Brief

The Mayor and Board of Fire Commissioners propose creating a new participating agency oversight fee tied to the Los Angeles County Fire Department's hazardous waste program. The fee would fund administrative oversight of agencies that participate in the program. Public Safety Committee approved the item on September 15, 2026. The matter is now pending in Budget and Finance Committee for fiscal consideration.

Full summary

Fire Chief Jaime E. Moore proposed, and the Board of Fire Commissioners approved on August 4, 2026, the creation of a new oversight fee to recover costs the City incurs as the Certified Unified Program Agency (CUPA) for the Hazardous Waste Generator and Onsite Hazardous Waste Treatment Program. That program is implemented in the field by the LA County Fire Department's Health Hazardous Materials Division under a Participating Agency agreement, but the City's CUPA is responsible for administering, coordinating, and evaluating the entire program. Despite shouldering that administrative burden, the CUPA currently receives no dedicated funding for oversight activities, forcing existing staff to request overtime twice a year to keep up. The proposed fee would be set at approximately $136.51 per hazardous waste facility and assessed on all 7,508 regulated facilities within the City. That would generate roughly $1,024,966 in additional revenue in Fiscal Year 2026-27, which would be folded into the City's Cost of Special Services schedule for CUPA programs. The CUPA's oversight responsibilities are extensive: issuing and billing permits, handling public records requests, conducting annual performance evaluations of the County Fire Department's inspection and enforcement functions, and managing internal data and reporting systems. California Health and Safety Code Section 25404.5 requires that CUPA permit fees cover the full cost of program implementation, and Los Angeles Municipal Code Section 120.6.4.1 authorizes the Fire Department to levy such administrative charges. Mayor Karen Bass transmitted the Board of Fire Commissioners' report to the City Council on August 28, 2026, and it was referred to both the Budget and Finance Committee and the Public Safety Committee. The Public Safety Committee approved the item on September 15, 2026, the most recent action on the file. It now awaits review by the Budget and Finance Committee, which will assess the fee structure and fiscal impact before the matter goes to a full Council vote. The file remains active with an expiration date of September 15, 2028.

Activity (3)

• 2026-09-15 Public Safety Committee approved item(s) .
• 2026-08-31 Mayor; Board of Fire Commissioners document(s) referred to Budget and Finance Committee; Public Safety Committee.
• 2026-08-28 Document submitted by the Mayor, Board of Fire Commissioners report dated August 6, 2026.

Documents (2)

• 2026-09-15 Speaker Card(s) · speaker_card
• 2026-08-06 Report from Board of Fire Commissioners · report