(a) As used in sections 23-61a to 23-61f, inclusive, “arboriculture” means any work done for hire to improve the condition of fruit, shade or ornamental trees by feeding or fertilizing, or by pruning, trimming, bracing, treating cavities or other methods of improving tree conditions, or protecting trees from damage from insects or diseases or curing these conditions by spraying or any other method; “arborist” means one who is qualified to perform arboriculture and is licensed by the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection as provided in section 23-61b; “board” means the State Tree Protection Examining Board established under subsection (b) of this section; “fungicide” means any substance or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling or mitigating any fungus; “fungus” means any non-chlorophyll-bearing thallophyte; that is, any non-chlorophyll-bearing plant of a lower order than mosses and liverworts; for example, rusts, smuts, mildews, molds and yeast, except those on or in any living human or other vertebrate animal; “herbicide” means any substance or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling or mitigating any weed; “insect” means any of the numerous small invertebrate animals generally having the body more or less obviously segmented, for the most part belonging to the class insecta, comprising six-legged, usually winged forms, as for example, beetles, bugs, bees, flies and to other allied classes of arthropods whose members are wingless and usually have more than six legs, as for example, spiders, mites, ticks, centipedes and wood lice; “insecticide” means any substance or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling or mitigating insects; “plant regulator” means any substance or mixture of substances determined to be a plant regulator under chapter 441; “pesticide” means any substance or mixture of substances determined to be a pesticide under said chapter; “weed” means any plant which grows where not wanted.

(b) There shall be in the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection a State Tree Protection Examining Board which shall consist of the plant pathologist and forester of the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, who shall serve as ex-officio members, and five electors of the state, three of whom shall be public members, and two of whom shall be licensed, practicing arborists to be appointed by the Governor. Any vacancy in the appointed membership of the board shall be filled by the Governor for the unexpired portion of the term.

(c) The board shall have a seal and, in any proceeding in court, a certificate under such seal shall be bona fide evidence of any proceeding or action by or before the board stated in such certificate. A majority of members acting as a board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.

(d) Repealed by P.A. 82-419, S. 46, 47.

(e) The Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection, with the advice and assistance of the board, may adopt such regulations as are necessary for the purpose of giving examinations, issuing and renewing licenses, inspection of work or revocation of licenses.

(1967, P.A. 587, S. 1, 2, 3(k); P.A. 73-540, S. 22, 28; P.A. 77-206, S. 1–3; 77-614, S. 216, 610; P.A. 82-419, S. 46, 47; P.A. 98-229, S. 1; P.A. 11-80, S. 1.)

History: P.A. 73-540 defined “fungicide”, “fungus”, “herbicide”, “insect”, “insecticide”, “plant regulator”, “pesticide” and “weed”; P.A. 77-206 made definition formerly applicable to “custom tree work” applicable to “arboriculture” and defined “arborist”; P.A. 77-614 placed tree protection examining board within the department of consumer protection, changed membership by replacing entomologist and commissioner of agriculture with two additional electors and specifying that three shall be public members and deleted appointment provisions concerning initial members in Subsec. (b), deleted provision for election of chairman, vice-chairman and secretary-treasurer and for appointment of deputies to act for ex-officio members in examination of applicants and inspection of field work in Subsec. (c), deleted provision requiring board of control of Connecticut Experiment Station to perform fiscal duties of examining board and to provide clerical assistance in Subsec. (d) and transferred regulatory power for board to commissioner of consumer protection in Subsec. (e), effective January 1, 1979; P.A. 82-419 repealed Subsec. (d) which had specified that members receive reimbursement for expenses but no compensation as such; P.A. 98-229 amended Subsec. (a) to provide for licensure of arborists by the Commissioner of Environmental Protection, amended Subsec. (b) to assign the State Tree Protection Examining Board to the Department of Environmental Protection and amended Subsec. (e) to authorize the Commissioner of Environmental Protection to adopt regulations under this section; pursuant to P.A. 11-80, “Commissioner of Environmental Protection” and “Department of Environmental Protection” were changed editorially by the Revisors to “Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection” and “Department of Energy and Environmental Protection”, respectively, effective July 1, 2011.

See Sec. 4-9a for definition of “public member”.