(a) The secretary shall, within a reasonable time after submission of a complete application for certification pursuant to Section 25404.2, and regulations adopted pursuant to that section, but not to exceed 180 days, review the application, and, after holding a public hearing, determine if the application should be approved. Before disapproving an application for certification, the secretary shall submit to the applicant agency a notification of the secretary’s intent to disapprove the application, in which the secretary shall specify the reasons why the applicant agency does not have the capability or the resources to fully implement and enforce the unified program in a manner that is consistent with the regulations implementing the unified program adopted by the secretary pursuant to this chapter. The secretary shall provide the applicant agency with a reasonable time to respond to the reasons specified in the notification and to correct deficiencies in its application. The applicant agency may request a second public hearing, at which the secretary shall hear the applicant agency’s response to the reasons specified in the notification.

(b) In determining whether an applicant agency should be certified, or designated as certified, the secretary, after receiving comments from the director, the Director of Emergency Services, the State Fire Marshal, and the Executive Officers and Chairpersons of the State Water Resources Control Board and the California regional water quality control boards, shall consider at least all of the following factors:

(1) Adequacy of the technical expertise possessed by each unified program agency that will be implementing each element of the unified program, including, but not limited to, whether the agency responsible for implementing and enforcing the requirements of Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 25100) satisfies the requirements of Section 15260 of Title 27 of the California Code of Regulations.

(2) Adequacy of staff resources.

(3) Adequacy of budget resources and funding mechanisms.

(4) Training requirements.

(5) Past performance in implementing and enforcing requirements related to the handling of hazardous materials and hazardous waste.

(6) Recordkeeping and cost accounting systems.

(7) Compliance with the criteria in Section 15170 of Title 27 of the California Code of Regulations.

(c) (1) In making the determination of whether or not to certify a particular applicant agency as a certified unified program agency, the secretary shall consider the applications of every other applicant agency applying to be a certified unified program agency within the same county, in order to determine the impact of each certification decision on the county. If the secretary identifies that there may be adverse impacts on the county if any particular agency in a county is certified, the secretary shall work cooperatively with each affected agency to address the secretary’s concerns.

(2) The secretary shall not certify an agency to be a certified unified program agency unless the secretary finds both of the following:

(A) The unified program will be implemented in a coordinated and consistent manner throughout the entire county in which the applicant agency is located.

(B) The administration of the unified program throughout the entire county in which the applicant agency is located will be less fragmented between jurisdictions, as compared to before January 1, 1994, with regard to the administration of the provisions specified in subdivision (c) of Section 25404.

(d) (1) The secretary shall not certify an applicant agency that proposes to allow participating agencies to implement certain elements of the unified program unless the secretary makes all of the following findings:

(A) The applicant agency has adequate authority, and has in place adequate systems, protocols, and agreements, to ensure that the actions of the other agencies proposed to implement certain elements of the unified program are fully coordinated and consistent with each other and with those of the applicant agency, and to ensure full compliance with the regulations implementing the unified program adopted by the secretary pursuant to this chapter.

(B) An agreement between the applicant and other agencies proposed to implement any elements of the unified program contains procedures for removing any agencies proposed and engaged to implement any element of the unified program. The procedures in the agreement shall include, at a minimum, provisions for providing notice, stating causes, taking public comment, making appeals, and resolving disputes.

(C) The other agencies proposed to implement certain elements of the unified program have the capability and resources to implement those elements, taking into account the factors designated in subdivision (b).

(D) All other agencies proposed to implement certain elements of the unified program shall maintain an agreement with the applicant agency that ensures that the requirements of Section 25404.2 will be fully implemented.

(E) If the applicant agency proposes that any agency other than itself will be responsible for implementing aspects of the single fee system imposed pursuant to Section 25404.5, the applicant agency maintains an agreement with that agency that ensures that the fee system is implemented in a fully consistent and coordinated manner, and that ensures that each participating agency receives the amount that it determines to constitute its necessary and reasonable costs of implementing the element or elements of the unified program that it is responsible for implementing.

(2) After the secretary has certified an applicant agency pursuant to this subdivision, that agency shall obtain the approval of the secretary before removing and replacing a participating agency that is implementing an element of the unified program.

(3) Any state agency, including, but not limited to, the State Department of Health Care Services, acting as a participating agency, may contract with a unified program agency to implement or enforce the unified program.

(e) Until a city’s or county’s application for certification to implement the unified program is acted upon by the secretary, the roles, responsibilities, and authority for implementing the programs identified in subdivision (c) of Section 25404 that existed in that city or county pursuant to statutory authorization as of December 31, 1993, shall remain in effect.

(f) (1) Except as provided in subparagraph (C) of paragraph (2) or in Section 25404.8, if no local agency has been certified by January 1, 1997, to implement the unified program within a city, the secretary shall designate either the county in which the city is located or another agency pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2) as the unified program agency.

(2) (A) Except as provided in subparagraph (C), if no local agency has been certified by January 1, 2001, to implement the unified program within the unincorporated or an incorporated area of a county, the secretary shall determine how the unified program shall be implemented in the unincorporated area of the county, and in any city in which there is no agency certified to implement the unified program. In such an instance, the secretary shall work in consultation with the county and cities to determine which state or local agency or combination of state and local agencies should implement the unified program, and shall determine which state or local agency shall be designated as the certified unified program agency.

(B) The secretary shall determine the method by which the unified program shall be implemented throughout the county and may select any combination of the following implementation methods:

(i) The certification of a state or local agency as a certified unified program agency.

(ii) The certification of an agency from another county as the certified unified program agency.

(iii) The certification of a joint powers agency as the certified unified program agency.

(C) Notwithstanding paragraph (1) and subparagraphs (A) and (B), if the Cities of Sunnyvale, Anaheim, and Santa Ana prevail in litigation filed in 1997 against the secretary, and, to the extent the secretary determines that these three cities meet the requirements for certification, the secretary may certify these cities as certified unified program agencies.

(g) (1) If a certified unified program agency wishes to withdraw from its obligations to implement the unified program and is a city or a joint powers agency implementing the unified program within a city, the agency may withdraw after providing 180 days’ notice to the secretary and to the county within which the city is located, or to the joint powers agency with which the county has an agreement to implement the unified program.

(2) Whenever a certified unified program agency withdraws from its obligations to implement the unified program, or the secretary withdraws an agency’s certification pursuant to Section 25404.4, the successor certified unified program agency shall be determined in accordance with subdivision (f).

(Amended by Stats. 2013, Ch. 352, Sec. 353. (AB 1317) Effective September 26, 2013. Operative July 1, 2013, by Sec. 543 of Ch. 352.)