The State Water Resources Control Board may do all of the following related to accrediting environmental laboratories in the state:

(a) Offer both state accreditation and TNI accreditation, which shall be considered equivalent for regulatory activities covered by this article.

(b) Adopt regulations to establish the accreditation procedures for both types of accreditation.

(c) Retain exclusive authority to grant TNI accreditation.

(d) Accept certificates of accreditation from laboratories that have been accredited by other TNI-recognized accrediting authorities.

(e) Adopt regulations to establish procedures for recognizing the accreditation of laboratories located outside California for activities regulated under this article.

(f) (1) Adopt a schedule of fees to recover costs incurred for the accreditation of environmental laboratories. Consistent with Section 3 of Article XIII A of the California Constitution, the state board shall set the fees under this section in an amount sufficient to recover all reasonable regulatory costs incurred for the purposes of this article.

(2) The state board shall set the amount of total revenue collected each year through the fee schedule at an amount equal to the amount appropriated by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act from the Environmental Laboratory Improvement Fund for expenditure for the administration of this article, taking into account the reserves in the Environmental Laboratory Improvement Fund. The state board shall review and revise the fees each fiscal year as necessary to conform with the amounts appropriated by the Legislature. If the state board determines that the revenue collected during the preceding year was greater than, or less than, the amounts appropriated by the Legislature, the state board may further adjust the fees to compensate for the over or under collection of revenue.

(3) The state board shall adopt the schedule of fees by emergency regulation. The emergency regulations may include provisions concerning the administration and collection of the fees. Any emergency regulations adopted pursuant to this section, any amendment to those regulations, or subsequent adjustments to the annual fees, shall be adopted by the state board in accordance with Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code. The adoption of these regulations is an emergency and shall be considered by the Office of Administrative Law as necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, safety, and general welfare. Notwithstanding Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, any emergency regulations adopted by the state board, or adjustments to the annual fees made by the state board pursuant to this section, are not subject to review by the Office of Administrative Law and remain in effect until revised by the state board.

(4) Fees shall be set for the two types of accreditation provided for in subdivision (a), including application fees.

(5) Programs operated under this article shall be fully fee-supported.

(Amended by Stats. 2017, Ch. 327, Sec. 2. (AB 1438) Effective January 1, 2018.)