HB 3186 Text

H. B. 3186

(By Delegates Browning and Staton)
[Introduced March 24, 2005; referred to the
Committee on Government Organization.]

A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto two new sections, designated §19-16A-4a and §19-16A-4b, all relating to creating an Industrial Advisory Board to oversee the application process for certification pest control exams; and providing guidelines for the certification pest control exam.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended by adding thereto two new sections, designated §19-16A-4a and §19-16A-4b, all to read as follows:

ARTICLE 16A. WEST VIRGINIA PESTICIDE CONTROL ACT.

§19-16A-4a. Industrial Advisory Board.
There is hereby created an Industrial Advisory Board. The Industrial Advisory Board is authorized to oversee the application process for pest control certification exams. The Industrial Advisory Board shall consist of: Two representatives from the Department of Agriculture, two from the West Virginia Pest Control Operators Association, and two representatives from the consumer industry that are not affiliated with the Department of Agriculture or the West Virginia Pest Control Operators Association and may not be a pest control operator or lawn and turf operator, but have related knowledge with pesticides or pest control. The Commissioner of Agriculture or his or her designee shall designate its two representatives, the West Virginia Pest Control Operators Association shall elect its representatives, and the Commissioner or his or her designee and the West Virginia Pest Control Operators Association shall each designate one member from the consumer industry.
The Board shall elect a chairperson to serve for a one year term. The Board shall meet at least twice a year and may meet as many times as necessary as determined by the Board. The Board meetings shall be held in Charleston. The Department of Agriculture shall reimburse the Board members for travel expenses only.
§19-16A-4b. Pest control certification exam.
The following provisions shall apply to pest control certification exams:
(a) Scheduled testing dates with the Department of Agriculture statewide will be three times a year only. The dates shall be published in January of each year.
(b) Structural commercial application for testing with a notarized signature shall be returned to the Department thirty days before testing.
(c) A statement from statewide law enforcement that an applicant has not been convicted of felony, fraud or misrepresentation.
(d) Must have written verification of pesticide work experience which must include all addresses and names of previous companies, corporations, and individuals they have worked under.
(e) Prior to testing, the Department of Agriculture will review all applicants and contact, by certified letter, all previous pest control employment references.
(f) The Department of Agriculture can set the fee for examination to include expenses in reviewing applicants, clerical work, postage, and mileage fees for board meetings.
(g) A copy of a driver's license must accompany application.
(h) Written documentation must be provided to prove an applicant has worked for one continuous year in the category being tested. Documentation to be provided by previous pest control companies or employers.
(i) The Department of Agriculture will investigate any applicants work status at a company or corporation and provide all information to the Advisory Board.
(j) If an applicant is denied, he or she must be notified by certified letter prior to testing date by the Department. The application fee is nonrefundable.
(k) Any false or misleading statements made on application for a license is grounds to deny or revoke the license.
(l) The examination shall be timed with a two-hour limit. The proctor must stay in the exam room at all times. No one will be allowed in exam room except examinees and proctor.
(m) If an applicant fails any part of the exam, he or she will not be able to retest until the next testing date.
(n) All licenses shall expire on the thirty-first day of December of each year. The Department will be required to notify the license holder that the renewal is due.
(o) All license holders who fail to submit a renewal registration form and required fee by the thirty-first day of March must retest for a new license. The Department is to send by certified mail one reminder by the twenty-eighth day of February to any license holder not renewed at that time. Renewal fees can be increased by fifteen percent to cover the cost of these expenses.
(p) Any license holder that has had a license revoked or suspended must wait a period of six months to retest for certification. The Advisory Board will review the application and information concerning the revoked or suspended license, and advise the Department upon retesting the individual.
(q) If certified individual applicator or operator is no longer employed or working full time as a commercial pest control operator and he or she wants to stay on inactive status, he or she must notify the Department of Agriculture within fifteen days. The Department will then issue, by certified mail within ten days, a notification that his or her license will be held in an inactive status. The licensed individual will be required to maintain his or her certification and pay his or her annual renewal fee. If the license holder wants to become reactivated, they must notify the Department and will not be allowed to perform any regulated activity until receiving their active license. The Department must reactivate their license within ten days. The Advisory Board will be notified immediately by the Department about the reactivation prior to the ten-day deadline. If the license holder fails to adhere to this provision, he or she will be fined by the Department.
(r) License renewal - The Department shall receive annually from each company/sole proprietorship a list of employees with the following information:
(1) Job title;
(2) Name;
(3) Address;
(4) Telephone number;
(5) Social security number and/or drivers license number; and
(6) Registration or certification number.
(s) Any employee no longer working must submit their registration card back to the Department within fifteen days. This is the responsibility of the pest control company that employed this individual.
(t) A monthly report must be submitted to the Department for any wood destroying organism treatment such as termite, pretreatment, woodborers, powder post beetles, in-ground monitors, etc. The Department will develop the form to include a customer's name, address, telephone number, and type of service performed. The form is due to the Department by the fifteenth of the month following treatment. If no activity is performed, then that information should be submitted to the Department. A certified license holder should sign the form before submittal.
(u) Failure by the license holder to adhere to the above provisions will result in one warning then fined by the Department.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to establish an Industrial Advisory Board to oversee the application process for pest control certification exams.

This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.

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