LIST OF BOARD-APPROVED AAPCO POLICIES

I. AAPCO Lifetime Service Award

The By-Laws of the Association of American Pesticide Control Officials, Inc., gives the Board of Directors authority to bestow life membership upon any individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the work of AAPCO.

The following guidelines have been prepared to facilitate the nomination and consideration of individuals for life membership.

NOMINATION and CONSIDERATION

Years of service are considered, but are not a deciding factor. The award should be for outstanding contributions to the individual’s profession, not a “retirement” longevity award.

The nomination must be postmarked at least 28 days in advance of the annual AAPCO meeting.

All nominations shall be submitted to the Life Membership Nominations and Memorials Committee Chair:

The Chair shall submit the nominations to the President at least two weeks in advance of the annual meeting.

Each state may only submit one nomination per year both via mail and electronically.

The nomination must be from a current AAPCO member state submitted by the administrative control official, principle pesticide control official or the director/secretary/commissioner for the state.

The nominee must have been an employee of member states of AAPCO for at least five years and will have made significant contributions to AAPCO. The nominee may also be someone in an affiliated organization who was actively engaged in activities affecting the states. Nominees with less than five years will not be considered unless there is an exceptional circumstance.

The AAPCO Board of Directors shall move forward no more than five names for the vote of the general membership at the annual board meeting.

If an applicant is not approved by AAPCO membership, they must be re-nominated for future year’s consideration. A person may not be nominated more than three times.

APPLICATION

The nomination letter must provide a description of the nominee’s professional achievements and must include the following information

1.)  Biographical sketch

2.)  Number of years of membership in a state or affiliated organization

3.)  Name, address, phone number, and e-mail

The nomination letter may also include the following information:

4.)  Champion or leader for innovative ideas from the individual or member state

5.)  Leadership on Issues

6.)  Leadership and participation in professional activities state, regional and national job-related organizations (formal and informal committees and activities)

7.)  Ability to work harmoniously and productively with other AAPCO membersand other government and industry representatives.

8.)  Non-AAPCO Honors and awards received

9.)  Publications or outreach material – certification and training stuff

10.)  Exemplary performance as a member or chair of AAPCO or SFIREGCommittee.

11.)  Letters of Commendation/Support

The nomination shall be double spaced and no more than two pages in length, 10- point font minimum.

AWARD

Lifetime awards will be awarded during the annual business meeting.

Lifetime AAPCO membership provides membership to AAPCO without paying of annual fees.

Chosen honorees will receive a certificate indicating lifetime membership and a membership number. If the honoree is not in attendance at the annual business meeting, they shall receive a letter of appreciation signed by the AAPCO President along with their certificate.

2. Policy on Meeting Displays

AAPCO will allow meeting registrants to display and distribute promotional materials, within an area designated for this purpose, at AAPCO meetings. The AAPCO Board of Directors reserves the right to not allow any display or handout materials. This allowance does not constitute endorsement by the AAPCO Board of Directors. Displays or handouts for any product, service, interest, position, or ideology of an organization, business, or person shall not use the AAPCO name or logo. Displays will be the sole responsibility of the party displaying the information including arrangements with the host facility and all costs and labor associated with the installation and removal of the display.

3. National Emergency Reciprocity

In the spirit of cooperation, and with consideration to and in compliance with the restrictions listed below, state lead pesticide regulatory agencies agree that, in the event of an agency declared threat or infestation, any person duly and currently licensed by any state or territory that has an EPA approved C&T plan shall be granted reciprocal licensing as a pesticide applicator in the state in which the threat or infestation is declared.

Definition, for purposes of this AAPCO Policy Position Only:

“Agency Declared Threat/Infestation” means a pest infestation of local, regional or national scope or significance for which an involved state or states do not have adequate pest application services available from its own currently licensed and certified pesticide applicators, and for which the commissioner or secretary of that state or states finds it reasonable and necessary to seek additional competent licensed and certified pesticide applicators to provide such services from another state or states.

Definition, for purposes of this AAPCO Policy Position Only:

“Declared Emergency” means a published statement by a state commissioner or secretary of agriculture (or similar authorized and recognized person/state lead pesticide regulatory official) to the effect that a pest infestation and/or public health emergency exists in that state. Publishing may be by several means, including notices via NASDA, AAPCO Web Site, or AAPCO membership list serve.

Any licensed pesticide applicator seeking such reciprocal licensing (under the declared emergency) shall provide to the state for which licensing is sought evidence sufficient to verify proper and current licensing in that persons state of residence, and appropriate application forms and fees. Such verification may be provided by FAX transmission, US Mail delivery, in person, or by electronically by email.. States reserve the right to refuse such requested emergency licensing reciprocity due to evidence of unsatisfied judgments or enforcement history.

