BILL NUMBER: SB 1165	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Senator Kuehl

                        FEBRUARY 7, 2008

   An act to amend Section 6254 of the Government Code, and to amend
Sections 21082.1, 21166, and 21167.1 of the Public Resources Code,
relating to the environment.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 1165, as introduced, Kuehl. Environment: environmental impact
report.
   (1) The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a
lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared by
contract, and certify the completion of, an environmental impact
report on a project, as defined, that may have a significant effect
on the environment, or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds
that the project will not have that effect. CEQA does not prohibit a
person from submitting information or other comments to a public
agency responsible for preparing an environmental impact report
(EIR), draft EIR, negative declaration, or mitigated negative
declaration.
   This bill would require communications between the project
applicant and the public agency or the preparers of the EIR to be in
writing, or recorded in writing. The bill would authorize the public
agency to make available to members of the public preliminary drafts
of its EIR, negative declaration, or mitigated negative declarations
that are circulated among the project applicant and any public
agencies prior to their official release for public comments.
   (2) CEQA does not require, except for under specified
circumstances, a lead agency or a responsible agency to prepare a
subsequent or supplemental EIR when an EIR has been prepared for a
project.
   This bill would, instead, require, except for under specified
circumstances, a lead agency or a responsible agency to prepare a
subsequent or a supplemental EIR for a project if the certification
of the prior EIR for the project is more than 5 years old. The public
agency would be prohibited from relying on an EIR the certification
of which is more than 5 years old and would be required to treat the
EIR as an uncertified, draft EIR that must be recirculated for public
review and comment and recertified by the public agency. By
requiring a lead agency or a responsible agency, which includes a
local agency, to recirculate an EIR whose certification is more than
5 years old for public review and comment, and recertification, this
bill would increase the level of service provided by a local agency,
thereby imposing a state-mandated local program.
   (3) CEQA requires superior courts in counties with a population of
more than 200,000 to designate one or more judges to develop
expertise in CEQA and other related laws, so that those judges will
be available to hear and quickly resolve an action or proceeding
brought under CEQA.
   This bill would authorize a party to an action or proceeding
brought pursuant to CEQA filed in these superior courts to request
the presiding judge to assign or reassign the action or proceedings
to the designated judges. Except for certain specified circumstances,
upon the filing of a request for assignment or reassignment, the
presiding judge would be required to use his or her best efforts to
promptly assign or reassign the action or proceeding to one of the
designated judges
   (4) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
   This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 6254 of the Government Code is amended to read:

   6254.  Except as provided in Sections 6254.7 and 6254.13, nothing
in this chapter shall be construed to require disclosure of records
that are any of the following:
   (a) Preliminary drafts, notes, or interagency or intra-agency
memoranda that are not retained by the public agency in the ordinary
course of business, if the public interest in withholding those
records clearly outweighs the public interest in disclosure. 
This subdivision does not apply to a preliminary draft of
environmental documentation that is circulated among the project
applicant and public agency prior to the official release of the
draft for public comments and any other comments on the draft. 
   (b) Records pertaining to pending litigation to which the public
agency is a party, or to claims made pursuant to Division 3.6
(commencing with Section 810), until the pending litigation or claim
has been finally adjudicated or otherwise settled.
   (c) Personnel, medical, or similar files, the disclosure of which
would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.
   (d) Contained in or related to any of the following:
   (1) Applications filed with any state agency responsible for the
regulation or supervision of the issuance of securities or of
financial institutions, including, but not limited to, banks, savings
and loan associations, industrial loan companies, credit unions, and
insurance companies.
   (2) Examination, operating, or condition reports prepared by, on
behalf of, or for the use of, any state agency referred to in
paragraph (1).
   (3) Preliminary drafts, notes, or interagency or intra-agency
communications prepared by, on behalf of, or for the use of, any
state agency referred to in paragraph (1).
   (4) Information received in confidence by any state agency
referred to in paragraph (1).
   (e) Geological and geophysical data, plant production data, and
similar information relating to utility systems development, or
market or crop reports, that are obtained in confidence from any
person.
   (f) Records of complaints to, or investigations conducted by, or
records of intelligence information or security procedures of, the
office of the Attorney General and the Department of Justice, and any
state or local police agency, or any investigatory or security files
compiled by any other state or local police agency, or any
investigatory or security files compiled by any other state or local
agency for correctional, law enforcement, or licensing purposes.
