Arizona Pest Control Licensing Law

Arizona Code · 17 sections

The following is the full text of Arizona’s pest control licensing law statutes as published in the Arizona Code. For the official version, see the Arizona Legislature.

A.R.S. § 23-00230

23-230 - Definitions

23-230. Definitions

In this article, unless the context otherwise requires:

"Automatic elevator" means a passenger or freight lift operated by push buttons so that the starting, moving, leveling, holding and opening and closing of the doors is entirely automatic.
"Clay construction product" means brick, hollow structural tile, sewer pipe, refractories, architectural terra cotta, glazed structural tile, roofing tile, stove lining, chimney pipes and tops, wall coping and drain tile.
"Construction" means building, altering, repairing, adding to, subtracting from, improving, moving, wrecking or demolishing a building, highway, road, railroad, excavation or other structure, project, development or improvement, including the erection and use of scaffolding or a similar structure and providing mechanical or structural service for a structure, project, development or improvement.
"Elevator" means a power-driven hoisting or lowering mechanism equipped with a car or platform which moves in guides in a substantially vertical direction. Elevator does not include dumbwaiters.
"Explosive" means ammunition, black powder, blasting caps, fireworks or any substance or combination of substances commonly used for the purpose of detonation and which, on exposure to any external force or condition, is capable of a relatively instantaneous release of gas and heat.
"Hazardous agricultural chemicals" means any substance that has a toxicity level that requires manufacturer or distributor labeling as category I, category II and category III toxicity in accordance with the regulations adopted by the administrator pursuant to the federal environmental pesticide control act of 1972, as amended.
"Logging" means felling timber, bucking or converting timber into logs, poles, piles, ties, bolts, pulpwood, chemical wood, excelsior wood, cordwood, fence posts or similar products, collecting, skidding, yarding, loading, transporting and unloading such products, constructing, repairing and maintaining roads, railroads, flumes or camps used in connection with logging, moving, installing, rigging and maintenance of machinery or equipment used in logging, operation of a sawmill, lath mill, shingle mill or cooperage stock mill in connection with the storing of logs and bolts, converting logs or bolts into sawed lumber, laths, shingles or cooperage stock and storing, drying and shipping lumber, laths, shingles and cooperage stock or other products of such mills.
"Manufacturing" means designing, assembling, fabricating, producing, constructing or preparing a product or part of a product before sale or use.
"Mine or quarry" means an underground or surface rock or mineral extracting, placer, dredging or bore-hole operation including all grinding and metal mills, washer plants and any other cutting, crushing, grinding, screening, sizing, washing or cleaning operation performed on extracted rocks or minerals.
"Motor vehicle" means an automobile, truck, truck tractor, trailer, semitrailer, motorcycle or similar vehicle propelled or drawn by mechanical power and designed for use as a means of transportation. Motor vehicle does not include a vehicle operated exclusively on rails.
"Outside helper" means a person who rides on a motor vehicle other than in the driver or passenger compartment for the purpose of transporting, loading or unloading items.
"Power-driven bakery machine" means a horizontal or vertical dough mixer, batter mixer, bread dividing, rounding or molding machine, dough brake, dough sheeter, combination bread slicing and wrapping machine, cake cutting band saw, cookie machine or cracker machine.
"Power-driven hoist" means an apparatus for raising or lowering a load by the application of a pulling or pushing force including a crane, derrick or forklift. Power-driven hoist does not include an elevator or an automatic elevator.
"Power-driven meat processing machine" means a meat patty forming machine, meat and bone cutting saw or knife, head splitter, guillotine cutter, snout puller, jaw puller, skinning machine, horizontal rotary washing machine, casing cleaning machine, grinding, mixing, chopping and hashing machines and meat presses.
"Power-driven metal working, forming, punching or shearing machine" means a machine, other than machine tools, which changes the shape of or cuts metal by means of dies, rolls, knives or similar tools which are mounted on rams, plungers or other moving parts.
"Power-driven paper products machine" means a platen die-cutting press, platen printing press, punch press which involves hand feeding of the machine, arm-type wirestitcher or stapler, circular or band saw, corner cutter or mitering machine, corrugating and single or double-lacing machine, envelope die-cutting press, guillotine paper cutter or shear, horizontal bar scorer, laminating or combining machine, sheeting machine, scrap paper baler or vertical slotter or other machine used in the remanufacture or conversion of paper or pulp into a finished product.
"Power-driven woodworking machine" means a fixed or portable machine or tool driven by power and used or designed for cutting, shaping, forming, surfacing, nailing, stapling, wire stitching, fastening, assembling, pressing or printing wood or veneer.
"Processing" means an activity involving an addition to, subtraction from, change in or cleaning of any food or foodstuff including filleting fish, dressing poultry or cracking nuts.
"Radiation" means ionizing radiation including gamma rays, x-rays, alpha and beta particles, high speed electrons, neutrons, protons and other nuclear particles or rays.
"Radioactive substance" means a solid, liquid or gaseous material or materials that spontaneously emit radiation.
"Roofing" means all work performed in connection with the application of weatherproofing materials and substances, including tar, pitch, asphalt, prepared paper, tile, slate, metal, translucent materials and shingles of asbestos, asphalt or wood, to roofs of buildings and other structures. Roofing includes all work performed in connection with installation of roofs, including related metal work, and alterations, additions, maintenance and repair including painting and coating of roofs.
"Silica refractory products" means items produced from raw materials and containing free silica as their main constituent.
"Warehousing" means loading, unloading, storing or otherwise moving any item or items to and from trucks, railroad cars, conveyors and buildings.
"Wrecking, demolition and shipbreaking" means all work, including cleanup and salvage work, performed on or at the site of the total or partial razing, demolishing or dismantling of a building, bridge, steeple, tower, chimney, other structure, motor vehicle, ship or other vessel.

