1-1 By: Black (Senate Sponsor - Sims) H.B. No. 1262
1-2 (In the Senate - Received from the House May 5, 1993;
1-3 May 6, 1993, read first time and referred to Committee on Natural
1-4 Resources; May 11, 1993, reported favorably by the following vote:
1-5 Yeas 9, Nays 0; May 11, 1993, sent to printer.)
1-6 COMMITTEE VOTE
1-7 Yea Nay PNV Absent
1-8 Sims x
1-9 Truan x
1-10 Armbrister x
1-11 Barrientos x
1-12 Bivins x
1-13 Brown x
1-14 Carriker x
1-15 Lucio x
1-16 Montford x
1-17 Ratliff x
1-18 Shelley x
1-19 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-20 AN ACT
1-21 relating to the regulation of pest control services by the Texas
1-22 Structural Pest Control Board.
1-23 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-24 SECTION 1. Section 2(b)(10), Texas Structural Pest Control
1-25 Act (Article 135b-6, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended to
1-26 read as follows:
1-27 (10) "Technician" means an individual employed by a
1-28 business licensee to engage in supervised pesticide applications,
1-29 maintain or utilize structural pest control devices, make sales
1-30 presentations, or identify pest infestation or damage or an
1-31 individual who works under the direct supervision of a certified
1-32 noncommercial applicator and engages in supervised pesticide
1-33 applications, maintains or utilizes structural pest control
1-34 devices, or identifies pest infestation or damage. The term does
1-35 not include an individual whose duties are solely clerical <or
1-36 janitorial,> or are otherwise completely disassociated with pest
1-37 control.
1-38 SECTION 2. Section 3, Texas Structural Pest Control Act
1-39 (Article 135b-6, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended by
1-40 adding Subsection (m) to read as follows:
1-41 (m) The executive director shall employ a legal counsel who
1-42 shall report to the executive director and be responsible for the
1-43 enforcement of the rules adopted under this Act.
1-44 SECTION 3. Section 4, Texas Structural Pest Control Act
1-45 (Article 135b-6, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended by
1-46 adding Subsection (i) to read as follows:
1-47 (i) The board may enter into a memorandum of agreement with
1-48 another political subdivision, not to include institutions of
1-49 public or private education, concerning licensure requirements.
1-50 SECTION 4. Sections 4B(a), (b), (c), (d), and (f), Texas
1-51 Structural Pest Control Act (Article 135b-6, Vernon's Texas Civil
1-52 Statutes), are amended to read as follows:
1-53 (a) In this section:
1-54 (1) "Apartment<, "apartment> building" means a
1-55 building that contains two or more dwelling units that are rented
1-56 primarily for nontransient permanent dwelling purposes, with rental
1-57 paid by intervals of one week or longer.
1-58 (2) "Incidental use situation" means a pesticide
1-59 application on an occasional, isolated, site-specific basis that is
1-60 incidental to the performance of a primary duty by an employee that
1-61 is not pest control and involves the use of general use pesticides
1-62 after instruction as provided by rules adopted by the board.
1-63 Incidental use situations include treating wasps in an area
1-64 adjacent to a utility meter, treating fire ants in a transformer
1-65 box, or the treating of ants by a janitor or clerical employee in a
1-66 break area.
1-67 (b) An individual must be licensed as a certified
1-68 noncommercial applicator or technician if the individual is not
2-1 licensed as a certified commercial applicator and the individual:
2-2 (1) is an employee of the state or a political
2-3 subdivision of the state <city or county> and engages in the
2-4 business of structural pest control other than applying a general
2-5 use pesticide in an incidental use situation; or
2-6 (2) is an employee of a person who owns, operates, or
2-7 maintains a building, the individual engages in the business of
2-8 structural pest control <in the building>, and the building is an
2-9 apartment building; day-care center; hospital; nursing home; hotel;
2-10 motel; lodge; warehouse; food-processing establishment, other than
2-11 a restaurant, retail food, or food service establishment; school or
2-12 educational institution.
2-13 (c) An individual licensed as a certified noncommercial
2-14 applicator or technician may not engage in the business of
2-15 structural pest control outside the scope of the employment for
2-16 which the individual has been licensed as a certified noncommercial
2-17 applicator or technician unless the individual becomes licensed as
2-18 otherwise provided by this Act.
2-19 (d) An owner of a building that is an apartment building;
2-20 day-care center; hospital; nursing home; hotel; motel; lodge;
2-21 warehouse; food-processing establishment, other than a restaurant,
2-22 retail food, or food service establishment; school or educational
2-23 institution, may obtain pest control services <for the building>
2-24 from a person only by:
2-25 (1) contracting with a business that has a structural
2-26 pest control business license; or
2-27 (2) requiring an employee of the owner, who is
2-28 licensed as a certified noncommercial applicator or technician, to
2-29 perform the services.
2-30 (f) An individual licensed as a certified noncommercial
2-31 applicator or technician may engage in the business of structural
2-32 pest control as provided by this section without association with a
2-33 business that has been issued a structural pest control business
2-34 license. The board may adopt insurance requirements for certified
2-35 noncommercial applicators or technicians.
