Ms. Jo-Christy Brown Replaced Mr. John Gonzalez;
Mr. Elias Briseno Replaced Dr. R. J. Dutton
Dr. Jay D. Stone Replaced Ms. Pat Humphrey
Ms. Madeline Gamble Replaced Ms. Kathleen St. John
Mr. Gary Gillen replaced Mr. Darrell Hutto
Mr. Les Hoyt was reappointed for a 2nd Term

The Bad News: We would like to bid a fond farewell toJerry Bynum - Investigator for the Texas Panhandle, who retired in Februaryafter 20 years of outstanding service with this agency and an additional 10years with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. We wish him well in all thathe does. He will be missed and we are sorry to see him go.

The Good News: Dennis Maloney, current investigatorfor the Midland/Odessa area will be moving to Amarillo soon to take over Jerrysarea. Good luck Dennis!

This year Van Brock, Supervising Investigator, will celebrate25 years of service with the Structural Pest Control Board. Van is currentlystationed in the Houston Area.

Van has made many contributions to this agency over theyears, and has made many personal sacrifices for the agency. We want to thankhim for all of his hard work and loyalty. Next time you see him congratulatehim.

The really good news: Van is not planning on retiringany time soon.

The Texas Structural Pest Control Boards UniversalStandards represent the overarching goals of the agency for its customer serviceperformance. The Universal Standards apply to all employees serving all externaland internal customers.

In carrying out our mission to protect public health and theenvironment:

• We will be courteous, professional, flexible, honest and helpful in all dealings with our customers.
• We will answer all telephone calls promptly, and will respond to them that day or at the close of the next business day.
• We will respond to all correspondence within ten (10) working days of receipt.
• We will provide our customers with clear, easy to understand, timely and accurate information about products, services, policies and procedures.
• We will seek customer input to make informed decisions on policies, programs and rules.
• We will undertake periodic surveys to find out what our customers thinking of our services and how we could make further improvements.

HOW ARE WE DOING? The SPCB staff is interestedin your opinion. Over the next 12 months we will be sending licensees a surveycard to complete. If you have any comments, good or bad, about our customerservice, we would like to here from you, so fill them out and get them back assoon as possible.

Lisa Ishola- Receptionist     To Leave a Message for a Field Investigator; To Request Copies of Forms; Law Book Requests.

Linda Bravo     Examinations; Scheduling Examinations; Grade Letters

Yolanda Ruiz     Problems With Applications, Renewals, or Licenses; New Businesses; Requests for Mailing Labels, Printouts, or Diskette of Licensees.

Judy Graven or Susan Runaldue    Enforcement; Complaints Regarding Pest Control Companies or Applicators; Administrative Hearings;Administrative Penalties; Executive Sessions; Warning Letters; Open Records Requests; Complaint File Copy Requests; Assists General Counsel; General Counsels Office.

Cassandra Johnson    Insurance requirements; Deputy Administrators Office; Assists Deputy Administrator.

Rita Martinez     Hardship Licensure Requirements;Assistance with The SPCB Web Page Access: Executive Offices; Assists Executive Director; Board Member Liaison.

Effective September 1, 1997 employees of a school,governmental entity or cemetery that perform pest control work on growingplants, trees shrubs, grass or other horticulture plants or rights-of way maychose to be licensed with the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) or withSPCB, or both. This includes certifications in the lawn and ornamental categoryand weed control category.

Certified applicators must meet the requirements that areoutlined by the regulation. For those individuals currently licensed with SPCBwanting to switch to TDA please contact our office in writing for furtherinformation on transferring your examination grades. TDA may require additionaltesting. For those seeking new licensure you may contact either SPCB or contactTDA at (512) 463-7622 or 1-800-TELL-TDA.

The Structural Pest Control Board has proposed a regulationchange whereby it would be a requirement that all companies list their name andaddress on all of their forms and contracts. For questions or comments aboutthis proposed regulation please contact the SPCB office.

Appproval for Yellow and Red List Products Form: Youare no longer required to send this completed form to the SPCB office. We nolonger maintain the PO Box for this purpose. These forms, once completed, needto be kept on file in the pest control use records for the School.

Forms No Longer in Use:

• Any Forms that have the SPCB 9101 Burnet Road Address need to be replaced - remember we have long since moved from this address.
• Certification of Training form - this form is no longer used.
• Application for Commercial Technician Exam or Application for Noncommercial Technician Exam (with a notary space at the bottom) - these forms have been replaced.
• Application for Technician-Apprentice License - this form is no longer used.