A.R.S. § 3-00102

3-102 - Department organization

3-102. Department organization

A. The Arizona department of agriculture is established consisting of the following divisions:

The animal services division, which is responsible for milk, dairy, livestock and aquaculture regulation, the state veterinarian, meat, poultry and egg inspection and performing the administrative functions authorized or contracted pursuant to law for the Arizona beef council.
The plant services division, which is responsible for entomological services.
The environmental services division, which is responsible for regulating seed, feed and agricultural chemicals, including pesticides and fertilizers, and for native plant protection.
The weights and measures services division, which is responsible for the inspection, testing and licensing of commercial weighing, measuring and counting devices.
The pest management division, which is responsible for regulating pest management and pest management services as defined in section 3-3601.
The citrus, fruit and vegetable division, which is responsible for the citrus, fruit and vegetable standardization and produce safety program under chapter 3, articles 2, 4, 4.1 and 4.3 of this title.

B. The following are established in addition to and separate from the divisions of the department:

The state agricultural laboratory.
The office of agriculture safety.
The office of inspections.
The office of commodity development and promotion.

C. The department shall have a central administrative service office providing:

Data processing, accounting and budgeting, records management, publications, property control and personnel services and training.
A program to cross-train appropriate personnel to enable them to perform similar functions or comparable work for different administrative units in the department.

A.R.S. § 3-00231

3-231 - Definitions

3-231. Definitions

In this article, unless the context otherwise requires:

"Advertisement" means all representations, other than those on the label, made in any manner relating to seed within the scope of this article.
"Agricultural seed" means the seeds of grass, forage, cereal, and fiber crops and any other kinds of seeds commonly recognized within this state as agricultural seeds, lawn seeds and mixtures of such seeds, and may include noxious-weed seeds when the department determines that such seed is being used as agricultural seed.
"Cease and desist order" means an administrative order provided by law restraining the sale, use, disposition and movement of a definite amount of seed.
"Certified seed" or "registered seed" means seed that has been produced and labeled in accordance with the procedures and in compliance with the rules and regulations of an officially recognized seed-certifying agency.
"Custom application" means an application of pesticide to a seed by a pesticide applicator who does not hold title to the seed.
"Dealer" means any person who sells seed.
"Division" means the environmental services division of the Arizona department of agriculture.
"Established plant, warehouse, or place of business" means any permanent office headquarters maintained by an importer, broker, seller or authorized manufacturer's agent, or any permanent warehouse, building or structure in or from which a permanent business is operated, at which stocks of agricultural seed, vegetable seed or ornamental plant seed regulated by this article are sold, distributed, processed, mixed, stored or kept.
"Hybrid" means the first generation seed of a crossbreed produced by controlling pollination and by combining two or more inbred lines, or one inbred or a single crossbreed with an open pollinated variety, or two varieties or species, except open pollinated varieties of corn (zea mays). The second generation, or subsequent generations from such crosses, shall not be regarded as crosses. Hybrid designations shall be treated as variety names. Any kinds or varieties that have pure seed which is less than ninety-five per cent but more than seventy-five per cent hybrid seed as a result of incompletely controlled pollination in a cross shall be labeled to show the percentage of pure seed that is hybrid seed, or shall be labeled with a statement such as "contains from seventy-five per cent to ninety-five per cent hybrid seed". No one kind of seed shall be labeled as hybrid if the pure seed contains less than seventy-five per cent hybrid seed.
"Inoculant" means a commercial preparation containing nitrogen-fixing bacteria that is applied to seed.
"Kind" means one or more related species or subspecies which singly or collectively are known by one common name, such as corn, oats, alfalfa and timothy.
"Label" means any label or other written, printed or graphic representations, in any form whatsoever, accompanying or pertaining to any seed whether in bulk or in containers and includes representations or invoices.
"Labeler" means any person whose name and address appear on the label pertaining to or attached to a lot or container of agricultural, vegetable or ornamental plant seed sold, offered for sale, exposed for sale or transported for sowing purposes.
"License" means an Arizona state seed license that is obtained from the department.
"Lot" means a definite quantity of seed identified by a lot number or other mark, every portion or bag of which is uniform within recognized tolerances for the factors which appear in the labeling.
"Noxious-weed seeds" means "prohibited noxious-weed seeds" and "restricted noxious-weed seeds" as defined as follows and as listed in the rules adopted under this article.

(a) "Prohibited noxious-weed seeds" are the seeds of perennial or annual weeds which, when established, are highly destructive and difficult to control by ordinary good cultural practice and the seed of which is prohibited by this article subject to recognized tolerances.

(b) "Restricted noxious-weed seeds" are all noxious-weed seed not classified as prohibited noxious-weed seed.

