SENATE COMMERCE COMMITTEE

 

STATEMENT TO

 

SENATE, No. 458

 

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

 

DATED: FEBRUARY 15, 1996

 

      The Senate Commerce Committee reports favorably Senate Bill No. 458.

      This bill would:

      a. require reappointed or newly appointed members of the board of tree experts to have been certified tree experts for at least five years;

      b. allow an applicant to qualify to take the examination for certification if he has completed two years of college, passed courses in theory and practice of tree care, including botany, plant physiology, dendrology, entomology, plant pathology, and soils, and has been continuously employed in the practice of arboriculture for a period of at least three years preceding the date of his application or entry into college;

      c. allow the board, in its discretion, to waive the examination requirement for new applicants and those applicants who have not held a certificate for three years;

      d. allow the board to limit the subjects for reexamination to those test subjects not passed;

      e. give the board discretion in the revocation or suspension of permits where such action by the board is now mandatory;

      f. impose a fine of up to $1,000 on any person who falsely represents himself as a "certified tree expert;"

      g. define the title "certified tree expert" as a person who is certified pursuant to P.L. 1940, c. 100 (C. 45:15C-1 et seq.) and clearly states that the act does not restrict the right of any person to engage in the practice of arboriculture except that person may not hold himself out to be a "certified tree expert" unless certified as such;

      h. establish new fees reflecting the actual costs for services provided by the board; and

      i. repeal three sections of current law concerning the definition of "certified tree expert," fees and waiver of examinations.