TDA announces new penalty guidelines

It would be nice if we all would be motivated to do the right thing solely by the promises of good things (carrots!).  But in reality most of us need painful consequences (the proverbial stick!) to keep us consistently honest.  That's the reason for the new Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) penalty matrix.

On June 14 the TDA and the Structural Pest Control Service published new penalty guidelines and a penalty matrix (table) for companies in violation of pest control rules and regulations.  The TDA has always worked from a table of penalties, though the industry rarely saw it.  The new penalty guidelines and tables are an attempt to make the process more transparent to your business and the public.

Because these are not new rules or regulations, the penalty matrix does not require public input, though the TDA has indicated that it will accept and consider comments and recommendations. Draft versions of the matrix were previously shown to the Texas Pest Control Association and the Structural Pest Control Advisory Committee, and comments were incorporated into the final draft published last week. The matrix will go into effect July 1.

As a member of the Advisory Committee I hear comment from many of you concerning enforcement of rules.  I know one of the major concerns by conscientious applicators around the state is that penalties be significant, yet fair and consistently enforced.  The new matrix does involve increases in some fines, and is designed to encourage more consistency in penalty assessment over the previous matrix.

The table allows the TDA some freedom in determining the exact fine, and a fine may be higher that indicated on the table depending on intent of the violator and consequences of the violation.  I encourage everyone with a structural pest control business to become familiar with the matrix, and review it with employees this summer as a reminder that the carrot is always better than the stick.

TDA meets with its advisory committtee

While the bright lights and news cameras focused on Austin politicians introducing their latest bills at the 83rd Regular Legislative Session, the Structural Pest Control Advisory Committee met quietly this week with leaders of the Texas Department of Agriculture's Structural Pest Control Service.  The focus of the meeting, as always, was to provide TDA administrators with feedback on new ideas for how to streamline operations and minimize pest and pesticide risk to the public.

The flu season may have explained the low turnout at this quarter's meeting (the first time I recall no public comments), but committee members still found stuff to discuss, especially with regard to the first draft of TDA's proposed penalty matrix.

So what's a penalty matrix? It sounds boring.

I guess a penalty matrix is pretty boring unless you're the one being penalized. The SPCS has always used some form of matrix, or chart, to assign penalties to different possible violations of the Structural Pest Control Act and its regulations.  Under the law, the TDA Administrator is given leeway in assigning penalties to violators, up to a maximum fine of $5,000/violation/day and/or license suspension, revocation or denial. The matrix provides a transparent and objective means of pre-assigning penalties for different violations.  While not constraining the Department from giving a higher or lower fine, it sets guidelines for fair penalties if you, say, fail to provide an inspector with a valid applicator's license.

The draft guidelines list approximately 70 possible violations and puts each into a table of low (S1), medium (S2) or high (penalty) violations.  Within each of these three tables an offense can be categorized as minor, moderate, or major. Penalties increase in each of these columns from the first to third instances of violations over a five year period.  So there are three tables, each with three rows and three columns of penalties.

For example, failing to have your company's TPCL number on any vehicle in which you do pest control business is considered (in this draft) to be an S1-Moderate violation. You would expect to receive a $150 fine for a first violation.  That fine would increase to $300 and $450 fines for the second and third violations.

Moving up the scale, failure to provide an accurate or complete WDI Report is an S2 Moderate violation, worth $750 for a first offense.  Operating out of category (say doing weed control without a weed license) is considered an S3-Moderate offense, and will cost you $1000 for a first offense.

While assigning penalties to a long list of crimes may sound a little like a job for Les Miserables Inspector Javert (Russell Crow in the latest movie musical version), having the matrix is to everyone's benefit. It makes the TDA's job easier and more objective, and it adds transparency to the process. Anyone can look up the matrix online and know exactly what to expect for a given violation.

The committee's job in all of this? Review all the assignments and penalties and give our input. It's not as fun as it sounds.

Perhaps the most upbeat news to come out of this quarter's meeting was the announcement that TDA has decided to contract out its examinations to a private firm.  PMPs should see some immediate benefits such as lowering of fees from $75 to $64 per exam. In addition, the number of locations will increase from 13 to 23 offices around the state.  Exam locations will no longer be associated with TDA or other government offices.  And sites will be open five days per week, with registration open 24/7.  This should speed up the process of getting new licensees on the street considerably.  The only down side to the announcement is if you are computer-phobic.  All exams will be online and you will receive score feedback immediately.

The committee also discussed ways that TDA could better reach the public with a simple message that when hiring someone to control pests, make sure they are licensed and qualified. One of the ideas proposed was to make that official message available through the many pest control company websites around the state.  Look for TDA to come up with creative ways to get the word out to the public about the value of your pest control license and your training over the next year.  They may be contacting you for your company's help.