Texas Structural Pest Control Board’s Future Remains Uncertain

AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Structural Pest Control Board (TSPCB), which seemed destined to be abolished, may have received a reprieve Monday after the Texas Senate voted in favor of a substitute bill (SB 906), which would extend TSPCB’s life an additional four years.

“The only really substantive change (in the Senate bill) I saw was that it would not allow an industry member serve as chairman of the Texas Structural Pest Control Board,” said Mitch Wassom, president of Collins Services and president-elect, Texas Pest Control Association. The TSPCB is a 9-member group composed of three civilians, three pest control industry representatives and three state officials.

The Senate bill, which was introduced by Sen. Kim Brimer, is the opposite of House Bill 2458, which would abolish the TSPCB and transfer its duties and powers to the Texas Department of Agriculture by March 1, 2008. HB 2458 was passed in the Texas House in March (see related story.)

By no means does this mean the TSPCB is out of the water. “The sponsor of the House bill (Rep. Robert Cook) did not concur with the Senate bill, so it will be hashed out in a conference committee and they will reach some sort of compromise,” Wassom said. In fact, Wassom said speculation he’s heard is that the House-Senate Conference Committee will adopt a final version of the legislation closer to the House Bill than the Senate Bill, and thus the TSPCB likely will be abolished.

The legislative session ends Friday, so a compromised bill is expected to be approved and sent to Governor Rick Perry by then.