"Ornamental plant seed" means the seed of any plant used for decorative or ornamental purposes and includes flower seed.
"Person" means any individual, partnership, corporation, company, society or association.
"Pure seed", "germination" and other seed labeling and testing terms in common usage shall be defined as in the federal seed act (53 Stat. 1275; 7 United States Code sections 1551 through 1611) and the rules and regulations promulgated under that act.
"Record" means all information relating to the shipment or shipments involved and includes a file sample of each lot of seed.
"Sell" means offer for sale, expose for sale, possess for sale, exchange, barter or trade.
"Treated" means that the seed has received an application of a substance or process that is designed to reduce, control or repel certain disease organisms, insects or other pests attacking such seeds or seedlings growing from the seeds.
"Type" means either a group of varieties so similar that the individual varieties cannot be clearly differentiated except under special conditions or, when used with a variety name, seed of the variety named which may be mixed with seed of other varieties of the same kind and of similar character. If type is designated, the designation may be associated with the name of the kind but in all cases shall be clearly associated with the word "type". If the type designation does not include a variety name, it shall include a name that describes a group of varieties of similar character, and the pure seed shall be at least ninety per cent of one or more varieties all of which conform to the type designation.
"Variety" means a subdivision of a kind characterized by growth, yield, plant, fruit, seed or other characteristics by which it can be differentiated from other plants of the same kind.
"Vegetable seeds" means seeds of those crops which are grown in gardens and on truck farms and are generally known and sold under the name of vegetable seeds in this state.
"Weed seeds" means the seeds of all plants generally recognized as weeds within this state and includes noxious-weed seeds.

A.R.S. § 3-00316

3-316 - Recordkeeping, inspection, transportation and distribution requirements

3-316. Recordkeeping, inspection, transportation and distribution requirements

A. A grower, harvester, transporter or processor of industrial hemp that is licensed pursuant to this article shall keep and maintain records as required by rule or order.Â The director or the director's designee may inspect or audit the records during normal business hours to ensure compliance with this article or any department rule or order.

B. The director or the director's designee may physically inspect an industrial hemp site to ensure compliance with this article or any department rule or order. During any physical inspection of an industrial hemp site, the director or the director's designee may take a representative sample for analysis by the state agricultural laboratory or a laboratory that is certified by the state agricultural laboratory. If a crop contains an average carboxylated delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration that exceeds three-tenths percent on a dry-weight basis or violates any other pesticide law, the department may take corrective action pursuant to section 3-317.

C. Notwithstanding section 13-3405, the director or the director's designee may possess and transport samples of cannabis sativa L. collected for testing to determine delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration for eligibility as industrial hemp.

D. Only a licensed grower, harvester, processor or transporter or the director or the director's designee may transport industrial hemp off the industrial hemp site. When transporting industrial hemp off the industrial hemp site, the licensed grower, processor or transporter shall carry the licensing documents as evidence that the industrial hemp was grown by a licensed grower. This subsection does not apply to the transportation of hemp products.

E. A licensed grower shall notify the department of all of the following:

The sale or distribution of any industrial hemp grown under the grower's license.
The name and address of the person or entity receiving the industrial hemp.
The amount of the industrial hemp sold or distributed.

A.R.S. § 3-00341

3-341 - Definitions

3-341. Definitions

For the purposes of this article:

"Active ingredient" means an ingredient that will prevent, destroy, repel or mitigate pests or that will act as a plant regulator, defoliant or desiccant.
"Adulterated" means any pesticide the strength or purity of which falls below the professed standard or quality as expressed on labeling or under which it is sold, or if any substance has been substituted wholly or in part for the article, or if any valuable constituent of the article has been wholly or in part abstracted.
"Animal" means all vertebrate and invertebrate species, including, but not limited to, humans and other mammals, birds, fish and shellfish.
"Antidote" means the most practical immediate treatment in case of poisoning and includes first aid treatment.
"Associate director" means the associate director of the environmental services division.
"Beneficial insects" means those insects that, during their life cycle, are effective pollinators of plants, are parasites or predators of pests or are otherwise beneficial.
"Defoliant" and "desiccant" means any substance or mixture of substances intended for killing or artificially accelerating the drying of plant tissues, with or without causing abscission.
"Device" means any instrument or contrivance intended for trapping insects, and includes any instrument or contrivance intended for destroying, repelling or mitigating insects or rodents or destroying, repelling or mitigating fungi or weeds, or such other pests as may be designated by the director, but not including equipment used for the application of pesticides when sold separately therefrom.
"Distribute" means to offer for sale, hold for sale, sell or barter pesticides for use in this state.
"Division" means the environmental services division of the Arizona department of agriculture.
"Fungi" means all non-chlorophyll-bearing thallophytes, that is, all non-chlorophyll-bearing plants of a lower order than mosses and liverworts, as, for example, rusts, smuts, mildews, molds and yeasts, except those on or in living humans or other animals.
"Inert ingredient" means an ingredient that is not an active ingredient.
"Ingredient statement" means a statement of the name and percentage of each active ingredient, together with the total percentage of the inert ingredients, in the pesticide.
"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 and 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.
"Label" means the written, printed or graphic matter on, or attached to, the pesticide or device, or the immediate container thereof, and the outside container or wrapper of the retail package, if there is any, of the pesticide or device.
"Labeling" means all labels and other written, printed or graphic matter:

(a) Upon the pesticide or device or any of its containers or wrappers.

