(a) No person shall engage in the operation of a pesticide application business without first obtaining a certificate of registration from the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection. Any person engaged in the operation of a pesticide application business on October 1, 1986, who submits an application for a certificate of registration to the commissioner on or before December 31, 1986, may continue to operate until the application for a certificate of registration is finally determined by the agency, and, in the case of an application for a certificate of registration which has been denied, until the last day for seeking review of the agency determination or a later date fixed by order of a reviewing court. A certificate shall expire on the thirty-first day of August next succeeding its issuance. A pesticide application business with more than one place of business in the state or which operates under more than one name shall register and pay the application fee for each place of business and for each business name.

(b) Application for a certificate shall be made on such form as the commissioner may prescribe and with such information as the commissioner deems necessary to fulfill the purposes of this section, section 22a-66b, and sections 22a-66d to 22a-66j, inclusive, including, but not limited to: (1) The applicant's name and residential address; (2) the name, address and telephone number of the place of business; and (3) the type of business. A pesticide application business shall notify the commissioner of any change in the information contained in an application or in the status of the business as a pesticide application business. The notification shall be submitted, in writing, not more than thirty days after the change.

(c) An application for a certificate shall be accompanied by payment of a fee of two hundred forty dollars. The commissioner may waive payment of the fee for the initial renewal of a certificate issued during the three months prior to expiration. A pesticide application business which employs not more than one certified applicator shall be exempt from payment of a fee. An application for a certificate or renewal shall not be deemed to be complete or sufficient until the fee is paid in full. Funds received by the commissioner in accordance with the provisions of this section shall be deposited in the General Fund.

(d) Any business registered under this section shall display the registration number assigned to it by the commissioner on the body of any motor vehicle used by it in the course of business, in any newspaper advertisement for the business, on any billboard advertisement for the business, and in any advertisement for the business placed in the generally circulated telephone directory. Any such business shall further include the number in any written contract it enters into for provision of pesticide application services.

(P.A. 86-353, S. 2; P.A. 88-247, S. 4; P.A. 91-369, S. 11, 36; P.A. 95-208, S. 5, 13; P.A. 98-229, S. 4; P.A. 99-225, S. 18, 33; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6, S. 114; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-3, S. 401; P.A. 11-80, S. 1.)

History: P.A. 88-247 amended Subsec. (c) to exempt pesticide application businesses which employ not more than one certified applicator from payment of the fee; P.A. 91-369 amended Subsec. (c) to modify the method of depositing the fee into the emergency spill response fund; P.A. 95-208 amended Subsec. (c) to require that fees collected in accordance with section be deposited in General Fund, rather than Emergency Spill Response Fund and deleted provision authorizing commissioner to expend up to 10% of such fees for administrative expenses related to registration and collection of such fees, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 98-229 added new Subsec. (d) re display of registration numbers; P.A. 99-225 amended Subsec. (d) to specify advertisements in which the application business' registration number is required to be displayed, effective June 29, 1999; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6 amended Subsec. (c) to increase application fee from $60 to $120, effective August 20, 2003; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-3 amended Subsec. (c) by increasing fee from $120 to $240; pursuant to P.A. 11-80, “Commissioner of Environmental Protection” was changed editorially by the Revisors to “Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection” in Subsec. (a), effective July 1, 2011.