2-36 SECTION 5. Section 5(b), Texas Structural Pest Control Act
2-37 (Article 135b-6, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended to read
2-38 as follows:
2-39 (b) An individual without a license may, on his own premises
2-40 or on premises in which he owns a partnership or joint venture
2-41 interest, or on the premises other than an apartment building as
2-42 defined in Section 4B of this Act, day-care center, hospital,
2-43 nursing home, hotel, motel, lodge, warehouse, food-processing
2-44 establishment, facility owned by the state or a political
2-45 subdivision of the state except as provided by Section 4B of this
2-46 Act, or school or educational institution, of an employer by whom
2-47 he was hired primarily to perform other services, use insecticides,
2-48 pesticides, rodenticides, fumigants, or allied chemicals or
2-49 substances or mechanical devices designed to prevent, control, or
2-50 eliminate pest infestations unless that use is prohibited by state
2-51 law or rule or by rule of the United States Environmental
2-52 Protection Agency or unless the substance used is labeled as a
2-53 restricted-use pesticide or a state-limited-use pesticide.
2-54 SECTION 6. Section 7(a), Texas Structural Pest Control Act
2-55 (Article 135b-6, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended to read
2-56 as follows:
2-57 (a) An applicant for an initial or renewal Structural Pest
2-58 Control Endorsement of License or Business License shall accompany
2-59 his application with a fee of not more than $180 each, as
2-60 determined by the board, and a fee of not more than $84, as
2-61 determined by the board, for the license of each technician
2-62 employed by the applicant. An applicant for an initial or renewal
2-63 Certified <Commercial> Applicator's License shall accompany his
2-64 application with a fee of not more than $112.50 each, as determined
2-65 by the board, and a fee of not more than $84, as determined by the
2-66 board, for the license of each technician employed by the
2-67 applicant.
2-68 SECTION 7. Section 11, Texas Structural Pest Control Act
2-69 (Article 135b-6, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended to read
2-70 as follows:
3-1 Sec. 11. Except for Section 4H(d) of this Act, the
3-2 provisions of this Act shall not apply to nor shall the following
3-3 persons be deemed to be engaging in the business of structural pest
3-4 control:
3-5 (1) a person who performs pest control work upon
3-6 property which he owns, leases, or rents as his dwelling;
3-7 (2) a person who performs pest control work on growing
3-8 plants, trees, shrubs, grass, or other horticultural plants if the
3-9 person:
3-10 (A) holds a Class 1, Class 2, Class 3, or Class
3-11 4 registration certificate from the Department of Agriculture under
3-12 Section 71.043, Agriculture Code; and
3-13 (B) holds a certified commercial or
3-14 noncommercial applicator's license from the Department of
3-15 Agriculture that covers that pest control work;
3-16 (3) a person or his employee who is engaged in the
3-17 business of agriculture or aerial application or custom application
3-18 of pesticides to agricultural lands; <and>
3-19 (4) a person who uses pest control chemicals that are
3-20 for household use and are available for purchase in retail food
3-21 stores, such as aerosol bombs and spray cans, if the insecticide is
3-22 used in accordance with the label directions on the insecticide or
3-23 board rules or guidelines, or as provided by Section 4B of this Act
3-24 and is:
3-25 (A) used by the owner or his employee or agent
3-26 in space occupied by the building owner in a residential building<,
3-27 office building, retail building, or industrial building>; or
3-28 (B) used in a place that is vacant, unused, and
3-29 unoccupied; and
3-30 (5) a person acting as a beekeeper, as defined by
3-31 Section 131.001, Agriculture Code, who:
3-32 (A) is registered with the chief apiary
3-33 inspector as provided by Chapter 131, Agriculture Code, and the
3-34 board;
3-35 (B) does not use pesticides or electrical
3-36 devices other than conventional bee smokers or other equipment as
3-37 defined by Section 131.001, Agriculture Code; and
3-38 (C) collects, removes, or destroys honey bees
3-39 not attached to a dwelling or structure occupied by the public.
3-40 SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 1993.
3-41 SECTION 9. The importance of this legislation and the
3-42 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
3-43 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
3-44 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
3-45 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.
3-46 * * * * *
3-47 Austin,
3-48 Texas
3-49 May 11, 1993
3-50 Hon. Bob Bullock
3-51 President of the Senate
3-52 Sir:
3-53 We, your Committee on Natural Resources to which was referred H.B.
3-54 No. 1262, have had the same under consideration, and I am
3-55 instructed to report it back to the Senate with the recommendation
3-56 that it do pass and be printed.
3-57 Sims,
3-58 Chairman
3-59 * * * * *
3-60 WITNESSES
3-61 FOR AGAINST ON
3-62 ___________________________________________________________________
3-63 Name: Benny Mathis x
3-64 Representing: Structural Pest Control Board
3-65 City: Austin
3-66 -------------------------------------------------------------------
3-67 Name: Earl Burnam x
3-68 Representing: Audubon Council of Tx
3-69 City: Ft. Worth
3-70 -------------------------------------------------------------------
4-1 Name: Susan Pitman x
4-2 Representing: Chemical Connection
4-3 City: Wimberley
4-4 -------------------------------------------------------------------
4-5 Name: Bobby Jenkins x
4-6 Representing: Tx Pest Control Association
4-7 City: Austin
4-8 -------------------------------------------------------------------
4-9 Name: Beth Brooks x
4-10 Representing: Tx Pest Control Assoc.
4-11 City: Austin
4-12 -------------------------------------------------------------------