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Senate passes bill to license commercial pest-control businesses after contentious debate; 20–6
Summary
Senators passed second substitute House Bill 413 to create a licensing process for commercial pest-control companies under the Department of Agriculture. Debate centered on education requirements and grandfathering; the final recorded vote was 20 yes, 6 no, 3 absent.
Sponsor Senator Ipsen explained that Second Substitute House Bill 413 would establish a Department of Agriculture licensing program for commercial pest-control companies, a sector previously unlicensed at the state level. The bill sets minimum qualifications for new licensees (including an associate degree or equivalent experience provisions) and includes grandfathering for applicators with at least two years’ experience in the last ten years.
Senator Henderson voiced concern that the educational requirements (associates degree or equivalent) could ‘‘cut a bunch of people out of the market’’ and called the proposal ‘‘a little protectionist’’ rather than strictly safety-driven. Henderson said he would vote no on the bill. Senator Stevenson and others defended the measure as a safety step, noting serious incidents in previous years involving pesticides and emphasizing that higher-concentration commercial products require proper training.
The Senate recorded a roll-call vote: Second Substitute House Bill 413, having received 20 yay votes, 6 nay votes and 3 being absent, passed the Senate and will be signed in open session by the president pro tem and returned to the House.
