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A SIGNIFICANT PCOC VICTORY
A great deal of smoke and mirrors happens in the legislative process both in Washington, D.C, and in our state legislature. One of the shadiest practices is the process of marking items with ‘tbl'. This is insider shorthand for ‘trailer bill language.' In recent years, ‘trailer bills' have proliferated because they have become handy vehicles for enacting policy changes without the scrutiny or public input normally accorded regular bills. Trailer bills are usually drafted in secret just days, or sometimes hours, before they are presented for floor votes in both legislative houses. Note that there is no hearing on these bills. The devil is often in the details and the actual effect of this legislation may not become apparent until after it has passed. Thus, the trailer bill process is often a game of hide the pea...or catch me if you can. Enter the pest control industry this year. Thanks to the diligence of our legislative advocacy team, a trailer bill was found with language that would have allowed every city and county to regulate pesticides. It would have eliminated the current state pre-emption statute which mandates that only the state (through DPR) can regulate pesticides in California based on proven scientific evidence. Immediately after we found out about this trailer bill, PCOC went in to high gear: we pulled out all the stops and contacts that we have. We helped form a coalition of business groups who were also opposed to eliminating state pre-emption. I am happy to report that the language was taken out of the final version of the budget. Reason prevailed, for once. Still, it is a salutary reminder of how quickly and how undemocratically things can go sideways in the legislative process. It also confirms the fact that PCOC needs to remain ever vigilant and remain a strong force in Sacramento in order to protect the industry. SURVEY OF IPM IN CHILDCARE PCOC is working with the the UC Berkeley Center for Environmental Research and Children's Health (CERCH), the UC Integrated Pest Management Program (UC IPM), and the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) to bring more integrated pest management (IPM) information to pest management professionals working in California. We are conducting an online survey to collect information about current pest management practices and identify education and outreach needs regarding IPM in child care environments. All information will be kept confidential. The survey should not take more than 10-15 minutes. |
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