Every year most trade associations in Sacramento have a "legislative day" where members converge on the Capitol and visit legislators' offices. This rite of spring (they actually do occur at this time of year because of the legislative calendar) is often taken for granted. This year it is even more important than usual: a new administration and 40 new legislators. This function of YOUR trade association is vitally important for the ongoing protection of our industry. In fact you could argue that affecting the legislative process is THE most important thing we do! The power of the pest control industry is in the VOICE of individuals working together. This activity rises up from the local level and from the district level that state senators and assemblypersons represent.

That is why the act of making appointments with your local legislators, and inviting them to our legislative reception, is so essential. The more members we have coming to Leg Day, the more effective PCOC can be. It is of great concern to me that, over the last couple of years, the number of attendees has slowly been dropping. This, at a time when the number of legislative threats against the pest control industry is starting to increase.

It is true that our grassroots lobbying on our elected officials should not be confined to just one day. In fact, we are in the process of developing an "adopt-a-legislator" program where legislators can spend a day with a pest control professional in their district and learn why the public needs to hire a professional. Legislators will, in this way, learn about our responsible, professional and regulated industry.

That being said, I have observed over the years, the importance that legislators place on seeing the commitment of their constituents when they take the time to come to Sacramento. Please consider making the extra effort this year and attend our PCOC Leg Day on April 27. Your participation will help educate all the new legislators that have arrived in Sacramento! You can register by clicking HERE and filling out the registration form, then faxing it to our office.

"As to Disney photos, logos, and properties: ©Disney"

JOIN US AT THE DISNEYLAND® RESORT FOR

PCOC'S 68^TH ANNUAL CONVENTION & TRADESHOW

You can book your rooms and purchase tickets for the theme parks now. Just click on the appropriate link below:

Room Reservations: https://resweb.passkey.com/go/pestcontrol2011

Theme Park Tickets: http://www.disneyconventionear.com/GDPF11A

Exhibitor Registration

Attendee Registration

Please note: These special theme park ticket prices are not available once you arrive at the resort. Our ticket store closes at 9 p.m. PST on 6/19/2011 so don't delay.

MEMBERSHIP CONTEST

Tamara Tibbett-Arendt of American Pest Control Company is in the lead with four new members. The contest runs until May 31, 2011. $1,000.00 will be awarded to the person who brings in the most new members and there will be an additional drawing for another $1,000.00 Yay Tamara! Keep up the good work. Click here for contest rules.

RECRUIT RECRUIT RECRUIT

2011 PCOC FUMIGATION BANNER BONANZA CONTEST

Dow AgroSciences is again sponsoring the 2011 Fumigation Banner Contest. The rules are the same as last year and we have provided a link here to view them. The contest will run from March 1, 2011 thru May 31, 2011. There will be four winners again this year. Please mail all submissions to:

Electronic submissions may be made at: billgaither@pcoc.org

The entries are already coming in; don't forget to send yours!

NPMA/PCOC BED BUG SYMPOSIUMS

The resurgence of bed bugs has created significant concern among anyone responsible for providing housing to the general public. In response, NPMA has partnered with PCOC, the National Apartment Association, and the American Hotel and Lodging Association to deliver a workshop series designed to educate these audiences in effectively responding to the threat of bed bugs. This is a not-to-miss opportunity to interact with potential customers from the hotel and lodging, apartment, property management, and university housing markets.

On May 2, 2011 in San Francisco, May 4 in Orange County and on May 5 in San Diego PCOC and NPMA will be hosting all-day seminars on bed bugs. Our target audience will be the hotel industry, apartment managers association and property managers and other related associations. These seminars will include presentations on bed bug facts and will include a panel of PCOs to answer questions. At each location will be an exhibit hall where PCOC member companies will be able to sponsor a booth and be available to interact with the seminar participants. More information and registration will be made available in the near future.

DISTRICT ELECTIONS

Now is the time to start consideration for the election of new district officers and directors. Districts need to complete their elections no later than April 30, 2011 and submit the results to the PCOC office no later than later than May 1, 2011. By following this timeline it allows PCOC staff the necessary time to prepare for the annual Leadership Academy.

REGISTERED PEST CONTROL DEVICES TO CONTROL WOOD-DESTROYING PESTS

The Structural Pest Control Device Program, which began in 1998, mandates the registration of all devices intended to control termites, carpenter ants, powder post beetles, and other wood-destroying pests. These devices typically utilize heat, microwave or electrical treatments. As part of the registration process, registrants must provide the Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) with data insuring the safety and efficacy of their devices. It is unlawful to use these devices unless they are registered.

Though in the past DPR provided a list of registered devices, they are now found on the DPR website by conducting a Registration Branch database inquiry. The number and types of devices will fluctuate over time.

The database is located on the DPR website at: http://www.cdpr.ca.gov/docs/label/chemcode.htm  

To locate registered devices in the Registration Branch database, begin by entering the word "device" in the "chemical-code" search box, on the page linked above. A list of devices will appear with blue chemical code numbers to their left. Click on the appropriate code and you will then be able to select from "all" products, or just "active" products.

If you need further help or clarification, please contact the Enforcement Branch Chief, Nan Gorder at: (916) 324-4100 or ngorder@cdpr.ca.gov

Africanized Honeybee Certification Renewal

Attention: All PCOs Certified To Control Africanized Honeybees

The Board of Directors of the Pest Control Operators of California has approved a program for the renewal of the Africanized Honeybee Certification program/course.

Effective immediately all persons who have previously completed the AHB course must comply with the following conditions:

(1) All certified licensees must perform a check in with PCOC to update their status (i.e., employer, mailing address and license status) with either or both the SPCB and DPR. This check in process will be done through the PCOC website online and will begin May 1, 2010 and must be completed by June 30, 2011. Anyone who does not complete the check in process will be dropped from the AHB database maintained by PCOC. Staff will have the flexibility to accommodate licensees who fail to check in during this time period because of extenuating circumstances such as active duty overseas or other similar situations.

(2) After the initial check in, certified licensees will be sent an email annually to the email address they have established in the system (the licensee will be able to go online at any time and update their profile and contact information, including their email address) reminding them to check in to confirm their contact information and status as an active (or inactive) certified licensee.

(3) Thereafter every six years certified licensees would be required to retake the full certification course.

(4) Thereafter every three years (in between the six-year renewal) every certified licensee will be required to take a one-hour online class on the PCOC website. The AHB Subcommittee will create and post a one-hour class annually, which will be available to all AHB certified licensees to take each year. Some classes will focus on updates on a particular nuance of AHB management; other classes may focus on updates on the AHB movement, stinging incidents, new technologies and other timely issues.

(5) AHB licensees who last took the full AHB Certification course prior to 2009 will have to take the full AHB Certification class by the end of 2014. This allows a full four years to accommodate these licensees to get into the system of retaking the full AHB Certification course every six years.

(6) AHB certified licensees who last took the full AHB Certification course in 2009 or later will have to take the full AHB Certification class within six years of when they last completed the class.

CURRENT CHALLENGES WHICH NECESSITATE THE NEED FOR RENEWALS

• Lack of compliance with standards. Hopefully this is due to length of time since some have taken the course rather than a desire to purposefully violate the standards.
• Desire to maintain highest levels of integrity and professionalism within this industry/statutory certification.
• No system by which to maintain an up-to-date database of certified licensees. Counties, state agencies and the public have all complained that our database is all but useless because it contains licensees who are no longer in the industry, or who are certified, but longer desire to control honeybees.

CHECK IN PROCEDURE

All AHB licensees (PCOC members and all non-members) must contact PCOC staff for login and password information. The AHB licensee then must go to the PCOC website; http://www.pcoc.org/. Click on the Find/Hire a Pest Control Company button, then click on the add/update your listing line. Click on the update your listing box.

ALL AHB LICENSEES MUST UPDATE THEIR LISTING TO INCLUDE CURRENT EMPLOYER, ADDRESS AND CONTACT INFORMATION.

The update will be automatically forwarded to the PCOC staff.

It is the responsibility of the AHB licensee to complete the update before June 30, 2011 or you will be dropped from the AHB database.

Pete Matzen

Richard (Dick) Sheley

Richard (Dick) Sheley passed away on March 7, 2011 from cancer.  He owned Georges Pest Control and serviced the North valley from Yuba city to Redding with main office in Chico. His wife Nancy survives him.

Have you ever wondered how your insurer comes up with your workers' compensa­tion premium? Four factors come into play: your business classification, the rate for that classification, your employees' remuneration and your experience modification factor.

Business Classifications

Workers' com­pensation insurers group businesses into different classifications based on relative hazard. Your classification depends on your organization's primary operations. For example, roofers experience more frequent and more costly claims than in-house salespeople, so a roofing business would pay a higher rate than a sales organization. To en­sure you don't pay too much for your workers' compensation, check the classification listed on your policy to make sure the insurer has appropriately categorized your business by primary operations.

Payroll

Insurers calculate your premiums by multiplying the rate for your classification by total estimated annual payroll. This includes your em­ployees' gross wages and other compensation, be­fore withholding taxes or other deductions.

Rates

Workers' compensation insurers show rates per $100 of payroll. In most states, rating bureaus, which are independent organizations, help determine workers' compensation rates. Rating bureaus collect data on claims and costs from member insurers, then use this information to calculate rates insurers will need to charge to provide mandated benefits without losing money. They publish rates for hundreds of different job categories, shown as rate per $100 of payroll. These rates are based on the relative hazards of each occupation.

In California, published rates are sug­gestions only, and individual insurers are free to charge more or less. As with anything else, however, beware rates that vary too much from the norm—if an insurer quotes you a rate that seems too good to be true, it might be!

Experience Modification Factor

If your business qualifies for more than a "minimum premium" policy, the insurer may apply an experience modification factor.

Insurance companies send information on employers' premiums and losses to the ap­plicable rating bureau, which then calculates experience modifications based paid claims and incurred losses for the "experience period, " generally three years prior to the last policy renewal date.

The resulting experience modification fac­tor generally ranges from .75 to 1.75. An experience modification 1.00 indicates your losses reached the expected dollar amount. A number higher than 1.00 indicates that your risk of loss is greater than average, while an experience modification of less than 1.00 in­dicates your risk is better than average. If you meet the minimum premium levels, keeping your experience modification low can reduce your workers' compensation premiums.

The most important step in keeping experi­ence modifications low is to reduce your work­ers' compensation claims. Focus on controlling the smaller, more frequent losses--they will im­pact your experience modifications more than less frequent, larger losses.

Next, you'll want to periodically review your payroll and claims information for accu­racy. Make sure your payroll data is accurate and your experience modification calculations include data from the proper years. And keep tabs on loss reserves--unused loss reserves af­fect your experience modification.

If you are interested in learning more about how your premiums are calculated, we can re­view your policy and claims history with you. We can also help you develop loss reduction strategies to keep your costs under control. For more information, please call the PCOC Insurance Program department at Jenkins Insurance Services at (800) 234-6363.

TEMPORARY NPMA LOGIN FOR JOINT MEMBERSHIP

LOGIN: 313501

PASSWORD: PCOC

PCOC Web site password for 2010-2011: "termite"

Please remember, the password changes every July 1!

Department of Fish & Game
www.dfg.ca.gov

Department of Food & Agriculture
www.cdfa.ca.gov

Department of Pesticide Regulation
www.cdpr.ca.gov

Find Your Legislator
www.leginfo.ca.gov/yourleg.html

Healthy Schools Act
www.schoolipm.info

Structural Pest Control Board
www.pestboard.ca.gov

For an additional charge, you may access a 24-hour hotline providing consultation by qualified medical doctors on pesticide-related medical emergencies. This service is provided free of charge to Peacock Group insureds.