(b) Accompanying the pesticide or device at any time.

(c) To which reference is made on the label or in literature accompanying the pesticide or device, except when accurate, nonmisleading reference is made to current official publications of the United States departments of agriculture or interior, the United States public health service, state experiment stations, state agricultural colleges or other similar federal institutions or official agencies of the state or other states authorized by law to conduct research in the field of pesticides.

"Misbranded" applies:

(a) To any pesticide or device if its labeling bears any statement, design or graphic representation relative thereto or to its ingredients that is false or misleading in any particular.

(b) To any pesticide:

(i) If it is an imitation of, or is offered for sale under the name of, another pesticide.

(ii) If the labeling accompanying it does not contain directions for use that are necessary and, if complied with, adequate for the protection of the public.

(iii) If the label does not contain a warning or caution statement that may be necessary and, if complied with, adequate to prevent injury to living humans and other vertebrate animals.

(iv) If the label does not bear an ingredient statement on that part of the immediate container and on the outside container or wrapper, if there is one, through which the ingredient statement on the immediate container cannot be clearly read, of the retail package that is presented or displayed under customary conditions of purchase.

(v) If any word, statement or other information required by or under the authority of this article to appear on the labeling is not prominently placed thereon with such conspicuousness, as compared with other words, statements, designs or graphic matter in the labeling, and in such terms as to render it likely to be read and understood by the ordinary individual under customary conditions of purchase and use.

(vi) If used as directed or in accordance with commonly recognized practice, it is injurious to living humans or other vertebrate animals or vegetation, other than the pest to which it is applied, or to the person applying such pesticide.

"Nematode" means invertebrate animals of the phylum nemathelminthes and class nematode, including unsegmented round worms with elongated, fusiform, or sac-like bodies covered with cuticle and inhabiting soil, water, plants or plant parts.
"Person" means any individual, partnership, association, corporation or organized group of persons whether incorporated or not.
"Pest" means:

(a) Any weed, insect, vertebrate pest, nematode, fungus, virus, bacterium or other pathogenic organisms.

(b) Any other form of terrestrial or aquatic plant or animal life, except virus, bacterium or other microorganism on or in living humans or other living animals, which the director declares to be a pest for the purpose of enforcement of this article.

"Pesticide" means:

(a) Any substance or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling or mitigating any pest.

(b) Any substance or mixture of substances intended for use as a plant regulator, defoliant or desiccant.

"Plant regulator" means any substance or mixture of substances intended, through physiological action, for accelerating or retarding the rate of growth or rate of maturation or for otherwise altering the behavior of plants or the produce thereof, but does not include substances to the extent that they are intended as plant nutrients, trace elements, nutritional chemicals, plant inoculants and soil amendments.
"Registrant" means the person registering any pesticide pursuant to this article.
"Weed" means any plant that grows where it is not wanted.

A.R.S. § 3-00351

3-351 - Registration; fee; confidential information

3-351. Registration; fee; confidential information

A. Every pesticide that is distributed shall be registered with the division. The director may provide by rule for registrations having a term of one or more years and may prescribe the date on which registrations expire.

B. The registrant shall file with the division a statement including:

The name and address of the registrant and the name and address of the person whose name will appear on the label, if other than the registrant.
The name of the pesticide.
A complete copy of the labeling accompanying the pesticide and a statement of all claims to be made for it including directions for use.Â If the registrant distributes labels in a language in addition to English, the registrant shall provide a copy of both labels with a signed statement that the label directions have the same meaning and provide the same use directions as on the written English label.
If requested by the division, a full description of the tests made and the results of those tests on which the claims are based.

C. For a renewal of registration:

A statement shall be required only with respect to information that is different from that furnished when the pesticide was registered or last reregistered.Â
If requested by the director, a complete copy of labeling shall be submitted.

D. Any person desiring to register under this article shall pay to the division a registration fee of one hundred dollars per year for each pesticide. The monies collected from registration fees shall be allocated as follows:

Twenty-five dollars for each year of the registration term shall be allocated pursuant to section 3-350.
Seventy-five dollars for each year of the registration term shall be deposited in the water quality assurance revolving fund established by section 49-282.

E. All federal, state and county offices shall register without fee all pesticides sold at cost by them.

F. If the director deems it necessary in the administration of this article, the director may require the submission of the complete formula of any pesticide or the confidential statement of formula and the analytical methods for the analysis of the active ingredients in the formulation. For any product having a federal registration, the director may request, on reasonable cause, the analytical methods for the analysis of residues of the active ingredients of the pesticide in environmental media provided that this information has been developed by the applicant and submitted to the United States environmental protection agency. Information provided by the applicant pursuant to this section shall be afforded applicable trade secret and confidentiality protections.Â Other products exempted from federal registration requirements and required to be registered under this section shall be subject to this subsection.

G. If it appears to the director that the composition of the article is such as to warrant the proposed claims for it and if the article and its labeling and other material required to be submitted comply with the requirements of section 3-352, the division shall register the article. If the director finds that the pesticide does not warrant the proposed claims, the director may request a full description of the tests conducted and the results of the tests on which the claims are based. If the pesticide or its labeling and other material that are required to be submitted do not comply with this article, the director shall notify the applicant of the manner in which the pesticide, labeling or other material fails to comply with the law to afford the applicant an opportunity to make the necessary corrections. If the applicant does not make the corrections and cannot support the claim on the label, the director may refuse to register the pesticide.

