SECTIONS 8610-8619 - California Statutes

BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS CODE

SECTION 8610-8619

8610. (a) Every company that engages in the practice of structural
pest control, as a sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, or
other organization or any combination thereof, shall be registered
with the Structural Pest Control Board. Each application for a
company registration shall include the name of the company's owner if
it is a sole proprietorship, the names of the partners, if it is a
partnership, or the names of its officers and shareholders with 10
percent or more ownership interest, if it is a corporation, and the
address of the company's principal office in this state.
(b) (1) A company registration shall not be issued to an applicant
that has an officer, director, qualifying manager, responsible
managing employee, or an individual who otherwise exercises dominion
or control over the company, whose license or registration is revoked
or suspended at the time of the application as the result of
disciplinary action pursuant to this chapter.
(2) A company registration shall not be issued to an applicant
that has an officer, director, qualifying manager, responsible
managing employee, or an individual who otherwise exercises dominion
or control over the company, who owns or has owned in the past more
than a 10 percent interest in another sole proprietorship,
partnership, corporation, or other organization that has its license
or registration revoked or suspended at the time of the application
as the result of disciplinary action pursuant to this chapter.
(c) Each registered company shall designate an individual or
individuals who hold an operator's license to act as its qualifying
manager or managers. The qualifying manager or managers must be
licensed in each branch of pest control in which the company engages
in business. The designated qualifying manager or managers shall
supervise the daily business of the company and shall be available to
supervise and assist all employees of the company, in accordance
with regulations which the board may establish.
(d) No individual who holds an operator's license shall act as a
qualifying manager for more than two registered companies.
(1) Any individual, who on January 1, 2008, is acting as the
qualifying manager for more than two registered companies shall
comply with this subdivision by January 1, 2010.
(2) Commencing January 1, 2010, failure to comply with this
subdivision shall result in the disassociation of the qualifying
manager and the automatic suspension of the company's registration.
(3) This subdivision shall not apply to a company engaging in the
practice of structural pest control as a corporation and which has an
additional company or companies operating under that corporation and
doing business in a name other than the corporation name.

8611. Each branch office shall have a branch supervisor designated
by the registered company to supervise and assist the company's
employees who are located at that branch. The branch supervisor shall
be an individual who is licensed by the board as an operator or a
field representative and his or her license shall be prominently
displayed in the branch office.
If a branch supervisor ceases for any reason to be connected with
a registered company, the company shall notify the registrar in
writing within 10 days from that cessation. If this notice is given,
the company's branch office registration shall remain in force for a
reasonable length of time to be determined by rules of the board,
during which period the company shall submit to the registrar in
writing the name of another qualified branch supervisor.

8612. The licenses of qualifying managers and company registrations
shall be prominently displayed in the registered company's office,
and no registration issued hereunder shall authorize the company to
do business except from the location for which the registration was
issued. Each registered company having a branch office or more than
one branch office shall be required to display its branch office
registration prominently in each branch office it maintains.
When a registered company opens a branch office it shall notify
the registrar in writing on a form prescribed by the board and issued
by the registrar in accordance with rules and regulations adopted by
the board. The notification shall include the name of the individual
designated as the branch supervisor and shall be submitted with the
fee for a branch office prescribed by this chapter.

8613. A registered company which changes the location of its
principal office or any branch office or which changes its qualifying
manager, branch supervisor, officers, or its bond or insurance shall
notify the registrar in writing of such change within 30 days
thereafter. A fee for filing such changes shall be charged in
accordance with Section 8674.

8616. The Director of Pesticide Regulation shall be designated by
the board as its agent for the purposes of carrying out Section
8616.4. The board and the Department of Pesticide Regulation shall
jointly develop a training program specifically relating to the
various aspects of structural pest control and train all county
agricultural commissioners and other personnel involved in structural
pest control investigations and enforcement. No disciplinary action
pursuant to Section 8617 may be taken by a county agricultural
commissioner until training has been completed.

