It’s no secret that bed bug infestations are occurring at lightning fast speed throughout New York.  There are now cases reported in every single state and it’s not surprising that some government officials are trying to nip the bed bug problem in the proverbial bud before it gets out of hand.

There was a recent meeting of the Bradley County Commission in Tennessee where one particular Commissioner brought a proposal to the table to curtail their rising bed bug problem.  Commissioner Lisa Stanbery stated that she had been contacted by a local non-profit organization which had informed her about the growing problem with bed bugs in their area.  She said that three families had been affected by bed bug infestations from their rental properties. 

Commissioner Stanbery asked if the Commissioners could put a tracking system in place so that the citizens of their county could obtain information about a rental property’s experience with bed bugs.  She was hoping that the tracking system could help protect citizens who were moving into new apartments, so that they would not have to deal with the blood sucking parasites.  Sounds good; and familiar too!

Although not mentioned, her proposal is not unlike the current legislation that is awaiting the sign of approval, or veto, from New York’s Governor David Paterson.  Since Governor Paterson recently vetoed the Mattress Sanitation legislation, it will be interesting to see what his decision is regarding this very important legislation.

Here’s the funny part of the story…

One of the other Commissioners was not too keen on the idea of the county being involved with bed bugs.  According to the Chattanoogan.com article, Commissioner Howard Thompson said “I think we ought to let everybody take care of their own mess,” and “all that is is nastiness.”

Please check back on Monday for the conclusion.