H. In submitting data required by this article, the applicant shall clearly mark any portions that are trade secrets or commercial or financial information. The applicant shall identify as confidential information any such marked material and submit it separately from other material required to be submitted under this article. The information shall be kept confidential by the department unless written permission to release the information is granted by the registrant or on order of a court of jurisdiction.

I. In order to protect the public, the associate director, after a hearing, may cancel the registration of a pesticide. The associate director shall cancel the registration of a pesticide on notification by the director of environmental quality pursuant to section 49-306 or 49-309.

J. Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, registration is not required in the case of a pesticide shipped from one plant within the state to another plant within the state operated by the same person.

K. A registrant who discontinues distribution of a pesticide shall continue its registration in this state for three years after the discontinuation to allow the remaining product to move through the channels of trade.Â The registrant shall notify the appropriate entities within the channels of trade of the effective date of the discontinuation.

A.R.S. § 3-00352

3-352 - Prohibited acts

3-352. Prohibited acts

A. It is unlawful for any person acting independently or as agent to distribute:

Any pesticide that has not been registered pursuant to section 3-351, or any pesticide if any of the claims made for it or any of the directions for its use differ in substance from the representations made in connection with its registration, or if the composition of a pesticide differs from its composition as represented in connection with its registration, but at the discretion of the director, a change in the labeling or formula of a pesticide may be made within a registration period without requiring reregistration of the product.
Any pesticide unless it is in the registrant's or the manufacturer's unbroken immediate container and there is affixed to such container, and to the outside container or wrapper of the retail package, if there is one, through which the required information on the immediate container cannot be clearly read, a label bearing:

(a) The name and address of the manufacturer, registrant or person for whom manufactured.

(b) The name, brand or trademark under which the article is sold.

Any pesticide that contains any substance or substances in quantities highly toxic to humans, determined as provided in section 3-343, unless the label bears, in addition to any other matter required by this article:

(a) Warning statements or symbols required by regulation.

(b) A statement of a practical treatment, first aid or otherwise in case of poisoning by the pesticide.

Any pesticide that is adulterated or misbranded, or any device that is misbranded.
Any pesticide the label of which does not contain necessary information, which information the director has prescribed by rule.

B. It is unlawful:

For any person to detach, alter, deface or destroy, wholly or in part, any label or labeling provided for in this article or rules adopted under this article, or to add any substance to, or take any substance from, a pesticide in a manner that may defeat the purposes of this article.
For any person to use for his own advantage or to reveal, other than to the director or proper officials or employees of the state or to the courts of the state in response to a subpoena, or to physicians, or in emergencies to pharmacists and other qualified persons for use in the preparation of antidotes, any information relative to formulas of products acquired by authority of section 3-351.

A.R.S. § 3-00354

3-354 - Cease and desist orders; condemnation and destruction or sale of noncomplying pesticides or devices

3-354. Cease and desist orders; condemnation and destruction or sale of noncomplying pesticides or devices

A. When the director finds from investigation that any pesticide or device being distributed or delivered for transportation or transported in intrastate commerce or between points within the state through any point outside this state does not meet the requirements of this article as follows, the director may take the action prescribed by subsection B of this section:

In the case of a pesticide:

(a) If it is adulterated or misbranded.

(b) If it has not been registered, if necessary, under section 3-351.

(d) If it is a white powder pesticide and is not colored as required under this article.

In the case of a device, if it is misbranded.

B. Upon the discovery of any of the facts set forth in subsection A of this section:

The director may serve the person violating this article with a cease and desist order requiring the person, on receiving the notice, to immediately cease and desist the violation. The order shall be served by any method of service authorized by the Arizona rules of civil procedure.
The department may issue and serve a written cease and desist order on the owner or custodian of any pesticide or device found to be in violation of this article.Â The pesticide or device shall not be sold, used or removed until this article has been complied with and the pesticide or device has been released in writing by the director or the violation has been otherwise disposed of as provided in this article by a court of competent jurisdiction.
If the director discovers any pesticide or device that is in violation of this article, and the owner or custodian is not available for service of the order, the director may attach the order to the pesticide or device and the pesticide or device shall not be sold, used or removed until this article has been complied with and the pesticide or device has been released in writing by the director or the violation has been otherwise disposed of as provided in this article by a court of competent jurisdiction.

C. After a cease and desist order is served on any person, either that person or the director may file an action in the superior court in the county in which a violation of this article is alleged to have occurred for an adjudication of the alleged violation. The court may issue temporary or permanent injunctions, mandatory or restraining, and intermediate orders it deems necessary or advisable. The court may order condemnation of any pesticide or device that does not meet the requirements of this article. The action shall be tried de novo.

D. If the article is condemned, it shall be disposed of, after entry of decree, by destruction or sale as the court directs, and the proceeds, if the article is sold, less legal costs, shall be paid into the pesticide trust fund. On payment of costs and execution and delivery of a good and sufficient bond conditioned so that the article shall not be disposed of unlawfully, the court may direct that the article be delivered to the owner of the article for relabeling or reprocessing as the case may be.

E. When a decree of condemnation is entered against the article, court costs, fees and storage and other proper expenses shall be awarded against the person, if any, intervening as claimant of the article.

A.R.S. § 3-00361

3-361 - Definitions

3-361. Definitions

In this article, unless the context otherwise requires:

"Associate director" means the associate director of the division.
"De minimis violation" means a violation which, although undesirable, has no direct or immediate relationship to safety, health or property damage. Repeated de minimis violations constitute a nonserious violation.
"Division" means the environmental services division of the Arizona department of agriculture.
"Nonserious violation" means a violation that may have had a direct or immediate relationship to safety, health or property damage, but which does not constitute a de minimis violation or a serious violation, unless the violator did not, and could not with the exercise of reasonable diligence, know of such safety, health or property damage risk in which case the violation is de minimis.
"Paraquat" means the pesticide dimethyl-dipyridinium dichloride.
"Pesticide" means any substance or mixture of substances intended to be used for defoliating plants or for preventing, destroying, repelling or mitigating insects, fungi, bacteria, weeds, rodents, predatory animals or any form of plant or animal life which is, or which the director may declare to be, a pest which may infest or be detrimental to vegetation, humans, animals or households or which may be present in any environment.
"Pesticide use" means the sale, processing, storing, transporting, handling or applying of a pesticide and disposal of pesticide containers.
"Restricted use pesticide" means a pesticide classified as such by the United States environmental protection agency.
"Serious violation" means a violation of this article or a rule adopted under this article which produces a substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result, unless the violator did not, and could not with the exercise of reasonable diligence, know of such safety or human health risk, in which case the violation is nonserious.

A.R.S. § 3-00362

3-362 - Powers and duties

3-362. Powers and duties

A. The director is responsible for administering this article and shall:

Conduct investigations, on complaint and on his own initiative, regarding violations of this article and compile information necessary to administer this article.
Take timely action necessary to enforce this article against violators including seeking injunctive relief and other penalties and sanctions authorized by this article.
Publish a list of pesticides, by common and proprietary names, which the director determines to be highly toxic, odoriferous, such as profenofos, sulprofos, def and merphos and other pesticides with similar odoriferous characteristics, or otherwise appropriate for inclusion and shall include in that list paraquat and gramoxone.
Submit to the United States environmental protection agency a state plan for issuing, monitoring, and controlling experimental use permits pursuant to section 5 of the federal insecticide, fungicide, and rodenticide act (7 United States Code section 136c(f)).
Develop systems and procedures to encourage and ensure public contact with the department, which may include:

(a) A telephone hotline for pesticide complaints, which is operated and publicized by the department.

(b) Outreach and education programs to inform the general public and solicit input regarding pesticide use and public health, safety and the environment.

B. The director may enter into intergovernmental agreements pursuant to title 11, chapter 7, article 3 if the agreement is necessary to more effectively administer the powers and duties described in this article.

A.R.S. § 3-00363

3-363 - Rules

3-363. Rules

The director shall adopt rules to regulate pesticides that include provisions to:

Administer and implement this article.
Prescribe measures to control, monitor, inspect and govern pesticide use.
Prohibit or restrict pesticide use.
Restrict the areas in which pesticide use may occur.
Prescribe minimum qualifications for all persons who engage in pesticide use, including, as appropriate, requirements that the persons have valid licenses, permits or certificates, have adequate training, including continuing education requirements, and meet financial responsibility standards.
Prescribe appropriate recordkeeping and reporting requirements regarding pesticide use, except that the recordkeeping and reporting requirements for growers and certified private applicators who apply pesticides shall be equivalent to, but not more stringent than, the requirements prescribed under the federal insecticide, fungicide and rodenticide act (61 Stat. 163) and the food, agriculture, conservation and trade act of 1990 (P.L. 101-624; 104 Stat. 3359).
Prohibit pesticide use that is inconsistent with the pesticide label as required under the federal insecticide, fungicide and rodenticide act (61 Stat. 163).
Exempt from regulation under this article pesticide use that is regulated in chapterÂ 20 of this title.
Issue licenses, permits and certificates for pesticide use, as appropriate, having terms of one or more years.
Charge and collect the following fees for each permit, license and certification under this article:

(a) Not more than twenty dollars per year for a grower permit.

(b) Not more than one hundred dollars per year for a seller permit.

(d) Not more than fifty dollars per year for a pilot license.

(e) Not more than fifty dollars per year for a pest control advisor license.

(f) Not more than twenty-five dollars per year for a piece of equipment used to apply pesticides by a custom applicator.

(g) Not more than fifty dollars per year for restricted use certification.

(h) Not more than the amount set by the director by rule for a license or certificate for pesticide use on golf courses.

Establish a nonexclusive list of acts and omissions that constitute serious, nonserious and de minimis violations of this article.
Establish a system of administrative penalties and fines for violations of this article and any rules adopted under this article. Â Under this system:

(a) Violators shall be assessed a number of points for each violation, depending on such factors as:

(i) Potential and actual consequences of the violation on public and worker health and safety and the environment.

(ii) The wrongfulness of the conduct.

(iii) The degree of culpability of the violator.

(iv) The duration of the violation.

(v) Prior violations or citations.

(b) Penalties shall be assessed depending on the number of points accrued by the violator.

