AB993 - Hazardous materials management: Rural CUPA Reimbursement Account.

Assembly Bill No. 993 CHAPTER 176 An act to amend Section 25404.8 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to hazardous materials. [ Approved by Governor October 01, 2025. Filed with Secretary of State October 01, 2025. ] LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 993, Hadwick. Hazardous materials management: Rural CUPA Reimbursement Account. Existing law requires the Secretary for Environmental Protection to adopt regulations and implement a unified hazardous waste and hazardous materials management regulatory program. A city or local agency that meets specified requirements is authorized to apply to the secretary to implement the unified program, and every county is required to apply to the secretary to be certified to implement the unified program as a Certified Unified Program Agency (CUPA). Existing law establishes the Rural CUPA Reimbursement Account in the General Fund, and requires the Secretary for Environmental Protection to allocate funds to counties with populations of less than 150,000 persons for which a CUPA has not been certified on or before January 1, 2000, and in which the unified program has been implemented by a CUPA designated by the secretary, as specified, in amounts not to exceed designated percentages of budgeted costs. This bill, contingent on an appropriation for its purposes, would make every county with a population of less than 150,000 persons eligible for these funds without regard to the date of certification or the qualification regarding CUPA implementation of the unified program. Digest Key Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NO Bill Text The people of the State of California do enact as follows: SECTION 1. Section 25404.8 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read: 25404.8. (a) (1) In a county for which a CUPA has not been certified on or before January 1, 2000, and where the unified program is implemented pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (f) of Section 25404.3, the CUPA is eligible for an allocation pursuant to subdivision (d). (2) The CUPA shall institute a single fee system that meets the requirements of Section 25404.5, except that the amounts to be paid by each person regulated by the unified program under the single fee system shall be set at a level so that the revenues collected under the single fee system and the amount allocated pursuant to subdivision (d) are sufficient to pay the necessary costs incurred by the CUPA in implementing the unified program. The CUPA shall determine the level to be paid by persons regulated under the unified program by conducting a workload analysis that establishes the direct and indirect costs to the CUPA of implementing the unified program. (b) A CUPA that implements the unified program pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (f) of Section 25404.3 shall use the funding allocated pursuant to subdivision (d) to implement the unified program within the jurisdiction of the CUPA in accordance with the implementation agreement reached with the secretary pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (f) of Section 25404.3. (c) The Rural CUPA Reimbursement Account is hereby established in the General Fund and the secretary may expend the money in the account to make the allocations specified in subdivision (d). (d) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the secretary shall allocate the following amounts from the Rural CUPA Reimbursement Account to an eligible county: (A) If the county has a population of less than 70,000 persons, the amount of the funds allocated from the account shall not exceed 75 percent of the budgeted costs as approved by the local governing body for implementation of the unified program. (B) If the county has a population of more than 70,000, but less than 100,000 persons, the amount of the funds allocated from the account shall not exceed 50 percent of the budgeted costs as approved by the local governing body for implementation of the unified program. (C) If the county has a population of more than 100,000, but less than 150,000 persons, the amount of the funds allocated from the account shall not exceed 35 percent of the budgeted costs as approved by the local governing body for implementation of the unified program. (2) The secretary shall not allocate more than sixty thousand dollars ($60,000) for all CUPAs in an eligible county. (e) Contingent upon an appropriation by the Legislature for these purposes, notwithstanding paragraph (1) of subdivision (a), every county that has a population of less than 150,000 shall be eligible for funding pursuant to subdivision (d).