AB 2477 California Assembly · 2025-2026 Regular Session

Structural pest control.

Summary

Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of structural pest control by the Structural Pest Control Board in the Department of Consumer Affairs. A violation of these provisions is a misdemeanor. Existing law designates each county agricultural commissioner as the lead agency for inspections and routine investigations of structural pest control operators and registered companies. Existing law prescribes 3 classifications of structural pest control licenses, which are designated as Branch 1, Branch 2, and Branch 3, based on the types of pest control work permitted. Branch 1 relates to the control of household and wood-destroying pests or organisms by fumigation with poisonous or lethal gases. Branch 2 relates to the control of household pests, excluding fumigation with poisonous or lethal gases. Branch 3 relates to the control of wood-destroying pests or organisms by the use of insecticides, or structural repairs and corrections, excluding fumigation with poisonous or lethal gases. Existing law prohibits an unlicensed individual in the employ of a registered company from applying pesticides included in Branch 2 or Branch 3, but authorizes an individual, for 90 days from the date of employment, to apply pesticides for the purposes of training under the direct supervision of a licensed field representative or operator employed by the company. This bill, on and after January 1, 2028, would also authorize an unlicensed individual employed by a registered company who has applied for a structural pest control applicator examination in Branch 2 and Branch 3 to apply pesticides included in Branch 2 and Branch 3 outdoors under the supervision of a licensed operator or field representative for up to 60 days if specified conditions are met, including that the unlicensed individual has completed a minimum of 80 hours of documented in-person training in pesticide application under the direct supervision of a licensed operator or field representative, as specified. The bill would require the registered company and supervising licensee to maintain certain documentation, including documentation demonstrating completion of required training, for at least 3 years. By expanding the scope of a crime and to the extent the bill would impose additional requirements on county agricultural commissioners, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Bill status passed both 4 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2026

Committee Review

Aug 2026

Assembly Passage

May 2026

Senate Passage

Aug 2026

Governor

Introduced Feb 20, 2026 Last action Aug 28, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 5 comparisons

What changed between versions

06/30/26 - Amended Senate → 08/21/26 - Amended Senate · 9 edits · Aug 21, 2026

MAJOR

The August 21 Senate amendment to AB 2477 makes several refinements to the Small Pest Control Business Relief Act. It clarifies that the provisional work authorization requires applicator examination applications in both Branch 2 and Branch 3 (not just one), restructures training requirements to reference a single subdivision rather than restating them inline, adds an explicit standalone provision limiting all pesticide applications under the act to outdoor use only, expands the board's regulatory authority to 'specify or modify' training components, and adds the applicant as a party who can request compliance documentation. A legislative finding about specific causes of licensing delays was removed.

ELIGIBILITY

Changed 'Branch 2 or and Branch 3' to 'Branch 2 and Branch 3,' clarifying that an unlicensed individual must have applied for applicator examinations in both branches to qualify for the 60-day provisional work authorization, not just one.

DEFINITION

Replaced the definition of 'Outdoors' (a location-based term) with 'Outdoor applications' (an activity-based term), shifting the regulatory focus from where work occurs to what type of application is being performed.

In the legislative findings, changed 'operator and field representative licenses' to 'applicator, operator, and field representative licenses,' broadening the reference to existing law that allows supervised work during a training period to include applicator license applicants.

REQUIREMENT

Added a new standalone subdivision (g) explicitly stating that any pesticide application performed by an unlicensed individual under this section shall be limited to outdoor applications only, making the outdoor restriction a separate enforceable provision rather than something embedded in the conditions.

Restructured training requirements: the 80-hour in-person training requirement was moved from being stated directly in condition (b)(2) to being referenced through subdivision (c), with the specific hour requirement now in a new paragraph (c)(A) prefaced by 'In addition to the requirements described in paragraph (1).'

Added 'or the applicant' to the list of parties who can request compliance documentation from the registered company and supervising licensee, giving unlicensed individuals direct access to their own training records.

ENFORCEMENT

Expanded the board's regulatory authority from adopting regulations to 'further specify' training components to 'further specify or modify' them, and added a sentence requiring training to focus on pesticide handling, application, safety, label compliance, and applicable laws and regulations.

TECHNICAL

Consolidated the three-year document retention requirement into the main documentation provision (h)(1) rather than keeping it as a separate paragraph, and added 'date or date range during which training was completed' to the required documentation elements.

SCOPE

Removed legislative finding (c) that specifically identified examination scheduling, application processing, and Live Scan fingerprint clearance as causes of licensing delays, reducing the stated justification for the bill.

04/08/26 - Amended Assembly → 06/30/26 - Amended Senate · 8 edits · Jun 30, 2026

MODERATE

The Senate amendment significantly narrows and strengthens AB 2477 by limiting unlicensed applicator work to outdoor settings only, adding detailed training content requirements (including consumer safety, PPE, hazard communication, and employee rights), requiring advance notification to the board and county agricultural commissioners before work begins, expanding documentation duties to both the company and supervising licensee with a 3-year retention period, and adding examination failure as a termination trigger. These changes make the provisional supervision program more restrictive but also more structured and accountable.

SCOPE

A new definition of 'Outdoors' is added, limiting pesticide application under this section to exterior areas (exterior structural surfaces, perimeters, landscape areas, hardscape areas) and explicitly excluding interior spaces such as occupied rooms, food-handling areas, attics, crawlspaces, subareas, wall voids, and other enclosed interior areas.

A new provision clarifies that this section does not expand or limit any existing laws authorizing or prohibiting an unlicensed individual from applying a restricted use pesticide under FIFRA or a California restricted material under Section 6400 of Title 3 of the California Code of Regulations.

