News Briefs
Pest Control Operators of California
February 2016
Taxes in the golden state amount to about $250 billion every year, which equates to $6,000 per Californian. A new report from the Tax Foundation puts our tax burden at 11 percent of personal income.
The subject of taxation in our fair state is always a matter of hot debate, whether it be in State Capitol among legislators or between PCOC members at one of our 19 district meetings. Too high or too low is the perennial question. Who would want to live in California given its high taxes, we ask.
California was the sixth-highest tax level of any state in 2012, but it had dropped from fourth in the 2011 rankings as the percentage also declined from 11.5 percent. Just before the passage of Proposition 13, California’s iconic property tax limit, in 1978, state and local taxation was 12.2 percent of personal income, the nation’s fourth highest.
With property taxes reduced and then limited, California dropped to under 11 percent and its burden has varied only marginally in the nearly 40 years since, ranging from a low of 10.5 percent in the early years of the last decade to as high as 11.7 percent in 2010. If California was still taxing at the 12.2 percent pre-Proposition 13 level, it would mean about $15 billion more in state and local revenue each year and put California in a tie with New Jersey for No. 3 behind New York’s 12.7 percent and Connecticut’s 12.6 percent.
These statistics frame what is certain to be a contentious debate this year by elected state legislators regarding the state budget and also by opponents of at least one statewide ballot initiative which extends the ‘temporary’ surcharges on high income Californians that voters adopted in 2012. Were this initiative to pass, it’s impact would be $8 billion a year.
A few billion here, a few billion there...pretty soon we are talking about real money.
Waikiki Beach Marriot- Honolulu, Hawaii
Hotel Reservations
Board of Directors Meeting- September 21-24,2016
Red Lion Hotel Redding, Redding, CA
Welcome to a new section of Newsbriefs! Here, we will give news from our members: new hires, retirements, etc. If you have some news you would like to share, please send a short sentence or two to breann@pcoc.org.
Visit http://www.naylornetwork.com/cpc-nwl/pdf/MVP-Benefits-listing1.pdf to view the full article online.
Recent Study Reveals:
Employers Do Not Understand OSHA’s Recordkeeping Requirements
This is very relevant to the Pest Control industry, so please take note!
Every year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) releases the Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses. The survey tracks fatal and nonfatal occupational illnesses and injuries requiring days away from work. It reports the type of injury, occupational class of the injured worker and other information that can help employers focus on potential problem areas.
A study titled "Exploring the Relationship between Employer Recordkeeping and Underreporting in the BLS Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses" sought to gauge the accuracy of this survey. The study found that employers did indeed underreport injuries, largely because they either did not comply with or did not understand OSHA’s recordkeeping requirements.
The study’s authors estimated that the BLS survey underestimated injuries by 38 percent due largely to employer error. Specifically:
- 8.4 percent of employers kept no records at all. Of these, half were exempt, but the others should have kept records.
- Most of the employers that maintained OSHA records did not understand what to record. Half included all workers’ compensation claims, all workplace injuries and illnesses that resulted in a medical visit, or all reported injuries regardless of severity.
To clarify what employers must report, OSHA states that, as of January 1, 2015, all employers must report:
- All work-related fatalities within 8 hours.
- All work-related inpatient hospitalizations, all amputations and all losses of an eye within 24 hours.
You can report these to OSHA by:
·Calling OSHA’s free and confidential number at 1-800-321-OSHA (6742).
- Calling or visiting the nearest OSHA area office during normal business hours.
As compliance specialists, we stay abreast of OSHA and other regulations affecting your workplace. For more information on your reporting requirements and other OSHA regulations that might apply to your organization, please contact the PCOC Insurance Program department of EPIC at (877) 860-7378 or, email us @ ProPest@epicbrokers.com. Also check out:www.pcocinsurance.com
| FULL NAME COMPANY DISTRICT |
MEMBER TYPE | JOIN DATE | CHAPTER | REFERRED BY |
| Mr. Lee A. Whitmore | R | 1/26/2016 | VENTURA | |
| Quality Pest Services | ||||
| VENTURA | ||||
| Lauren Thrasher | R | 1/26/2016 | SANDIEGO | |
| Thrasher Termite & Pest Control of So Cal, Inc. | ||||
| SANDIEGO | ||||
| Mr. Uriel Zuniga | R | 1/26/2016 | BAYAREA | |
| The Fume Team Inc | ||||
| BAYAREA | ||||
| Mr. Joel Guron | R | |||
| Mission City Fumigation Santa Barbara | ||||
| SANTABARBARA |
*NEW* NPMA LOGIN FOR JOINT MEMBERSHIP
LOGIN: Email or Personal ID
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Department of Fish & Game
www.dfg.ca.gov
Department of Food & Agriculture
www.cdfa.ca.gov
www.cdpr.ca.gov
DPR on Facebook
www.facebook.com/capesticideregulation
DPR on YouTube (see "playlists" for videos pertaining to new surface water regulations)
www.youtube.com/user/californiapesticides
DPR on Twitter
twitter.com/ca_pesticides
DPR LinkedIn
www.linkedin.com/company/california-department-of-pesticide-regulation
Healthy Schools Act
http://apps.cdpr.ca.gov/schoolipm/
Structural Pest Control Board
www.pestboard.ca.gov
Find Your Legislator
www.leginfo.ca.gov/yourleg.html
