The California state senate on Thursday passed a UFC-backed bill that allows the commission to withhold 40 percent of a licensee’s pay in the event of a positive drug test. Previously, the commission could take up to $2,500.

If, for example, January’s UFC 183 had been regulated by the CSAC, the commission could have withheld $520,000 following the positive tests of ex-champ Anderson Silva and Nick Diaz, though the seized money is separate from the CSAC’s general fund and can’t be used to bankroll future testing.

SB 469, introduced Feb. 25 and lobbied to the tune of $30,000 by the UFC, also gives the commission authority to drug test fighters while they are licensed by the state, formalizing an out-of-competition strategy employed over the past year. (UFC Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Lawrence Epstein told MMAjunkie that while the promotion supports legislation that increases penalties for drug offenders, its primary aim was to back the portion of the bill that extends CSAC operations until 2020.)

While the Nevada State Athletic Commission wants the UFC to foot the bill of enhanced drug testing, the California commission will pick up the tab, according to the bill, which still needs to pass the full assembly. But the commission also will have a fairly sizable bank account to cover costs for out-of-competition drug testing – $115,000 is earmarked for anti-doping measures in fiscal year 2016-2017 and $107,000 is allocated on an ongoing basis.

As drug failures have become more commonplace, the CSAC has ramped up its anti-doping efforts, though out-of-competition test have yet to snag any high-profile fighters as in Nevada, which caught Jon Jones, Silva and Diaz over the course of one month.

Still, the commission is considered a key ally in the UFC’s efforts to ramp up punishments for banned substances. In February, the industry-leader pushed commissions to increase suspensions and fines in connection to positive tests, recommending a two-year ban for first offenders. The program was backed by the Association of Boxing Commissions, of which the NSAC and CSAC are members.

A state analysis of the commission’s expenditures predicts it will stay in the black for fiscal year 2015-2016, bringing in $1.7 million in fees on $1.45 million in expenses. A reserve of $1 million is also expected.

For more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

Updated May 30 at 7:27 ET to include additional information from UFC executive Epstein.)