8616.4. The Director of Pesticide Regulation shall designate county
agricultural commissioners as his or her representatives to carry
out the provisions of Sections 8616.5, 8616.7, and 8617. The Director
of Pesticide Regulation shall enter into a contract specifying their
responsibilities and providing for reimbursement in accordance with
Section 8505.17.

8616.5. (a) The county agricultural commissioner shall be the lead
agency for inspections and routine investigations of pesticide use by
the board licensees and registered companies, and of persons engaged
in unlicensed structural pest control. When a matter is referred to
the board for action, the board shall be the lead agency and may
require that the commissioner assist in any investigation.
(b) The board and the Director of Pesticide Regulation shall
jointly develop the list of the types of investigations to be
conducted by the commissioner that may result in the suspension of a
license or company registration, or the imposition of a fine,
pursuant to Section 8617 and the list of the types of violations that
the commissioner shall refer to the board for disciplinary action.
(c) As used in subdivision (a), the term "routine investigations"
means all investigations of pesticide misuse by a board licensee or
registered company except (1) investigation of misuse incidents that
are referred to the board for disciplinary action or that are the
basis for county actions to suspend or fine structural pest control
licensees or registered companies in accordance with the lists
promulgated pursuant to subdivision (b), or (2) any investigation
performed by the county agricultural commissioner that has been
requested by the board and involves exclusively a violation of this
code.

8616.6. The Director of Pesticide Regulation shall be notified by
the board when it determines that persons acting pursuant to Sections
8616 and 8616.4 have not fulfilled their responsibilities under this
chapter in a specific county or counties. The notice to the Director
of Pesticide Regulation, which shall be dealt with in a timely
manner, shall specifically list the actions which caused the filing
of the notice. If the notice is not dealt with in a manner
satisfactory to the board, the board may then suspend the activities
of its agent pursuant to Section 8616.5, who is subject to the notice
in the specific county or counties for which the notice was filed
for a period not to exceed 60 days.

8616.7. When a county agricultural commissioner is acting, pursuant
to Section 8616.4, only the commissioner may conduct inspections and
routine investigations pursuant to Section 8616.5 and take
disciplinary action pursuant to Section 8617. Except as otherwise
provided, nothing in this section shall be construed as limiting or
excluding the assistance provided to the board by the Division of
Investigation under Sections 155 and 159.5 other than by board
personnel.

8616.9. If an employee is found during an inspection or
investigation not wearing personal protective equipment required by
regulation, the commissioner shall have the option to use discretion
in citing an employer only if evidence of all of the following is
provided:
(a) The employer has a written training program, has provided
training to the employee, and has maintained a record of training as
required by regulation.
(b) The employer provided personal protective equipment required
by regulation, the equipment was available at the site when the
employee was handling the pesticide or pesticides, and the equipment
was properly maintained and in good working order.
(c) The employer is in compliance with regulations relating to the
workplace and supervision of employees.
(d) The employer has implemented and adheres to a written company
policy of disciplinary action for employees who violate company
policy or state or local laws or regulations.
(e) The employer has no history of repeated violations of this
section.