Forms Tip: When creating forms to comply with SPCBregulations you may want to consider adding a signature line for the customer.

There have been several regulation changes since our lastnewsletter in April 1997. Below we have listed a brief summary of each change.For further information you may contact the SPCB office.

Sections 595.6 and 595.8: Pest Control Sign - Effective July8, 1997
A person may not be considered in violation of this sectionif the space to be treated is vacant, unused and unoccupied at the time oftreatment, or if extenuating circumstances require an unplanned treatment.

An updated version of the Notice of Pest Control Treatment isincluded with this newsletter for your use.

Section 595.7: Consumer Information Sheet - Effective July 8,1997
The Consumer Information Sheet has been changed to includewording covering Reduced Impact Service. An updated version of this form hasbeen included with this newsletter.

Also, customers may now waive receipt of the ConsumerInformation Sheet for multiple treatments by signing or initialing the followingwritten statement: "I have received one copy of the Consumer InformationSheet for all treatments to be provided as part of this pest control serviceagreement. I may receive additional copies at any time upon request to theservice provider, and will receive any updates to the Consumer Information Sheetwhich may occur." The pest control operator must keep a copy of thisstatement in the pest control use records for each customer covered by theagreement.

Sections 593.23 and 593.24: Continuing Education Requirementsfor Certified Applicators-Effective August 12, 1997
Certified applicators may now receive continuing educationcredits from self-study courses. Self-study courses submitted for approval mustmeet the requirements for self-study courses as outlined in Section 593.24covering the criteria and evaluation of continuing education courses. At thistime no self study courses have been submitted to the SPCB for review.

Reminder: Effective January 1, 1997 the continuingeducation certification cycle changed; each certified applicator is now requiredto obtain 2 credits in the general standards and 1 credit in each of theircategories within the preceding 12 months of their renewal date. The SPCBoffice will no longer maintain records of course attendance. Each certifiedapplicator will be responsible for maintaining records of attendance and forreporting the courses attended in the past year on their yearly renewal form. Onyour renewal form you will be asked to list the course numbers attended for eachcategory. If you fail to list a course number for any category, your licensewill not be renewed in that category. The penalty for falsifying CEU recordsmay result in a fine of $2,500 to $5,000, a six month license suspension andre-testing by the certified applicator. Failure to comply with CEU regulationswill result in license suspension in all deficient categories for one year oruntil all deficiencies are corrected and the certified applicators must thenre-qualify by taking the certification examination.

The Texas Structural Pest Control Board, in association withall the pesticide regulatory agencies in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona andCalifornia is conducting training and information exchanges with pesticideregulatory officials from Mexico. These seminars are being funded by a grantfrom the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). We are gaining a betterunderstanding of the laws in Mexico and establishing working relationships withour counterparts to address issues of mutual concern.

The Texas Structural Pest Control Board has been workingthrough the Association of Structural Pest Control Regulatory Officials (ASPCRO)to develop a training-the-trainer guide. The purpose of this document will be tohelp a pest control business which does not have access to professional trainersto efficiently train newly hired employees in the basic pest control skillsnecessary for them to begin productive work. The guide is designed to be used inconjunction with existing training materials. It should be published later thisyear.

It is the intent of the Structural Pest Control Board toinvestigate every documented complaint submitted alleging violations of theStructural Pest Control Act.

Proper documentation is a written and signed statement givingthe names and addresses of the complaining party and the party who performed thepest control related work, the date of the alleged occurrence, a brief statementof the events concerning the complaint, and copies of any contracts, reports orother pertinent information.

The Structural Pest Control Board has a complaint formavailable upon request.

We will respond to verbal complaints if the circumstancesindicate an imminent health or environmental hazard. We do require a signedcomplaint at the time of the investigation or as soon after as possible.

Our investigator may also respond to verbal complaints madeto them that are not of an emergency nature if they are in close proximity tothe place to be investigated and do not have other obligations for their time. Awritten complaint should be submitted at the beginning of the investigation.

Each complaint will be assessed by the board staff and givena priority rating prior to the initial investigation. The assessment willinclude: the nature of the alleged violation; a determination of the boardsauthority in the matter; a determination if there is an imminent threat topublic health or the environment; a determination as to the type and extent ofinvestigation needed; and a determination if other state or federal agenciesshould be notified.