However, state and local law enforcement agencies shall disclose the
names and addresses of persons involved in, or witnesses other than
confidential informants to, the incident, the description of any
property involved, the date, time, and location of the incident, all
diagrams, statements of the parties involved in the incident, the
statements of all witnesses, other than confidential informants, to
the victims of an incident, or an authorized representative thereof,
an insurance carrier against which a claim has been or might be made,
and any person suffering bodily injury or property damage or loss,
as the result of the incident caused by arson, burglary, fire,
explosion, larceny, robbery, carjacking, vandalism, vehicle theft, or
a crime as defined by subdivision (b) of Section 13951, unless the
disclosure would endanger the safety of a witness or other person
involved in the investigation, or unless disclosure would endanger
the successful completion of the investigation or a related
investigation. However, nothing in this division shall require the
disclosure of that portion of those investigative files that reflects
the analysis or conclusions of the investigating officer.
   Customer lists provided to a state or local police agency by an
alarm or security company at the request of the agency shall be
construed to be records subject to this subdivision.
   Notwithstanding any other provision of this subdivision, state and
local law enforcement agencies shall make public the following
information, except to the extent that disclosure of a particular
item of information would endanger the safety of a person involved in
an investigation or would endanger the successful completion of the
investigation or a related investigation:
   (1) The full name and occupation of every individual arrested by
the agency, the individual's physical description including date of
birth, color of eyes and hair, sex, height and weight, the time and
date of arrest, the time and date of booking, the location of the
arrest, the factual circumstances surrounding the arrest, the amount
of bail set, the time and manner of release or the location where the
individual is currently being held, and all charges the individual
is being held upon, including any outstanding warrants from other
jurisdictions and parole or probation holds.
   (2) Subject to the restrictions imposed by Section 841.5 of the
Penal Code, the time, substance, and location of all complaints or
requests for assistance received by the agency and the time and
nature of the response thereto, including, to the extent the
information regarding crimes alleged or committed or any other
incident investigated is recorded, the time, date, and location of
occurrence, the time and date of the report, the name and age of the
victim, the factual circumstances surrounding the crime or incident,
and a general description of any injuries, property, or weapons
involved. The name of a victim of any crime defined by Section 220,
261, 261.5, 262, 264, 264.1, 265, 266, 266a, 266b, 266c, 266e, 266f,
266j, 267, 269, 273a, 273d, 273.5, 285, 286, 288, 288a, 288.2,
 288.3 (as added by Chapter 337 of the Statutes of 2006),
 288.3  (as added by Section 6 of Proposition 83 of
the November 7, 2006, statewide general election)  , 288.5,
288.7, 289, 422.6, 422.7, 422.75, 646.9 or 647.6 of the Penal Code
may be withheld at the victim's request, or at the request of the
victim's parent or guardian if the victim is a minor. When a person
is the victim of more than one crime, information disclosing that the
person is a victim of a crime defined in any of the sections of the
Penal Code set forth in this subdivision may be deleted at the
request of the victim, or the victim's parent or guardian if the
victim is a minor, in making the report of the crime, or of any crime
or incident accompanying the crime, available to the public in
compliance with the requirements of this paragraph.
   (3) Subject to the restrictions of Section 841.5 of the Penal Code
and this subdivision, the current address of every individual
arrested by the agency and the current address of the victim of a
crime, where the requester declares under penalty of perjury that the
request is made for a scholarly, journalistic, political, or
governmental purpose, or that the request is made for investigation
purposes by a licensed private investigator as described in Chapter
11.3 (commencing with Section 7512) of Division 3 of the Business and
Professions Code. However, the address of the victim of any crime
defined by Section 220, 261, 261.5, 262, 264, 264.1, 265, 266, 266a,
266b, 266c, 266e, 266f, 266j, 267, 269, 273a, 273d, 273.5, 285, 286,
288, 288a, 288.2,  288.3 (as added by Chapter 337 of the
Statutes of 2006)  , 288.3  (as added by Section 6
of Proposition 83 of the November 7, 2006, statewide general
election)  , 288.5, 288.7, 289, 422.6, 422.7, 422.75, 646.9,
or 647.6 of the Penal Code shall remain confidential. Address
information obtained pursuant to this paragraph may not be used
directly or indirectly, or furnished to another, to sell a product or
service to any individual or group of individuals, and the requester
shall execute a declaration to that effect under penalty of perjury.
Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to prohibit or limit a
scholarly, journalistic, political, or government use of address
information obtained pursuant to this paragraph.
   (g) Test questions, scoring keys, and other examination data used
to administer a licensing examination, examination for employment, or
academic examination, except as provided for in Chapter 3
(commencing with Section 99150) of Part 65 of Division 14 of Title 3
of the Education Code.
   (h) The contents of real estate appraisals or engineering or
feasibility estimates and evaluations made for or by the state or
local agency relative to the acquisition of property, or to
prospective public supply and construction contracts, until all of
the property has been acquired or all of the contract agreement
obtained. However, the law of eminent domain shall not be affected by
this provision.
   (i) Information required from any taxpayer in connection with the
collection of local taxes that is received in confidence and the
disclosure of the information to other persons would result in unfair
competitive disadvantage to the person supplying the information.
   (j) Library circulation records kept for the purpose of
identifying the borrower of items available in libraries, and library
and museum materials made or acquired and presented solely for
reference or exhibition purposes. The exemption in this subdivision
shall not apply to records of fines imposed on the borrowers.
   (k) Records, the disclosure of which is exempted or prohibited
pursuant to federal or state law, including, but not limited to,
provisions of the Evidence Code relating to privilege.
   () Correspondence of and to the Governor or employees of the
Governor's office or in the custody of or maintained by the Governor'
s Legal Affairs Secretary. However, public records shall not be
transferred to the custody of the Governor's Legal Affairs Secretary
to evade the disclosure provisions of this chapter.
   (m) In the custody of or maintained by the Legislative Counsel,
except those records in the public database maintained by the
Legislative Counsel that are described in Section 10248.
   (n) Statements of personal worth or personal financial data
required by a licensing agency and filed by an applicant with the
licensing agency to establish his or her personal qualification for
the license, certificate, or permit applied for.
   (o) Financial data contained in applications for financing under
Division 27 (commencing with Section 44500) of the Health and Safety
Code, where an authorized officer of the California Pollution Control
Financing Authority determines that disclosure of the financial data
would be competitively injurious to the applicant and the data is
required in order to obtain guarantees from the United States Small
Business Administration. The California Pollution Control Financing
Authority shall adopt rules for review of individual requests for
confidentiality under this section and for making available to the
public those portions of an application that are subject to
disclosure under this chapter.
   (p) Records of state agencies related to activities governed by
Chapter 10.3 (commencing with Section 3512), Chapter 10.5 (commencing
with Section 3525), and Chapter 12 (commencing with Section 3560) of
Division 4, that reveal a state agency's deliberative processes,
impressions, evaluations, opinions, recommendations, meeting minutes,
research, work products, theories, or strategy, or that provide
instruction, advice, or training to employees who do not have full
collective bargaining and representation rights under these chapters.
Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to limit the
disclosure duties of a state agency with respect to any other records
relating to the activities governed by the employee relations acts
referred to in this subdivision.
   (q) Records of state agencies related to activities governed by
Article 2.6 (commencing with Section 14081), Article 2.8 (commencing
with Section 14087.5), and Article 2.91 (commencing with Section
14089) of Chapter 7 of Part 3 of Division 9 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code, that reveal the special negotiator's deliberative
processes, discussions, communications, or any other portion of the
negotiations with providers of health care services, impressions,
opinions, recommendations, meeting minutes, research, work product,
theories, or strategy, or that provide instruction, advice, or
training to employees.
   Except for the portion of a contract containing the rates of
payment, contracts for inpatient services entered into pursuant to
these articles, on or after April 1, 1984, shall be open to
inspection one year after they are fully executed. If a contract for
inpatient services that is entered into prior to April 1, 1984, is
amended on or after April 1, 1984, the amendment, except for any
portion containing the rates of payment, shall be open to inspection
one year after it is fully executed. If the California Medical
Assistance Commission enters into contracts with health care
providers for other than inpatient hospital services, those contracts
shall be open to inspection one year after they are fully executed.
   Three years after a contract or amendment is open to inspection
under this subdivision, the portion of the contract or amendment
containing the rates of payment shall be open to inspection.
   Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the entire contract or
amendment shall be open to inspection by the Joint Legislative Audit
Committee and the Legislative Analyst's Office. The committee and
that office shall maintain the confidentiality of the contracts and
amendments until the time a contract or amendment is fully open to
inspection by the public.