REQUIREMENT

A new detailed training content requirement is added specifying that training must cover consumer safety (including sensitive populations like pregnant women and children), pesticide labeling and safety data sheets, site preparation and PPE use, decontamination procedures, hazard communication and exposure routes, and employee rights.

A minimum of 4 hours of board-approved continuing education or equivalent training focused on pesticide handling, application, safety, label compliance, and applicable laws is now required in addition to the 80 hours of supervised training.

The registered company must notify the board and the county agricultural commissioner in each county where the unlicensed individual will perform work before that individual begins work. The notice must include the individual's name, company registration number, supervising licensee's license number, applicable branch(es), and anticipated work dates.

Documentation responsibilities are expanded from the supervising licensee alone to both the registered company and the supervising licensee, with more specific content requirements (dates, times, training types, subject matter descriptions, trainer identification and signature, proof of continuing education) and a 3-year retention period. Documentation must be available to the board, DPR, or county agricultural commissioner upon request.

The termination of the authorization period now includes 'failure of the examination' as an additional trigger alongside license issuance, application denial, and expiration of the 60-day period.

TECHNICAL

The board is given authority to adopt regulations to further specify training components and competencies required under the new training provisions.

03/20/26 - Amended Assembly → 04/08/26 - Amended Assembly · 8 edits · Apr 8, 2026

MODERATE

The April 8 amendment to AB 2477 makes several substantive changes to the provisional supervision framework for unlicensed pesticide applicators. Most significantly, it allows remote (audio/video) supervision during the 60-day provisional period instead of requiring only in-person direct supervision, clarifies that the 60-day clock starts upon Live Scan background check approval, and adds a new rule that an individual can begin using this provisional period before finishing the existing 90-day training period under Section 8551.5 but forfeits any remaining time under that section.

REQUIREMENT

The main provision now allows 'supervision' (which includes remote audio/video) instead of only 'direct supervision' (in-person) during the 60-day provisional period, meaning a licensed operator or field representative can supervise remotely via audio and video communication while the unlicensed individual applies pesticides.

A new subdivision (d) establishes that the authorization is granted only once per individual, cannot be renewed or re-granted even after failing the examination, submitting a new application, or changing employment, and terminates upon license issuance, application denial, or 60-day expiration.

The 80-hour training requirement was clarified to be specifically 'in pesticide application' rather than just general documented in-person training.

DEFINITION

The definition of 'supervision' was clarified to require the licensed supervisor to be immediately available to the unlicensed individual specifically during pesticide application, either by being physically present at the site or through audio and video communication.

TIMELINE

The 60-day provisional supervision period now explicitly commences upon Live Scan (background check) approval rather than simply upon confirmation of application submission and satisfaction of all conditions.

SCOPE

A new provision allows an unlicensed individual to begin operating under the new provisional supervision section before completing the existing 90-day training period under Section 8551.5, but once they start under the new section, any remaining time under Section 8551.5 is forfeited and cannot be reinstated.

ELIGIBILITY

The eligibility requirement was narrowed from having 'applied for a structural pest control applicator license' to having 'applied for a structural pest control applicator license examination,' specifically tying the provisional period to the examination application rather than any license application.

ENFORCEMENT

Documentation requirements for supervising licensees were expanded to include proof of compliance with all conditions of the provisional period, including fingerprint identification and completed background investigation, not just training completion and license submission proof.

Floor votes · Senate Aug 25, 2026 · Assembly May 7, 2026

How they voted

40–0

Passed

Total votes 40

Aug 25, 2026

D Democratic30

30 Yea

100% Yea

R Republican10

10 Yea

100% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Aug 28, 2026

Lower · Passed

Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 78. Noes 0.).

lower

Aug 26, 2026

Introduced

In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending.

lower

Aug 25, 2026

Upper · Passed

Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 39. Noes 0.).

upper

Aug 21, 2026

Upper · Passed

Read third time and amended. Ordered to second reading.

upper

Aug 13, 2026

Upper · Passed

From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (August 13).

upper

Aug 3, 2026

Committee

In committee: Referred to APPR. suspense file.

upper

Jun 30, 2026

Upper · Passed

Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

upper

Jun 29, 2026

Introduced

From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (June 24).

upper

Jun 15, 2026

Upper · Passed

From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on E.Q. (Ayes 11. Noes 0.) (June 15). Re-referred to Com. on E.Q.

upper

May 20, 2026

Committee

Referred to Coms. on B. P. & E.D. and E.Q.

upper

May 7, 2026

Lower · Passed

Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 66. Noes 0. Page 4968.)

lower

Apr 29, 2026

Lower · Passed

From committee: Do pass. To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 14. Noes 0.) (April 29).

lower

Apr 15, 2026

Lower · Passed

From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (April 14). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

lower

Apr 9, 2026

Committee

Re-referred to Com. on E.S & T.M.

lower

Apr 8, 2026

Lower · Passed

Read second time and amended.

lower

Apr 7, 2026

Introduced

From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on E.S & T.M. (Ayes 19. Noes 0.) (April 7).

lower

Mar 26, 2026

Committee

(Pending re-refer to Com. on E.S. & T.M.)

lower

Mar 23, 2026

Committee

Re-referred to Com. on B. & P.

lower

Mar 20, 2026

Introduced

From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on B. & P. Read second time and amended.

lower

Mar 9, 2026

Committee

Referred to Coms. on B. & P. and E.S & T.M.

lower

Feb 21, 2026

Lower · Passed

From printer. May be heard in committee March 23.

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors