Legislative Wins

UPMA Legislative Victories

2019 - Tax on Pest Control Services Defeated in Utah Tax Reform Package – SB 2001(b): In the final iteration (December 2019) of the Utah tax reform proposal, our services were exempt from the sales tax! The maintenance and repair of real property (e.g. landscaping, painting, cleaning) provision was removed! UPMA sent 1,576 grassroots messages to get pest control services exempt from the sales tax! OUTCOME FOR MEMBERS: Defeated a 4.85% sales tax on pest control services.

2018 - UPMA Increased Industry Professionalism and Raised the Bar: In 2018, Utah Governor Gary Herbert signed HB 413 - Pest Control Licensing Reform into law and will require an owner or operator of a pest control business entity to be a certified applicator for at least two years or hold an associate degree or higher in horticulture, agricultural sciences, biological sciences, pest management, or a related field. This legislation will help prevent unscrupulous operators from harming our customers and our industry’s reputation. OUTCOME FOR MEMBERS: Defending the industry and customers from unscrupulous operators and pesticide misuse.

2017 - Utah Pesticide Preemption Law Signed by Governor: In 2017, thanks to NPMA and what is now known as UPMA (before it was formally formed), Governor Gary Herbert signed HB 280 - Preemption of Pesticides into law! Utah is now the latest state to modernize its pesticide regulations and has successfully prevented a patchwork of confusing and overlapping pesticide laws for PMPs. Without pesticide preemption, local governments in Utah would be allowed to regulate pesticides, which would result in different regulations from municipality to municipality. The NPMA-led Utah Pest Control Coalition communicated letters of support to the House and Senate Ag. Committees. This resulted in the bill passing unanimously out of both committees. We subsequently launched an aggressive grassroots campaign that sent 150 grassroots messages. The bill passed the House 60-10 and passed the Senate 25-0. Finally, on 3/17/2017, the bill received the Governor’s signature. Thanks to everyone involved in the effort. Only five states remain without a pesticide preemption law. NPMA will continue to tirelessly fight for the best regulatory climate for our members. OUTCOME FOR MEMBERS: By enacting regulatory uniformity into law, we not only are keeping pest control businesses surviving, but thriving into the future.

 

For additional resources, please visit Utah's legislative page on NPMA's website HERE.

To get more involved, please email UPMA's State Policy Affairs Representative, Larry Treleven at LarryT@SpraguePest.com.