The SPCB does not automatically provide complainants or thepest control operator involved with a copy of the final report. This reducescopying, postage and labor costs spent re-producing documents which no one hasrequested. Complainants and PCOs involved who desire a copy of the finalcomplaint report must request a copy in writing.

4        Failure to Maintain Pest Control Use Records                                                $ 2,750
3        Failure to Post Termite Treatment Sticker                                                        $ 1,500
1        Failure to Provide Consumer Information Sheets                                           $    250
1        Failure to Have Jurisdiction Statement on Contracts                                    $    250

8         Failure to Provide Termite Treatment Disclosure Documents                    $ 10,500
8         Failure to Register An Employee                                                                    $    6,600
1         Failure to Maintain Training Records                                                            $      250
1         Failure to Treat According to Disclosure                                                      $     500

9         Inaccurate Wood Destroying Insect Report                                                $ 11,000
5         Lapse in Insurance Coverage                                                                          $  3,100
3         Failure to Adequately Supervise An Employee                                            $  2,000
1         Failure to Comply with Contract Specifications                                            $  1,000
1         Failure to Provide Information to an Investigator Upon Request              $  1,000
1         Failure to Allow Biennial Establishment Inspection                                     $  1,000

14       Advertising or Operating Without a License                                                    $ 41,500
6         Failure to Provide Notice of Pre-Construction Termite Treatment                 $ 33,000
6         Use Inconsistent with Label                                                                                 $ 13,000
4         Failure to Perform a Proper Pre-Construction Termite Treatment                   $ 12,000
2         Failure to Comply with a Final Order of the Board                                            $  4,500
1         Falsifying a WDI Report                                                                                        $  3,500

Total Amount Assessed                                                                                                $149,200

I am a licensed certified applicator and recently took theexam for an additional category. What fees do I need to pay before I am licensedin this category?
If you are already a licensed certified applicator and have passed theexam for an additional category, you are automatically licensed in thatcategory. We will not reprint a license showing your additional category unlessyou pay a reprinting fee of $20.00, however, this category will be reflected inour records and printed on your license at your next renewal date.

Can I get a commercial license without On-the-Job Training?
It is a licensing requirement for all individuals seeking a technicianlicense that on the job training be conducted; however, individuals seeking acertified applicator license may qualify to take the exam one of four ways; (a)having twelve months experience out of the past 24 months, in the pest controlindustry, with six months as a licensed technician; (b) by having a degree inthe biological sciences from an accredited college or university; (c) by havingrecent technical field experience from a pest control related occupation; or (d)by qualifying under the hardship clause as outlined in the SPCB regulations.[Noncommercial certified applicators may qualify via a board approvedcourse.]

Can I fax an exam application?
We do not accept faxed applications. We must have an original applicationand all applicable fees mailed to us, postmarked, on or before the examregistration deadline date.

What do you mean by registration deadline date for the exam?
Your application for exam must be mailed to us, postmarked, on or beforethe exam registration deadline date of 30 days before the exam.

I am scheduled for the exam, but can not make it. What do Ido?
You may reschedule your exam if you notify the examination department,in writing, 10 days prior to the scheduled exam date. Medical emergencies or adeath in the family are excused, provided a doctors note or a notarizedletter is submitted. BUSINESS OR WORK SCHEDULES ARE NOT CONSIDEREDEMERGENCIES.

I scheduled an employee to take an exam and he quit or wasterminated. Can I request that my exam fee be refunded?
If the employee quit or was terminated before the testing, date you maybe eligible for a refund of the testing fee if you notify the examinationdepartment, in writing, immediately.

I just took the exam. When will I receive my test results?
In order to provide efficient and precise information concerning examresults, we ask that you not call the SPCB in regards to yourresults until 31 days after the date you sat for your exam. Generally, resultsare sent out from one to four weeks after the exam date. Answering telephonecalls regarding exam results significantly increase the amount of time it takesfor our staff to grade exams, and will delay receipt of your grades further.

What do I need to do if I want to add a category to alicensed technician?
This individual will need to obtain the required 60 hours of on-the-job,plus 10 hours of classroom training in the requested category. Proof of thesetraining hours will need to be kept in the personnel records of the employer.Once the individual has received the required training the individual will needto take the technician exam in that category within 12 months of the date of thetraining for this category. The employer does not need to apply for anapprentice card for this individual.

