Articles

The Third Time is a Charm

Arizona Legislature transfers supervision of the Office of Pest
Management to the Department of Agriculture 

 

By:  Scott J. Richardson

For the third year in a row the Arizona Legislature proposed transfer of the Office of Pest Management (formerly the Structural Pest Control Commission) to the Department of Agriculture, but this time it was successful. Senate bill 1194 passed and was signed by Governor Brewer on April 6, 2011. The measure transfers the administrative supervision of the Office of Pest Management to the Director of the Department of Agriculture through December 31, 2013.  The Office of Pest Management regulates the structural pest control through licensing, inspections, investigations and discipline of licensees.

The measure becomes effective on July 20, 2011.  In addition to administrative responsibility the Department of Agriculture also assumes supervision of the Office of Pest Management Advisory Committee.  The OPM will relocate it facilities by July 20 to offices furnished by the Department of Agriculture and vacate its space in Scottsdale from which it currently operates.

The Director of the Department of Agriculture will appoint an Acting Director for OPM who shall serve at the Director's pleasure through December 31, 2013.

A new nine member task force will be appointed to study the regulation of structural pest management in Arizona and submit findings and recommendations on or before December 15.2012. The review shall include laws and regulations governing pest management and possible organizational configurations for OPM within the Department of Agriculture.  Any necessary statutory changes needed to accomplish a future structural pest management program shall also be part of the charge for the task force.

This move will mean sweeping changes for the pest management industry.  In the interim pending cases and investigations will continue.  We will be outlining these changes in the second part of this article in the near future. In the meantime you can visit us at www.jaburgwilk.com 
and can read the entire bill as enacted at http://www.azleg.gov//FormatDocument.asp?inDoc=/legtext/50leg/1r/bills/sb1194s.htm&Session_ID=102

 

This article is not intended to provide legal advice and only relates to Arizona law.  It does not consider the scope of laws in states other than Arizona.  Always consult an attorney for legal advice for your particular situation.

 

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