[{"_1":2,"_88":-5,"_89":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6278543,"mediaKeyId","2640807-79ef33118ddf194edfec54da77a630a0","parentId",2640807,"title","State presents small net change to drinking-water fees, ELAP budget; about 500 labs in ELAP program","audioSeconds",847,"startMs",3591000,"endMs",4438000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2640807-79ef33118ddf194edfec54da77a630a0&start=3591&end=4438","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2640807-79ef33118ddf194edfec54da77a630a0/thumbnail_3591000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6278543/California/State-presents-small-net-change-to-drinking-water-fees-ELAP-budget-about-500-labs-in-ELAP-program","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6278543-fe811bff50e85ceaf2fb1df73f22ac6f/orig.mp4?Expires=1771138273&Signature=SIt4fJ~fkKPQlgljOb3~67g6URDPuWO4JxWPd-X9Y7XM5IAww6sAv0n0wSiirJ24UL6xwIA1nfuhSYS76hXmCpLclh9cQLniRqjnQ4gdwWaZV1y4YrUbZMWm7h6R8gqnK24QM3Pgf80mufYtDTDNuDYWZXzpoWFyD2lEBx5DuhxrhltuWu~l30ptQUccqH6cwX2lTo16Df8wv5pOtz4LFQav33RWuBvcxyBqjMcouM3Ydah~zL7aaNEKQs03VPbX6WlsurF07UKg-fVT0aXWEmPVXYL~M--7aA8j62c3A4Hs1eJYRmujGEEaSQQbMONC-6wDpOPtatMhkn4QgoL7zA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","State Water Resources Control Board Meeting","date","2025-03-15T00:09:20.67Z","article","State Water Resources Control Board staff presented fee-setting budget figures from the governor's January proposed budget and described the cost drivers behind small net changes for the Safe Drinking Water Account (SDWA) and the Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program (ELAP).

Tracy Lotz of the fee and revenue branch said the SDWA fee-setting budget for fiscal year 2024-25 was $47,980,000 and the governor's January proposed figure for 2025-26 is $48,270,000, a net increase of $287,000, or 0.6 percent. Lotz attributed the largest SDWA cost-driver increase to state operations, which rose $818,000, or 1.7 percent, primarily for employee compensation including salaries, health care and retirement. She also said there is a spending-authority reduction of $250,000 related to reduced contract funding for the Water Shutoff Protection Act and a pro rata decrease of $281,000.

On ELAP, Lotz said the fee-setting budget was $4,680,000 for 2024-25 and the governor's January proposed 2025-26 figure is $4,620,000, a net decrease of $62,000, or 1.3 percent. For ELAP, Lotz said state operations decreased by $46,000 (about 1 percent) and pro rata decreased by $16,000 (about 0.3 percent), supporting the overall ELAP decrease.

When stakeholders asked whether any positions assigned to ELAP were subject to a governor's position sweep, staff replied that information will be available in the May revise. In response to a question about how many laboratories share the ELAP program cost, an ELAP staff member (identified in the transcript as Caitlin) said, \"We're sitting right around 500 laboratories right now,\" and added the program is seeing a slight year-over-year decrease of about 2 percent.

Staff and Deputy Director John Russell cautioned that the presented figures come from the January proposed budget and that the May revise will likely include updates. David Ciccarelli and other staff said they expect to provide revised numbers and more detailed fee-adjustment scenarios at the June stakeholder meeting. Stakeholders were told they may submit questions via the published stakeholder email address.

