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.