ACG C.S.H.B. 1759 75(R)BILL ANALYSIS ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATION C.S.H.B. 1759 By: Hirschi 76-9 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND Mosquito control is as public health activity which reduces the threat to our citizens of mosquitoborne diseases ( e.g. Encephalitis and Dengue fever.) This is accomplished by controlling the mosquitoes which carry and spread these diseases. For over twenty years, the Texas Department of Health (TDH) has been testing and certifying pesticide applicators who control these mosquitoes. Environmental Protection Agency changes in 1991 called for continuing education units for pesticide applicators and on-site inspections of operations. PURPOSE HB 1759 will amend the Agricultural Code to provide guidelines for the regulatory agency in charge of the pesticide applicator certification program. These guidelines allow for testing fees to be implemented to defray the administrative costs of following the new EPA guidelines. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the committee's opinion that although this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency or institution, this bill allows a governing body or head of a regulatory agency involved in certain pesticide applicator licensing to set certain fees authorized in SECTION 2 of the bill (Section 76.109, Agricultural Code). SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Section 76.106(c), Agricultural Code, allowing each regulatory agency to charge a testing fee, as fixed by the governing body or the head of a regulatory agency, for testing in each license use category. SECTION 2. Amends, Section 76.109 Agriculture Code as follows: Section 76.109 (b) Deletes exception for governmental applicants from paying a fee with an application. Conforms language to the previous change allowing the governing body or the head of a regulatory agency to fix fees. Also allows the governing body or the head of a regulatory agency to set other fees as necessary to defray administrative costs. Section 76.109 (d) Specifies that the noncommercial applicator license is one issued by the department. Section 76.109 (g) is added to stipulate that an individual who is licensed as a noncommercial applicator by the TDH is authorized to use and supervise the use of general-use, restricted-use, and state-limited-use pesticides in specified categories. SECTION 3. Effective date: September 1, 1997. Applies to applications filed on or after September 1, 1997. SECTION 4. Emergency clause. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE SECTION 1 of the original amends Health and Safety Code Sec. 361.475(j) to allow the legislature to appropriate $50,000 from the waste tire recycling fund to the Texas Department of Health for use in administering its duties relating to the pesticide use and application program under Subchapter E, Chapter 76, Agriculture Code. The substitute does not have a corresponding amendment. SECTION 2 of the original amends Section 76.106(c), Agricultural Code, to allow each regulatory agency to charge a testing fee, as fixed by the governing body or the head of a regulatory agency, for testing in each license use category. SECTION 1 of the substitute corresponds to SECTION 2 of the original. SECTION 3 of the original amends Section 76.109 Agriculture Code as follows: Section 76.109 (d) An individual who receives a noncommercial applicator license is authorized to use and supervise the use of pesticides (rather than just restricted use and state limited use) in the categories in which the individual is licensed. SECTION 2 of the substitute amends, Section 76.109 Agriculture Code as follows: Section 76.109 (d) Specifies that the noncommercial applicator license is one issued by the department. This amendment is not in the original bill. Section 76.109 (g) is added to stipulate that an individual who is licensed as a noncommercial applicator by the TDH is authorized to use and supervise the use of general-use, restricted-use, and state-limited-use pesticides in specified categories. This amendment is not in the original bill. SECTION 4 of the original corresponds to SECTION 3 of the substitute. SECTION 5 of the original and SECTION 4 of the substitute are the emergency clause.