UPDATE: The California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) fee increases shown in the below table are in effect as of October 1, 2024. CalPEST and DPR’s application forms have been updated to reflect the new fee schedule. Note the change to remove the separate fee for notifications of minor changes. DPR has promised to initiate a separate action as soon as possible to amend regulations regarding fees for notifications and provide clarity as to which actions may be classified as notifications versus amendments.
Background
In April 2024, DPR notified stakeholders of its intent to increase registration fees to support current and future business functions and address the funding deficit in the pesticide registration program. DPR’s original fee increase proposal was reviewed in SRC’s previous blog: California Department of Pesticide Regulation Proposes Fee Increase. Following the initial stakeholder comment period, DPR added a new fee category for notifications of minor change (notifications) with a fee of $100 instead of the $300 fee for amendments and notifications that was proposed originally. This change was made in response to the 9 comments received during the comment period.
In September, the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) released a Notice of Emergency Rule Making For Registration Fee Increase and Responses to Public Comments to increase California registration fees, effective October 1, 2024. DPR submitted this emergency notice to the Office of Administrative Law on September 12, 2024, with a 5-day comment period, which ended on September 17, 2024. The fee increases are now in effect, as communicated in California Notice to Stakeholders 2024-17. Due to public comments received in September, DPR has decided to remove the separate fee for notifications of minor changes and revert to the April 2024 proposal of $300 for all amendments (including notifications). DPR has promised to initiate a separate action as soon as possible to amend the regulations regarding fees for notifications and provide clarity as to which actions may be classified as notifications versus amendments.
DPR also received numerous comments requesting more predictable renewal timelines, and has enacted Assembly Bill 2113, which requires evaluation and decision timelines to be met after July 1, 2027.
Future Fee Increase
This Notice also notifies stakeholders to expect future increases due to Senate Bill 181, which is expected to be signed into law later this year and will provide salary increases to most DPR registration staff. Should this bill be signed into law, there will likely be a second fee increase proposed in 2025 to offset this additional expense.
We recommend working with your marketing team to plan label updates to limit the cost of multiple label update fees. Please reach out to your SRC Registration Specialist for all of your DPR registration needs!
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Christina Wilkinson
Consulting Associate
Posted on: 09/06/2024
Updated on: 10/01/2024