A.R.S. § 3-00365

3-365 - Buffer zones

3-365. Buffer zones

A. The odoriferous pesticides profenofos, sulprofos, def and merphos and other pesticides with similar odoriferous characteristics shall not be applied within one-fourth mile of a school, child care facility, a health care institution that meets the requirements of section 36-421, subsection D, a child care group home as defined by section 36-897 or at least twenty-five residences adjoining the field to be sprayed, except by soil injection.

B. Highly toxic pesticides or paraquat shall not be applied within four hundred feet of a health care institution that meets the requirements of section 36-421, subsection D, except by soil injection.

C. Highly toxic pesticides or paraquat shall not be applied in liquid form, except by soil injection, within one hundred feet by aircraft or within fifty feet by ground equipment of at least twenty-five residences adjoining the field to be sprayed. Highly toxic pesticides shall not be applied in dust form by aircraft within three hundred feet of at least twenty-five residences adjoining the field to be sprayed.

D. Highly toxic pesticides and paraquat may be applied within one-fourth mile of schools, child care group homes, and child care facilities only if authorized activities at the school, child care group home or child care facility are not scheduled to occur before the reentry time period assigned to the pesticide by provisions of the product label elapses. A responsible individual at a school, a child care group home or a child care facility shall be notified of the application of pesticides, other than highly toxic pesticides or paraquat, by aircraft during daylight hours.

E. Nothing in this section permits the application of pesticide in such a way as to cause drift within the grounds of a residence, school, health care institution, child care group home, or child care facility, but compliance with this section and the requirements of the pesticide label establishes a presumption of compliance with this subsection.

F. For the purposes of this section, distances shall be measured from the property boundary of a school, residence, child care facility, child care group home, or health care institution closest to the field to be sprayed to the area of the field that is to be sprayed.

A.R.S. § 3-00368

3-368 - Enforcement; consultation with attorney general; citations and notices of violation

3-368. Enforcement; consultation with attorney general; citations and notices of violation

A. The director is responsible for enforcing this article and shall receive and shall promptly and efficiently process all complaints regarding pesticide use.Â The director shall furnish to the attorney general a copy of each complaint filed under this article and copies of all investigative reports, citations, hearing notices and other action or pending action documents.Â Before a final disposition of a pesticide complaint the director and the attorney general shall jointly review the case to ensure that proper action is taken and to determine whether additional action or prosecution is required.

B. The director shall notify all persons who submit complaints alleging violations of this article or rules adopted pursuant to this article of the progress, status and disposition of their complaints.

C. If the director investigates an alleged violation under this article and rules adopted pursuant to this article and determines that the violation did not result in any adverse health effects or property damage, the director may issue a letter of warning.Â A letter of warning issued pursuant to this subsection is not subject to section 3-363, paragraph 12.

D. If the director following an inspection or investigation determines that a de minimis violation occurred, the director shall issue a notice of de minimis violation and maintain a record of the violation for three years.Â A person receiving a notice of de minimis violation may request a hearing pursuant to title 41, chapter 6, article 10.

E. If the director following an inspection or investigation determines that a nonserious or serious violation occurred, the director shall issue a written citation.Â The citation shall be issued within twenty days for a nonserious violation or within ten days for a serious violation.Â Each citation shall contain the following:

A particular description of the nature of the violation, including a reference to the provision of this article.
A reasonable time to abate the violation or take appropriate action.
A notice of the right to a hearing pursuant to title 41, chapter 6, article 10.

F. No citation or notice of de minimis violation may be issued after the expiration of six months from the date of the inspection which produced evidence of the violation.Â If in the course of an investigation the department identifies any additional alleged violator, the department may investigate the additional alleged violator.Â No citation or notice of de minimis violation may be issued after the expiration of six months from the date any additional alleged violator is identified by the department. Â

A.R.S. § 3-00373

3-373 - Annual pesticide report

3-373. Annual pesticide report

The associate director shall submit an annual report to the director, the governor and the legislature on or before October 1 each year containing the following information for the preceding fiscal year relating to the division's activities under this article:

The number of full-time employee positions in the division that are authorized and filled for regulating pesticides as of June 30.
A brief summary of rules proposed or adopted during the reporting period.
The number of persons having each type of permit, certificate, license and registration issued as of June 30.
The number of persons whose permits, certificates, licenses or registrations were revoked, suspended or otherwise altered in status with brief statements of the reasons for the revocation, suspension or alteration.
The number of written complaints and other communications received by the division which allege a violation of this article or a rule adopted under this article.
A summary, by specific category, of the substance of the complaints and communications referred to in paragraph 5 of this section and, for each specific category, the responses or dispositions of those complaints.
A compilation, based upon reports filed in compliance with rules adopted pursuant to section 3-363, of the amount, frequency and type of pesticides used in this state by specific categories of acute toxicity and including but not limited to identification of pesticides which:

(a) Are known by the administrator of the federal environmental protection agency to require special application procedures to protect endangered species or which contain ingredients or produce degradation products that are carcinogenic, mutagenic or teratogenic.

(b) Are extremely hazardous substances listed pursuant to section 302 of the superfund amendments and reauthorization act or title III of the clean air act as amended.

Based on reports received from pesticide users and reports prepared pursuant to paragraphs 4, 5 and 6 of this section, specific recommendations regarding statutory or administrative changes to improve pesticide regulation in this state considering environmental and public health and safety factors.
Any other information which the associate director believes is useful in reviewing the division's activities.