Such emergency reciprocal licensing will only be granted for general ground or general aerial type pesticide applicator licenses, and only in the following federal categories:

o Agricultural Plant
o Agricultural Animal
o Forestry
o Public Health Applications

Emergency reciprocal licensing shall be valid for the length of time determined to appropriate by the state lead pesticide regulatory agency that has declared the emergency and shall not extend beyond the termination of the declared emergency.

Pesticide applicators licensed via such emergency reciprocal licensing must comply with all laws, regulations and rules regarding proper pesticide application, storage,handling, distribution and disposal in the state in which such work is performed, no matter if that is the applicator’s state of residence or a state to which the applicator travels to perform pesticide applications during a declared pest infestation or public health emergency. Compliance with any and all regulations is expected and compliance monitoring and enforcement will be conducted by state lead pesticide regulatory agencies. Licensed applicators operating under such emergency reciprocal licensing must report all releases of pesticides to the state lead pesticide regulatory agency, or other appropriate agency within that state requiring such reporting, immediately and applicators will take any and all actions immediately to minimize and abate such releases.

This emergency reciprocal licensing is not intended nor shall it be utilized via a declaration of such an emergency for purposes of providing licensed pesticide applicators from an adjacent or nearby state an ease of access to markets and demand for services in other state(s).

4. Statement on Certification Exams

Pesticides can be and often are an important component of agriculture/horticultural production systems and are of critical importance in the protection of human health from public and nuisance pests. Pesticides are utilized in integrated pest management programs and result in the production of abundant and safe food, fiber and ornamental crops. Pesticide laws, regulations and policies ensure that pesticides are used correctly, legally, and that adequate protection is provided to applicators, workers, consumers, and the environment. Regulations, labeling and application equipment are constantly changing to enhance protection of human health and the environment, as well as reflect new technology and scientific discovery. This ever changing information is traditionally and readily conveyed through applicator certification programs.

Applicator certification examination is the primary regulatory method in which the competency of the applicant can be evaluated. Core knowledge should be part of every applicants skill set, which includes general pesticide safety, personal and environmental protection mechanisms, mathematics and information on how to read a label and follow label directions.

AAPCO encourages all States to adopt professional exam administration procedures. These procedures include providing quality written exams, ensuring a valid exam proctoring process, and administering closed book exams.

For the purpose of this policy, “closed book” examination means that the person proctoring the examination allows use of only state authorized reference materials during the examination and prohibiting the use of other reference materials brought by the testing applicant, including all electronic media. States should not provide reference materials for the core set of knowledge requirements. States may provide reference materials to cover topics such as category specific technology, IPM strategies, and other more technical issues which would not normally be expected to be core knowledge.

5. Reimbursement for Board Member Travel

Given the current travel restrictions prevailing in many states, the AAPCO Board of Directors has agreed to authorize Board members to make application to the President for reimbursement from AAPCO funds for travel to Board meetings based on individual hardship, or for other reasons. The request shall state the reason for the hardship. The President may consult with the Treasurer, but shall have the authority to approve such requests without further consultation with the Board. Board members receiving the President’s approval for such travel shall be entitled to reimbursement for air and train travel at the lowest practicable rate. For private vehicle travel, the then current GSA mileage rate will prevail. Per diem rates, i.e. what the Government calls “Meals & Incidental Expenses” (M&IE), will be based on the then current GSA rates for each particular location. Board members will be entitled to reimbursement for the entire day of the Board meeting, plus the surrounding two nights lodging at the prevailing AAPCO/SFIREG rate and the appropriate portions of the two surrounding days, depending upon travel plans to and from the home state to the Board meeting location. Reimbursement at the then current GSA rate for travel to and from the airport may be claimed, as may reimbursement for airport or train/bus station parking.

6. Attendance at AAPCO Board Meetings

Meetings of the Board of Directors of the Association of American Pesticide Control Officials shall be open to current AAPCO members only. Other individuals and representatives of organizations may be authorized to attend by the Board.

7. Payment of Registration Costs for Life Members at AAPCO Meetings

For the AAPCO Spring Meeting, the registration fee will be waived for Life Members. Since AAPCO is the only organization involved in that meeting, there is no one to reimburse.

For the Annual Summer Meeting, AAPCO Life Members who complete the registration form, either in advance or in person at the meeting, shall have their registration fee waived. The host state will keep track of such Life Members. The amount due for their registration will either be paid by AAPCO to the host state, or deducted from the reimbursement AAPCO might receive after the final figures are totaled for the meeting.

