HCPA Calls for Consistent Registration Timelines Within California’s Department of Pesticide Registration

The Household & Commercial Products Association (HCPA) concurred with California State Auditor findings from an audit conducted on the state’s Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR), which Senator Roger Niello initiated and HCPA supported in 2023.

That audit found DPR’s pesticide registration application processing times have been increasing. For example, in 2023 the department took an average of more than 3.5 years to process registrations for pesticides with new active ingredients and major new uses, twice as long as it took in 2019. Although DPR asserts that the existing regulatory standards for the length of its data evaluations are outdated, it has not taken steps to substantively update them since 1989 substantively, even though state law requires the department to review its regulations every five years. Long application processing times can delay medical, agricultural, residential and other benefits that pesticide products provide and can reduce revenue for businesses providing those products, according to the auditor report.

“Key findings from the audit confirmed systemic challenges within DPR that HCPA had been raising for years, including the need for consistent and predictable registration timelines,” noted HCPA President and CEO Steve Caldeira. “While the department claims that it does not have an adequate number of staff to process registration applications in a timely manner, it has not established a formal and ongoing process for determining the number of staff required to do this work.”

Caldeira agreed DPR’s internal systems are antiquated and have exacerbated inefficiencies and regulatory backlogs.

“DPR’s current method of tracking registrations does not accurately capture the information that is needed to determine the length of the registration process, making it impossible to provide consistency and predictability to registrants,” he said.

According to auditors, one of the causes of DPR’s delays in processing registrations is its lack of adequate staffing, and DPR has recently taken steps to request additional positions. Nonetheless, it lacks a formal and ongoing process to determine its staffing needs. DPR’s registration process also relies on paper documentation and 24 disparate data systems, creating significant inefficiencies. DPR plans to begin implementing the first stage of a new, integrated data system in August 2024, and it expects full implementation by March 2025.

Finally, auditors said increasing staffing levels and planned implementation of its new data system have contributed to DPR’s growing expenses, contributing to the Department of Pesticide Regulation Fund balance declining by more than $7 million in the last five years. DPR hopes to address these rising costs, in part, by raising its registration fees and its mill assessment.

“To address these findings, we recommend that DPR establish valid and measurable standards for the time it should take to process registration applications, that it track and annually report its progress toward meeting those standards, and that it use its progress to inform ongoing evaluation of its staffing needs,” said auditors.

HCPA noted missed deadlines impact registrants by delaying their ability to sell new and innovative products that are important to protecting human health in California. Additionally, because DPR funding is almost entirely dependent on industry fees and taxes, the department’s revenue cannot be collected until it completes its lengthy approval process and products are sold in the state.

“We hope the Auditor’s recommendations will help the department operate more effectively and efficiently, and we applaud Governor Newsom for taking this first step by signing AB 2113 into law, which aims to alleviate registration timeline issues,” concluded Caldeira. “HCPA supports fully functioning regulatory agencies and initiated this audit in 2023 to strengthen DPR by identifying persistent process challenges. HCPA will continue to engage and partner with DPR,the California Environmental Protection Agency, the Governor, and lawmakers to provide input on processes that can help meet its standards and better serve registrants.”