control services as a
registered company, 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 states 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. The SPCB also
reports that many individuals sell their license number on
online ads. 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.
Therefore, this bill seeks to impose a minimum physical presence
requirement on operator licensees of nine days in a
three-consecutive-month period. Although the bill does not
specify how the nine days must be divided, the intent was to
allow the qualifying manager flexibility to do so. The goal of
the requirement is to deter the practice of using the loophole
to avoid having to actually supervise.
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. This nine
day requirement was worked out with industry stakeholders. The
approval was adopted by the SPCB last year at its January 14,
2015 meeting.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: Yes
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SUPPORT: (Verified8/2/16)
Pest Control Operators of California (source)
Newport Exterminating
Omega Termite Control Inc.
Orkin Pest Control
The Structural Pest Control Board
Western Exterminator Company
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/2/16)
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: The Structural Pest Control Board
writes, "Through enforcement activity, the SPCB has become aware
of the practice of operators 'renting' their license. When this
occurs, a registered company will pay a recurring fee to an
individual licensed as an operator and in return that individual
will serve as the company's 'qualifying manager' without ever
having any actual involvement with the company. This results in
registered companies practicing structural pest control absent
of the necessary supervision?The Board feels the amendments
proposed in AB 1874 will address this issue and strengthen
consumer protection by helping to ensure that all registered
companies are operating under the necessary levels of qualified
supervision."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 76-0, 4/28/16
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Arambula, Atkins, Baker,
Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke,
Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper,
Dababneh, Dahle, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines,
Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson,
Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger
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Page 6
Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey,
Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mayes, McCarty,
Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell,
Patterson, Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago,
Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber,
Wilk, Williams, Wood, Rendon
NO VOTE RECORDED: Chávez, Daly, Mathis, Olsen
Prepared by: Mark Mendoza / B., P. & E.D. / (916) 651-4104
8/4/16 9:15:00
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