A.R.S. § 3-00374

3-374 - Availability of information to the public

3-374. Availability of information to the public

A. Any records, reports or information obtained from any person under this article, including records, reports or information obtained or prepared by the department, shall be available to the public, except that the information, or a particular part of the information, shall be considered confidential on either:

A showing, satisfactory to the director, by any person that the information, or a particular part of the information, if made public, would divulge the trade secrets of the person.
A determination by the attorney general that disclosure of the information, or a particular part of the information, would be detrimental to an ongoing investigation by the director.
A determination by the attorney general that disclosure of the information or a particular part of the information would be detrimental to an ongoing criminal investigation or to an ongoing or contemplated civil enforcement action under this article in superior court.

B. Notwithstanding subsection A of this section, the following information shall be available to the public:

The name and address of any permit applicant or permittee.
Information contained in or derivable from the pesticide label or the relevant safety data sheet.

C. Notwithstanding subsection A of this section, the director may disclose any records, reports or information obtained from any person under this article, including records, reports or information obtained by the department, to:

Other state employees concerned with administering this article or if relevant to any administrative or judicial proceeding under this article.
Employees of the United States environmental protection agency if such information is necessary or required to administer and implement or comply with applicable federal law.

A.R.S. § 3-00382

3-382 - Program structure; responsibilities

3-382. Program structure; responsibilities

A. The integrated pest management program shall include programs for pest management and the impact of pest management in the following areas, listed in order of priority:

Cotton, grain and forage production.
Livestock, fruit, nut, vegetable and ornamentals production.

B. The integrated pest management program shall:

Develop systematic insect, disease and weed pest management strategies for use on farms in this state which integrate management tactics into environmentally compatible and economically sound systems to be used by producers, extension personnel and private enterprise.
Obtain information regarding crop, animal and stored grain pest occurrence and severity, pesticide usage, other pest management strategies used, effective pest monitoring techniques and scouting intervals and the effectiveness of producers' current pest control practices.
Determine the most effective, low cost methods and organizational structures for delivering integrated pest management systems to individual farming operations.
Investigate alternative pest management tactics such as biological and cultural control and plant resistance and determine how to integrate these tactics with chemical control and horticultural practices.
Determine accurate and time efficient sampling procedures and forecasting methods which can be utilized by private consultants or through cooperative extension.
Determine the economic relationship of pest incidence to yield or quality loss.
Develop nonpesticide methods of pest management in the areas of cultural practices, biological control and crop resistance.
Integrate the proper timing, selection and use of pesticides into overall management programs.
Aid growers in executing the most optimal crop protection program by providing them with timely reports on pest presence and population density levels, forecasted pest occurrences, crop growth, weather and other environmental information and by providing the most current interpretation of the data.
Act as a training mechanism for individuals at all levels of operation.

C. Wherever possible the director shall encourage, and if an adequate scientific and economic basis exists, may require, applicators, pest control advisors and growers to pursue integrated pest management techniques.

A.R.S. § 3-00525

3-525 - Definitions

3-525. Definitions

In this article, unless the context otherwise requires:

"Associate director" means the associate director of the citrus, fruit and vegetable division of the department.
"Farm" has the same meaning prescribed in 21 Code of Federal Regulations section 112.3 and includes production farms and harvesting, holding and packing operations.
"Harvesting":

(a) Has the same meaning prescribed in 21 Code of Federal Regulations section 112.3 and is limited to activities performed on produce without additional manufacturing or processing on a farm.

(b) Includes:

(i) Activities that are traditionally performed on farms for the purposes of removing produce from the place it was grown or raised and preparing it for use as food.

(ii) Separating the edible portion of the produce from the crop plant and removing or trimming part of the produce.

(iii) Cooling, field coring, gathering, hulling, shelling, removing stems from, trimming outer leaves from and washing produce grown on a farm.

"Holding":

(a) Has the same meaning prescribed in 21 Code of Federal Regulations section 112.3.

(b) Includes:

(i) Storage of produce in facilities such as warehouses and cold storage facilities.

(ii) Activities performed incidental to the storage of produce, such as fumigating citrus during storage.

(iii) Activities performed as a practical necessity for the distribution of produce, such as blending produce and breaking down pallets.

"Packing":

(a) Has the same meaning prescribed in 21 Code of Federal Regulations section 112.3.

(b) Includes:

(i) Placing produce into a container.

(ii) Repacking.

(iii) Activities performed incidental to packing or repacking produce, such as sorting, culling, grading and weighing or conveying and other incidental activities performed for the safe or effective packing or repacking of produce.

(i) Activities that transform produce into a processed food.

(ii) Packaging produce for retail sale.

"Produce":

(a) Means any harvested part of a fruit or vegetable that is consumed raw, including mushrooms, sprouts, tree nuts and herbs, and that is subject to the requirements of the produce safety rule as provided by 21 Code of Federal Regulations sections 112.1 and 112.2.Â

(b) Does not include food grains or seeds of arable crops.

"Produce safety rule" means the United States food and drug administration produce safety rule (21 Code of Federal Regulations part 112) and any other federal produce safety regulation, order or guideline or other requirement adopted pursuant to the FDA food safety modernization act (P.L. 111-353; 21 United States Code sections 2201 through 2252).

The law belongs to the people. Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 590 U.S. (2020)