No votes or formal fee changes were adopted at the meeting; presenters described the numbers as preliminary and tied to the state budget timeline.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","3-7-2025 Drinking Water and ELAP Fees Stakeholder Meeting","oneSentenceSummary","Staff told stakeholders the governor's January proposed fee-setting budget shows a small net increase for the Safe Drinking Water Account and a slight decrease for the Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program; ELAP staff said the program licenses roughly 500 laboratories, down about 2% from last year.","taxTitle","State Water Resources Control Board, Boards and Commissions, Executive, California","taxId",76764,"location","California","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6278548,"State staff propose moving DAC fee-eligibility determinations to Division of Drinking Water",138,3825000,3963000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2640807-79ef33118ddf194edfec54da77a630a0&start=3825&end=3963","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2640807-79ef33118ddf194edfec54da77a630a0/thumbnail_3825000.jpg","/articles/6278548/California/State-staff-propose-moving-DAC-fee-eligibility-determinations-to-Division-of-Drinking-Water","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6278548-e557e7e684eda1d85ab37bd770a8f2ee/orig.mp4?Expires=1771138273&Signature=WN9eSJ4tfhaL9EcNqHjU9kSVI79rRFxFDpKbTCbu02M8nVlU7~DB-baDe6w4bKZ31J5uECL0kPp-EdmDarTeGzl198KiNxS9jHZIJKlcr8I~kMLdsbQlSgiBi3pq9K0vps~ie~UWJG1n5LpjNlw2t7~5bvwmrMpacdIe0RX~tZpJqn2qmsu4vQAvoTXtUVbQJB6YnlHr05-lhOoc-PFPx0HkTUF5cOp0okzM88DxXly1WB0Q99NQ4kQSWselJK9WzvQ4fAKQXRAuLUxP~CGM8Ln0Lk7FJsZYK7XzXU74XlmCT92I2v-3M8JefNHJRW0ILiKBk5FbCv7jMec8T5TZWw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Division of Drinking Water staff proposed changing Section 64.310 so the division, not individual community water systems, determines eligibility for disadvantaged-community (DAC) fee reductions.

The proposal, introduced during the State Water Resources Control Board's Drinking Water and Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program stakeholder meeting, would apply only to state-regulated water systems; systems regulated by county agencies would not be eligible for the new DAC fee reduction process, staff said.

Division of Drinking Water staff member (identified in the transcript as Wendy) said, \"So, we are proposing a change to Section 64.310, which is the reduction of fees for public water systems.\" She added the division \"will now be determining a water systems [sic] disadvantage fee reduction eligibility\" using the division's needs-assessment median household income data and that \"there will be an opportunity for water systems who disagree with their disadvantaged community status to petition.\"

Tracy Lotz of the fee and revenue branch framed the discussion as an early-stage proposal that staff will flesh out as the budget process advances. David Ciccarelli, fee and revenue branch, said the item is a high-level introduction and that staff will provide more details in subsequent meetings.

Staff explained why the proposed change is under consideration: community water systems currently self-certify median household income, a process staff described as occasionally inefficient or unreliable. The division said some systems may be missing out on DAC fee reductions and that a division-led determination would allow staff to verify the reliability of sources used to establish eligibility.

Program staff emphasized the change would not be implemented immediately. Staff said they are still evaluating how many systems would gain or lose DAC eligibility under the new method and that they expect to share estimates at the June stakeholder meeting. When asked how many systems would be newly included or excluded, staff replied, \"We'll have those numbers in June in the June workshop\" and cautioned those figures will likely be estimates until invoicing and evaluation proceed.

No formal action was taken; the meeting was an informational stakeholder session tied to the state budget timetable. Staff invited written questions and feedback via the posted stakeholder email and said they will return with more developed proposals after the May revise and ahead of the June 10 stakeholder meeting.

The proposal, as described on the record, would: limit the change to state-regulated systems; replace self-certification with division determinations based on needs-assessment median household income data; and create a petition mechanism for systems that dispute their DAC status.","Division of Drinking Water staff said they will propose an amendment to Section 64.310 to replace community self-certification with determinations based on the division's needs-assessment median household income data; the change would apply only to state-regulated systems and include a petition process for systems that disagree.","actionData","errors"]

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State presents small net change to drinking-water fees, ELAP budget; about 500 labs in ELAP program

State staff propose moving DAC fee-eligibility determinations to Division of Drinking Water