When I change employers how do I transfer my apprentice cardto the new company?
Apprentice cards are not transferrable. You will need to complete anApplication for Pest Control Commercial Technician License or an Application forNoncommercial Technician License and pay the $36.00. Your new employer will needto request copies of your verifiable training record from your previousemployer. Verifiable training is valid for one year from the date trainingbegan. If one year has passed since beginning training, you will need to beretrained accordingly.

How do I report training hours to the board?
The SPCB no longer requires that a certificate of training form be sentto our office. Verifiable training records must be maintained in the personnelfile of each individual receiving training. The records are to be kept at leastone year after termination of employment, and must be made available upon therequest of an SPCB investigator.

What training does an apprentice have to repeat if theirapprentice card expires before taking the technician exam? Will they need tostart all over from the beginning?
Apprentice cards are non-renewable. If the apprentice does not pass thetechnician exam prior to their card expiration, date they will need to completean Application for Pest Control Commercial Technician License or an Applicationfor Noncommercial Technician License and pay the $36.00 fee. The individual willneed to be retrained accordingly: 22 hours of classroom training in the GeneralStandards and 60 hours of On-The-Job training plus 10 hours ofclassroom training in each category . Until all training is completed, theapprentice must have direct on-site supervision by either a licensed certifiedapplicator or licensed technician.

If the SPCB receives a complaint against me or my company, and the complainantis not willing to give their name, will the SPCB investigate the complaint?
Yes, we investigate all complaints received by our office; however, inthe case of an anonymous complaint, we would be limited in our fact findingprocess to the information provided in the original complaint. Therefore, athorough investigation into the allegations may not be possible.

What are the specific steps involved in a complaintinvestigation?
When the complaint is received by the SPCB office, it is logged, andthen reviewed to make sure that the nature of the complaint is something thatfalls within the scope of the responsibilities of the SPCB. The complaint isthen prioritized, copied and mailed out to the appropriate investigator. Uponreceipt of the complaint, the investigator takes note of the priority and beginstheir investigation. Usually the investigator contacts the complainant first;however, sometimes there are factors such as travel expense or time which wouldresult in the first contact being made to the pest control operator. After theinvestigation is complete, the investigator writes a complaint investigationreport, attach any pertinent documentation and send the report to SPCBheadquarters. Once the report is received, it is logged and reviewed by thelegal counsel and the executive director for final decision. The investigatoracts as an unbiased fact gatherer.

Does the SPCB ever investigate the complainee?
The investigator has to obtain evidence to substantiate allegations orprove allegations are unfounded. The investigator takes detailed notes duringthe interview with the complainants, licensees, and witnesses. The investigatorcan only act as an impartial fact finder. During the fact finding process, theinvestigator not only takes statements but performs an inspection of theproperty, verifies any possible consumer pest control attempts, takes sampleswhen warranted, and reviews all paperwork pertaining to that specific service.

In September 1997, we changed the way we will distribute lawand regulation handbooks. We have made the current law book in an 8 1/2 by 11inch format that will fit into a loose leaf 3 ring notebook. When we have lawand regulation changes, the appropriate pages can simply be replaced. The Boardwill provide ONE copy of the law book to each company. The companyin turn can reproduce this book to provide copies for each employee. We willprovide each company with a copy upon written, faxed, or E-mailed request to theSPCB office.

We hope that this process will cut down on the confusion asto which law book is the current issue and also make it easier to keep up withregulation changes.

Additionally, we currently have a pocket sized summary of the lawregulations. You may fax or write the SPCB office for a copy.

• When completing applications it is helpful if you use your legal name; first, middle and last.
• Please type or write legibly - if you cant read it we probably cant read it.
• Please remember to remind your insurance agent that we only accept insurance certificates completed on our form.
• Certificates of insurance need to indicate your LOCATION ADDRESS. Certificates showing your mailing address will be rejected and will delay issuance of your licenses.
• When calling the SPCB office please have your license number handy.
• Termination Notices and Address Change Notices can be mailed or faxed to us on your company letterhead.

Internet Address: www.spcb.capnet.state.tx.us.Our web page is still under construction and any comments or suggestions arewelcomed. Our investigator, Mike Buchanan, has worked very hard on our web pageand we all thank him for his hard work and patience. Once you are logged ontoour web page, be sure to check out our staff members. We even have pictures ofsome of us. For some of you, it will be nice to have a face to go with the voiceheard over the phone.

E-mail address: spcb@mail.capnet.state.tx.us

Which ever way you choose to contact us is fine, as we loveto hear from you.