8. Release of AAPCO Officials’ Database to State Lead Agencies and Others

AAPCO’s electronic database shall not be released except to AAPCO members, or with the authority of the AAPCO Board in special cases.

The names, E-mail addresses, phone numbers, etc. of registrants at the AAPCO Spring Meeting shall not be released except to AAPCO members, or with the authority of the Board in special cases.

9. Reimbursement of Invited Speakers

Persons invited by an AAPCO Meeting Planning Committee, the AAPCO President, or any other person authorized by the AAPCO President to speak at an AAPCO Spring or Summer meeting will be informed by e-mail, letter, or fax of the following policy on payment and reimbursement of speaker expenses:

The registration fee required for meeting attendance will be waived (in the case of the summer meeting, this will require the permission of the host state). The invited speaker is welcome to participate in any functions covered by the registration fee at no additional cost.

An invited speaker who wishes to attend a social function or other similarly scheduled activity not covered by the registration fee will be responsible for making his/her reservation and for paying any applicable fees directly to the sponsoring organization.

As a voluntary, non-profit organization, AAPCO requests an invited speaker to determine if he/she can pay his/her own travel, lodging, and other per diem costs to help keep AAPCO’s expenses as low as possible. AAPCO will consider requests for partial or full payment of necessary travel, lodging, and per diem costs on a case-by-case basis when necessary to accommodate the speaker’s needs.

If an invited speaker requests AAPCO to pay or reimburse some or all of the travel, lodging or other per diem costs, the AAPCO representative will forward the request to the AAPCO President for review and approval prior to committing AAPCO to the request. The AAPCO Secretary and Treasurer will be notified of all approvals in order to make the necessary meeting and payment arrangements.

10. Reimbursement of State Lab Personnel Travel to AAPCO/SFIREG Meetings

Any state which sends a state lab director, or his/her delegate, to an AAPCO meeting is responsible for paying the travel expenses of that individual. This includes the chair of the AAPCO Laboratory Committee traveling to an AAPCO meeting. The only exception to this policy will be if the director is invited by the AAPCO Board to attend such a meeting at AAPCO expense.

Travel expenses for one lab director representing his/her fellow lab directors as a non-voting representative on the Full SFIREG shall be paid from SFIREG cooperative agreement funds. Any other state lab director attending a Full SFIREG meeting must seek reimbursement for his/her travel from his/her home state.

Any State lab director, or an employee under his/her supervision, is eligible to seek appointment to either of the two SFIREG working committees (WCs). If such an individual is appointed to one of the WCs, his/her travel expenses to meetings of that WC shall be reimbursed out of SFIREG cooperative agreement funds. Any such individual who is not a member of a WC, but wishes to attend one or more WC meetings, must seek reimbursement for travel expenses from his/her state.

11. Member Survey Requests

 AAPCO receives many requests from individual State Lead Agency’s (SLA’s) to distribute surveys.  Historically the responses have been emailed directly to the inquiring SLA.

However:

(1) The responses to a survey might be of interest and value to a wide number of regulatory officials,and other partners.

(2) A series of email responses from multiple states and territories might be unwieldly to manage for the inquiring SLA, and

(3) An AAPCO Workgroup, SFIREG or a SFIREG Committee maybe working on a similar issue, and have an interest in working with the originating SLA to slightly modify the survey to increase its utility.

Therefore, in an effort to increase accessibility and utility, and to assist SLAs with survey management, the policy below has been developed.

• An AAPCO member will email their survey to the AAPCO BOD, preferably directly to the AAPCO Executive Secretary.
• The survey questions will be reviewed in a timely manner by at least the AAPCO President and SFIREG Chair, particularly to assess if an AAPCO Workgroup, SFIREG or a SFIREG Committee might be working on a similar issue. Members of the AAPCO BOD may have an interest in working with the originating SLA to modify the survey to increase its utility.
• The AAPCO Executive Secretary will develop an online survey, using a tool such as Survey Monkey, and distribute the link to the questions to AAPCO members. The AAPCO Executive Secretary will receive the responses.
• The detailed responses will be provided to the original inquiring SLA or territory.
• AAPCO will post the results of the survey on the AAPCO website. All surveys will be dated and the originating SLA or territory identified.

Note – this new policy is flexible. There will be times when a SLA or territory has a few questions that they would like to have answered quickly for an upcoming legislative session or some other reason;  or the survey results might not be of interest to a wide number of AAPCO members. In these cases, the answers to the survey may be directed to the inquiring SLA or territory.