Arboriculture & Urban Forestry 32(6): November 2006 275 Table 5. Business Entity Registration (BER) type for unlicensed tree experts advertising online. BER status Definition No BER Not applicable Incorporated This corporation is legally active and present in Maryland. Active Forfeited Inactive Revived Other Not active The entity is currently back to active status after having been forfeited in the past. The entity took the legal steps necessary to reinstate its existence. Canceled, consolidated, dissolved, merged, old name RECOMMENDATIONS To facilitate communication with existing clients, increase business opportunities with prospective clients, stay in com- pliance with regulators, and to remain abreast of regulatory changes, TEs should provide full contact information, includ- ing a physical address for the business. The change in the Tree Expert Law brought about by the passage of House Bill 168 should clarify the rules of practice, provide consumer protection, and ensure that TEs are prop- erly insured. This latter point will provide protection for tree service workers as well as “level the playing field” for LTEs that at times have to fight being underbid by firms that can operate more cheaply because they have inadequate or no insurance and therefore less overhead. Although passage of this bill should facilitate improved enforcement by the MD DNR, the lack of a grandfathering provision in House Bill This unincorporated entity is legally active and present in Maryland. For a Maryland entity, its existence has been ended by the state for some delinquency. For a non-Maryland entity, it means its authority to do business and legal presence here has been terminated. For a trade name, it means the filing has lapsed after 5 years and not been renewed. No. of firms 70 35 34 13 4 2 0 Percentage of firms 44.30 22.15 21.52 8.23 2.53 1.27 0 168 left many firms with compliance issues resulting from the existing qualifications for licensure (2 years related college course work and 1 year under a licensee, or, for at least 5 years immediately before the date of application, to have been engaged continuously in practice as a tree expert with a licensed tree expert in Maryland or with an acceptable tree expert company in another state). UnLTEs would have to hire someone possessing a license, hire someone that qualifies to obtain a license, or find an LTE willing to allow the UnLTE to work under their license to be in compliance. The costs associated with such arrangements are prohibitive to many UnLTEs, and the risks associated with such arrangements are prohibitive to many LTEs. MD DNR has been working with elected officials, LTEs, and UnLTEs to reach an equitable resolution and hopes that such a remedy will be passed when the General Assembly next convenes. Acknowledgments. The author thanks Maryland’s tree care indus- try, including the Maryland Arborist Association, the Tree Care Industry Association, the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture, the Association of Forest Conservancy District Boards/Maryland Urban and Community Forest Committee, and the Maryland Electric Reliability Tree Trimming Council for their partnership in Maryland’s Tree Expert licensing program. LITERATURE CITED American National Standards Institute (ANSI). 2000. Ameri- can National Standard for Arboricultural Operations— Pruning, Repairing, Maintaining, and Removing Trees, and Cutting Brush—Safety Requirements, ANSI Z133.1—2000. American National Standards Institute, New York, NY. Ball, J., and S. Vosberg. 2003. How accidents happen and why: Arboricultural safety in the US. Tree Care Industry 14:50–54. Figure 1. Map of zip codes in Maryland and surrounding jurisdictions, classified by the number of unlicensed tree experts advertising online and using a particular zip code in their address of record. District Court of Maryland. 2003. DCAR XVIII. Natural Re- sources Fine Schedule. Administrative Office of the Courts. Annapolis, MD. Galvin, M.F., and P. Becker. 1998. A survey of licensed tree experts in Maryland. Journal of Arboriculture 24:35–41. ©2006 International Society of Arboriculture
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