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What's New March 18, 2008 Alabama Pest Control Association 404 Golf Dr. Hoover, AL 35226 Fellow Members On March 1-3, I was afforded the opportunity to travel to Washington DC to take part in the National Pest Management Association’s Legislative Day activities. This forum joined more than 415 people from pest control related companies located throughout the country and gave our national association the chance to speak with a unified voice. The first matter of business was to attend the grand opening of the new NPMA office in the very historical area of Fairfax, Virginia. We can all be proud of the fact that our representatives; Rob Lederer, Executive Vice President (also Mayor of Fairfax, Virginia) and the staff of NPMA are at the forefront in presenting a very positive message for our industry and that they are able to do it from such a nice facility. After a class entitled Lobbying 101, teaching the ins and outs of corresponding with our Senators and Representatives in Washington, Tony Snow, popular news correspondent and recent Press Secretary for President George Bush, brought us up to date with the situations in politics and what he saw as some of the challenges that we may face in Washington. Our NPMA lobbyists, Gene Harrington and Greg Bauman, presented some of the issues that affect our industry and which ones we were going to present to our congressmen. As this is an election year, there may be very little on the agenda of the federal government however a couple of bills may affect us. A little known issue in a bill regarding the rules of the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) Senate Bill 1300 may result in the anti-pesticide lobby being allowed to impose serious impediments to companies that service aircraft. Those challenges have to do with notifying passengers of aircraft that the plane they are traveling on has been treated in the last 60 days and what pesticides were used!! Think about the ramifications of that issue and more than that, look at the possible “trickle-down” effects and how it can eventually affect what we do. Former Speaker of the House and patriot Newt Gingrich then spoke to us about his vision for the country and what we are really capable of. His was a very inspiring talk and his Red, White, and Blue Revolution from American Solutions is worth looking at. Tuesday was an opportunity to visit with some of our representatives and, after a walk of about 2 miles through the streets of Washington I met with the Legislative Aids for Senator Shelby and Senator Sessions. Both meetings went well and I was also able to speak with Sessions’ aid regarding the Senator’s ideas on Arbitration reform. As the state of Alabama is such a litigious state, this is a very important issue. Sessions’ counterparts in the Senate are trying to severely limit the use of Arbitration in settling disputes. Sessions’ bill would cause some reform in the use of arbitration but would still allow it as an option for commercial and employment dispute resolution. I encourage each of us to look further into this matter. Again, I appreciate the fact that our association is interested in keeping in touch with our representatives in Washington and sincerely thank the APCA for allowing me to attend this event. The people that I spoke with are interested in what we think and would be receptive to any help, questions, etc. from us, their constituents. Fred Smith Vice President Alabama Pest Control Association |
