As we move into mid-September, the Pest Control Operators of California (PCOC) calendar has been busy with events and activities that are important to the professional pest management industry and our organization. Just as your schedules at your business are packed full of calls, appointments, and meetings, so are the daily events for PCOC’s leadership and staff. It is truly a team that works to achieve what is in the best interests of our members. 

On July 21st, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced he signed the PCOC-supported AB 307 by Assemblymember Phillip Chen (R-Yorba Linda) regarding the structural fumigation program. The new law extends the sunset date for the Structural Fumigation Enforcement Program under California’s Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) to January 1, 2029.

More recently, there has been significant movement on numerous bills that PCOC has been actively working on this session:

• AB 363 has been amended that provides a carve out for state certified applicators. There are also significant changes to DPR timetable that appear to be negotiated between the Agency and the author of the bill. The bill appears to be proceeding without much opposition from DPR due to amended language.
  
  
• AB 652 has also been recently amended as well. The legislation regarding Environmental Justice Advisory Committee (EJAC) changes previous language convening the EJAC on January 1, 2026, instead of 2025; holding two yearly meetings instead of four, modifies EJAC from 15 members to 11; changes member appointment through the DPR Director and that the EJAC must work with DPR on its charter; and EJAC recommendations shall be done through a public process.
  
  
• AB 1322 passed the Senate floor on a vote of 28-11. The bill would prohibit the use of rodenticide, diphacinone, in certain uses and further restrict other second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides (SGARS), if certain criteria are met. PCOC still has concerns about the precedent of allowing legislators (not DPR through evaluation process) setting arbitrary deadlines without using current scientific based approaches utilized by DPR. 
  
  Currently, PCOC is still working on all possible efforts to secure a veto by the Governor. A Voter Voice is being drafted to send to the PCOC membership first thing next week. PCOC’s leadership encourages all members to participate in this campaign to express the industry’s opposition to AB 1322 to Gov. Gavin Newson.

As the California legislation session is coming to an end, please watch your email accounts for any last minute updates or voter alerts that are important to the professional pest control community.

Michael E. Wilson
Chief Executive Officer
Pest Control Operators of California

With heavy hearts, we regret to inform our members of the passing of Bob Rosenberg on September 10th. Both PMP and PCT wrote wonderful articles about Bob's involvement with the industry.

In Memoriam: Bob Rosenberg, by: Ellen Wagner
Pest Management Professional (PMP) Article

In Memoriam: Bob Rosenberg, by: Brad Harbison
Pest Control Technology (PCT) Article

NPMA's Press Release, September 11, 2023

As Pest Control Professionals, We Protect People, Property, and our Food Supply

I think about this statement each and every day as I am the President of this association. BUT… How can we do better? How can we get the word out to all pest control companies? How can we protect our industry and safeguard it? These are just some of the questions we work on daily. Your association of volunteers and staff work to protect our industry, through legislative and regulatory issues, building relationships, and working on the foundation of PCOC to keep us strong and prevalent for a bright future in Pest Control.

Please join us on September 28th at the Pechanga Resort Casino in Temecula for our Board of Directors meeting. Staff and volunteers have put together a very informative and enjoyable three days. Thursday is our golf tournament and bug crawl/pub crawl. These are two events that give members time to meet and get to know one another which makes us stronger and closer as an association. Friday is our committee meetings and legislative reception. It’s a great time to hear what we are doing and to get involved with a committee or two. Saturday is our Board of Directors meeting where PCOC business is presented and discussed. We encourage every member to take the information back to your districts and share what is happening in our State Association.

See you in Temecula!

Mary Hernandez
PCOC President

All Event Information can be found at WWW.PCOC.ORG/EVENTS

More than 350,000 Americans die of sudden cardiac arrest every year. If one of your employees had a heart attack while at work, would someone there know what to do?   

When blood flow or breathing stops, seconds count. Permanent brain damage or death can happen quickly. Knowing how to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) could save a life. When a person’s heart has stopped or he/she is no longer breathing, CPR can maintain circulation and breathing until emergency medical help arrives. Even those who haven’t had training can do “hands-only” CPR for a person whose heart has stopped beating. “Hands-only” CPR uses chest compressions to keep blood circulating until emergency help arrives.

If you’ve had training, you can use chest compressions and rescue breathing. Rescue breathing helps get oxygen to the lungs for a person who has stopped breathing.

Many organizations offer CPR training, including the American Red Cross. All employers should consider having at least one employee certified in CPR. (In fact, you might already have a certified employee on staff.) Depending on the size of your company and number of shifts, you might need more. Generally, certification takes only a few hours. To keep your skills up, you should repeat the training every two years. Post a list of CPR and first-aid certified employees at key locations in your building to ensure easy access during an emergency.

An automated external defibrillator (AED) provides another tool to help certain heart attack victims survive until emergency help arrives. Experts estimate that 50,000 heart attack victims could be saved every year if rescuers had access to an AED.

The most beneficial AED program is one that not only can provide an AED, but also integrates this life-saving equipment into a comprehensive program that includes clinical expertise and quality assurance to assure the highest level of responder preparedness.

For more information or help, contact the Insurance professionals of EPIC’s PCOC Insurance Program.

Let’s dive into the highlights:

1. Eye Wash Station Regulation Review: Earlier this year, DPR suggested amendments to site decontamination rules, which we've dubbed the "eye wash regulations". Following our extensive communications - calls, written feedback, public hearing inputs, and more - DPR decided to revisit the requirement of eye wash stations for non-corrosive pesticide materials. This chiefly concerns our Branch 2 & 3 firms. To offer a realistic perspective, we provided DPR with a video detailing our routine exposure to these products and the contexts in which we handle them. We're keenly awaiting DPR's feedback on potential adjustments to these proposed rules.
   
   
2. Updates from the Structural Pest Control Board: The board recently shared draft details on alterations to the Continuing Education Credit framework. This is in line with the necessary amendments stemming from the 2017 Federal EPA Certification and Training (C&T) ruling.
   
   
3. EPA C&T Ruling and Licensing: In light of the EPA C&T ruling, DPR has reclassified the QAL/QAC categories for fumigation, introducing the test for Category M (Non-Soil Fumigation). Effective January 1, 2024, this license will be imperative for non-structural fumigation tasks such as commodity or burrow fumigation for rodents. For a thorough understanding: 
   
   ANRCatalog - Non-Soil Fumigation: A Pesticide Applicator Study Guide - ANR Catalog (ucanr.edu) Knowledge Expectations for Qualified Applicator Certificate & Qualified Applicator Licensce: Category M - Non-Soil Fumigation Category  
   
   More insights can be garnered from the DPR website or consulting your local distributor.
   
   
4. PCOC Committee Restructuring: In our commitment to serve our members better, PCOC has decided to bifurcate the Public Policy initiatives into two distinct bodies: the Legislative and Regulatory Committees. We're on the edge of our seats for the committee charters, which will delineate the specific domains of each group. Updates on this front are expected in the forthcoming board meeting, with detailed discussions scheduled for the respective committee assemblies. 

Stay tuned for more updates and thank you for your continued dedication and patience!

Darren Van Steenwyk, M.S., BCE
Regulatory Committee Chair — PCOC
Sprague Pest Solutions, Regional Entomologist
+1 661-610-8725
dvansteenwyk@spraguepest.com

“Trust is the foundation of Leadership.”

- John Maxwell

In John Maxwell’s Book, ‘The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership’, which I highly recommend, he devotes an entire chapter to The Law of Solid Ground, detailing the importance of building trust, and how to go about doing just that. He goes so far as to say that ‘Trust… is the glue that holds an organization together.’ I could not agree more. We have all seen examples where trust has deteriorated with politicians, with businesses, and probably even in our personal relationships. Once you no longer trust someone, or something, you typically don’t want to be around them much, or invest in them. And the opposite is just as true. You want to invest your time and resources in those people or organizations that you believe in.

So, what does that mean for us as an association? What does this have to do with us?

I’d like to point out three areas where we as an Association do a great job of building trust:

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