Colorado Department of Agriculture
Plant Industry Division
Administration and Enforcement of the Pesticide Act
8 CCR 1203-1
Part 3.	The registration system.
3.4.	The annual application fee for registration or renewal of a registration shall be $165.00.	 
Part 20.	Statements of Basis, Specific Statutory Authority, and Purpose
20.11	Adopted July 16, 2009 – Effective August 30, 2009.
Statutory Authority
These amendments to these rules are proposed for adoption by the Commissioner of the Colorado Department of Agriculture (“CDA”) pursuant to his authority under the Pesticide Act (the "Act"), §§ 35-9-107(2), and 35-9-118(3)(a) and (b) C.R.S. 
Purpose
The purpose of this proposed rule amendment is to amend Rule 3.4 to increase the annual pesticide registration fee from $95 to $165. 
Factual and Policy Issues
The factual and policy issues encountered when developing these rules include: 
1.	Under 35-9-118(3)(a) the Commissioner has the authority to promulgate Rules to determine the annual registration fee for each pesticide registered in the state of Colorado. 
2.	On January 1, 2007, the CDA obtained primacy over all private applicators.
3.	CDA’s budget projections for the private applicator program took into account the initiation of the program prior to any revenue generation, projected expenses to administer the program and projected revenue from private applicator licensing over a 4 year period. Budget projections showed an annual revenue shortfall of $250,000. To account for this shortfall CDA combined all pesticide cash funds and subsidized the private applicator expenses through a surplus in the pesticide registration fund. This was done to maintain private applicator examination and licensure fees at less than $100. 
4.	The pesticide applicator program, which licenses commercial applicators, has not raised its fees to cover rising costs since 1994, when business licensure fees were increased to $350, and 2003, when examination licensure fees were increased to $100. Expenses in the pesticide applicator program have outpaced revenues in 2007 and 2008 by an average of $80,000. These shortfalls have been covered by the pesticide registration fund and EPA grant funds. 
5.	In 2007 the pesticide registration fund balance was $670,517. In FY 07 and FY 08 the private applicator program and the commercial pesticide applicator program operated at an average loss of $251,000. In FY 2009 the pesticide program is projected to be at a $250,000+ loss, depleting the remaining pesticide registration funds at the end of FY 2009. 
6.	In 2009 and 2010 the administration of the private applicator exam and the commercial applicator exam will be shared between a private company, Metro Institute, Colorado State University and CDA. This is being done to allow private applicators to take their examination on-line and allow proctored computer based examinations with CSU and CDA. This will provide an easier, more accessible and improved testing environment for the applicator community; however, it will increase CDA’s program expenses to maintain the examination software and hardware and result in a loss in revenue with each examination administered by Metro Institutes or CSU.
7.	The current registration fee is set in the Pesticide Act Rules, Part 3.4, which is currently $95. The CDA registers an average of 11,000 pesticide products per year. 
8.	The CDA is proposing a fee increase of $70, making the new registration fee $165. The fee increase will generate, based on average registration renewals, an additional $770,000 in revenue. This will cover all projected expenses, allow the CDA to resolve the deficit created in FY 2010, rebuild its fund balance, cover increases in expenditures and allow program growth in future years without having to increase pesticide applicator licensure fees. 
9.	Under 35-10-118(3)(a) any fee collected under the pesticide registration program shall have an increment approved by the Agricultural Commission to fund the Groundwater Protection Program. Currently the Groundwater increment is set at $30. In conjunction with this rulemaking, CDA plans to ask the Agricultural Commission to approve an increase in the increment from $30 to $40 dollars. This will bring an additional $110,000 to the Groundwater Program to cover increased program expenses and allow for growth in future years.
10.	Twenty-one states have pesticide registration fees that exceed $165 per product, the highest being $750 per product; ranking Colorado twenty-second in comparison to the nation.