8617. (a) The board or county agricultural commissioners, when
acting pursuant to Section 8616.4, may suspend the right of a
structural pest control licensee or registered company to work in a
county for up to three working days or, for a licensee, registered
company, or an unlicensed individual acting as a licensee, may levy
an administrative fine up to one thousand dollars ($1,000) or direct
the licensee to attend and pass a board-approved course of
instruction at a cost not to exceed the administrative fine, or both,
for each violation of this chapter or Chapter 14.5 (commencing with
Section 8698), or any regulations adopted pursuant to these chapters,
or Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 12751), Chapter 3 (commencing
with Section 14001), Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 14101), or
Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 15201) of Division 7 of the Food
and Agricultural Code, or any regulations adopted pursuant to those
chapters, relating to pesticides. However, any violation determined
by the board or the commissioner to be a serious violation as defined
in Section 1922 of Title 16 of the California Code of Regulations
shall be subject to a fine of not more than five thousand dollars
($5,000) for each violation. Fines collected shall be paid to the
Education and Enforcement Account in the Structural Pest Control
Education and Enforcement Fund. Suspension may include all or part of
the registered company's business within the county based on the
nature of the violation, but shall, whenever possible, be restricted
to that portion of a registered company's business in a county that
was in violation.
(b) A licensee who passes a course pursuant to this section shall
not be awarded continuing education credit for that course.
(c) Before a suspension action is taken, a fine levied, or a
licensee is required to attend and pass a board-approved course of
instruction, the person charged with the violation shall be provided
a written notice of the proposed action, including the nature of the
violation, the amount of the proposed fine or suspension, or the
requirement to attend and pass a board-approved course of
instruction. The notice of proposed action shall inform the person
charged with the violation that if he or she desires a hearing before
the commissioner issuing the proposed action to contest the finding
of a violation, that hearing shall be requested by written notice to
the commissioner within 20 days of the date of receipt of the written
notice of proposed action.
A notice of the proposed action that is sent by certified mail to
the last known address of the person charged shall be considered
received even if delivery is refused or the notice is not accepted at
that address.
If a hearing is requested, notice of the time and place of the
hearing shall be given at least 10 days before the date set for the
hearing. At the hearing, the person shall be given an opportunity to
review the commissioner's evidence and a right to present evidence on
his or her own behalf. If a hearing is not requested within the
prescribed time, the commissioner may take the action proposed
without a hearing.
(d) If the person upon whom the commissioner imposed a fine or
suspension or required attendance at a board-approved course of
instruction requested and appeared at a hearing before the
commissioner, the person may appeal the commissioner's decision to
the Disciplinary Review Committee and shall be subject to the
procedures in Section 8662.
(e) If a suspension or fine is ordered, it may not take effect
until 20 days after the date of the commissioner's decision if no
appeal is filed. If an appeal pursuant to Section 8662 is filed, the
commissioner's order shall be stayed until 30 days after the
Disciplinary Review Committee has ruled on the appeal.
(f) Failure of a licensee or registered company to pay a fine
within 30 days of the date of assessment or to comply with the order
of suspension, unless the citation is being appealed, may result in
disciplinary action being taken by the board.
Where a citation containing a fine is issued to a licensee and it
is not contested or the time to appeal the citation has expired and
the fine is not paid, the full amount of the assessed fine shall be
added to the fee for renewal of that license. A license shall not be
renewed without payment of the renewal fee and fine.
Where a citation containing a fine is issued to a registered
company and it is not contested or the time to appeal the citation
has expired and the fine is not paid, the board shall not sell to the
registered company any pesticide use stamps until the assessed fine
has been paid.
Where a citation containing the requirement that a licensee attend
and pass a board-approved course of instruction is not contested or
the time to appeal the citation has expired and the licensee has not
attended and passed the required board-approved course of
instruction, the licensee's license shall not be renewed without
proof of attendance and passage of the required board-approved course
of instruction.
(g) Once final action pursuant to this section is taken, no other
administrative or civil action may be taken by any state governmental
agency for the same violation. However, action taken pursuant to
this section may be used by the board as evidence of prior
discipline, and multiple local actions may be the basis for statewide
disciplinary action by the board pursuant to Section 8620. A
certified copy of the order of suspension or fine issued pursuant to
this section or Section 8662 shall constitute conclusive evidence of
the occurrence of the violation.
(h) Where the board is the party issuing the notice of proposed
action to suspend or impose a fine pursuant to subdivision (a),
"commissioner" as used in subdivisions (c), (d), and (e) includes the
board's registrar.

8617.5. Regulations adopted pursuant to Section 11503 of the Food
and Agricultural Code are not applicable to this chapter.

8618. Documents as specified by regulation must be maintained by
all registered companies for three years.

8619. (a) An inspection tag shall be posted whenever an inspection
for wood destroying pests or organisms is made.
(b) If the registered company completes any work with respect to
wood destroying pests or organisms, it shall post a completion tag
next to the inspection tag.