   (r) Records of Native American graves, cemeteries, and sacred
places and records of Native American places, features, and objects
described in Sections 5097.9 and 5097.993 of the Public Resources
Code maintained by, or in the possession of, the Native American
Heritage Commission, another state agency, or a local agency.
   (s) A final accreditation report of the Joint Commission on
Accreditation of Hospitals that has been transmitted to the State
Department of Health Care Services pursuant to subdivision (b) of
Section 1282 of the Health and Safety Code.
   (t) Records of a local hospital district, formed pursuant to
Division 23 (commencing with Section 32000) of the Health and Safety
Code, or the records of a municipal hospital, formed pursuant to
Article 7 (commencing with Section 37600) or Article 8 (commencing
with Section 37650) of Chapter 5 of Part 2 of Division 3 of Title 4
of this code, that relate to any contract with an insurer or
nonprofit hospital service plan for inpatient or outpatient services
for alternative rates pursuant to Section 10133 of the Insurance
Code. However, the record shall be open to inspection within one year
after the contract is fully executed.
   (u) (1) Information contained in applications for licenses to
carry firearms issued pursuant to Section 12050 of the Penal Code by
the sheriff of a county or the chief or other head of a municipal
police department that indicates when or where the applicant is
vulnerable to attack or that concerns the applicant's medical or
psychological history or that of members of his or her family.
   (2) The home address and telephone number of peace officers,
judges, court commissioners, and magistrates that are set forth in
applications for licenses to carry firearms issued pursuant to
Section 12050 of the Penal Code by the sheriff of a county or the
chief or other head of a municipal police department.
   (3) The home address and telephone number of peace officers,
judges, court commissioners, and magistrates that are set forth in
licenses to carry firearms issued pursuant to Section 12050 of the
Penal Code by the sheriff of a county or the chief or other head of a
municipal police department.
   (v) (1) Records of the Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board
related to activities governed by Part 6.3 (commencing with Section
12695) and Part 6.5 (commencing with Section 12700) of Division 2 of
the Insurance Code, and that reveal the deliberative processes,
discussions, communications, or any other portion of the negotiations
with entities contracting or seeking to contract with the board, or
the impressions, opinions, recommendations, meeting minutes,
research, work product, theories, or strategy of the board or its
staff, or records that provide instructions, advice, or training to
employees.
   (2) (A) Except for the portion of a contract that contains the
rates of payment, contracts for health coverage entered into pursuant
to Part 6.3 (commencing with Section 12695) or Part 6.5 (commencing
with Section 12700) of Division 2 of the Insurance Code, on or after
July 1, 1991, shall be open to inspection one year after their
effective dates.
   (B) If a contract that is entered into prior to July 1, 1991, is
amended on or after July 1, 1991, the amendment, except for any
portion containing the rates of payment, shall be open to inspection
one year after the amendment has been fully executed.
   (3) Three years after a contract or amendment is open to
inspection pursuant to this subdivision, the portion of the contract
or amendment containing the rates of payment shall be open to
inspection.
   (4) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the entire
contract or amendments to a contract shall be open to inspection by
the Joint Legislative Audit Committee. The committee shall maintain
the confidentiality of the contracts and amendments thereto, until
the contract or amendments to a contract is open to inspection
pursuant to paragraph (3).
   (w) (1) Records of the Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board
related to activities governed by Chapter 8 (commencing with Section
10700) of Part 2 of Division 2 of the Insurance Code, and that reveal
the deliberative processes, discussions, communications, or any
other portion of the negotiations with health plans, or the
impressions, opinions, recommendations, meeting minutes, research,
work product, theories, or strategy of the board or its staff, or
records that provide instructions, advice, or training to employees.
   (2) Except for the portion of a contract that contains the rates
of payment, contracts for health coverage entered into pursuant to
Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 10700) of Part 2 of Division 2 of
the Insurance Code, on or after January 1, 1993, shall be open to
inspection one year after they have been fully executed.
   (3) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the entire
contract or amendments to a contract shall be open to inspection by
the Joint Legislative Audit Committee. The committee shall maintain
the confidentiality of the contracts and amendments thereto, until
the contract or amendments to a contract is open to inspection
pursuant to paragraph (2).
   (x) Financial data contained in applications for registration, or
registration renewal, as a service contractor filed with the Director
of Consumer Affairs pursuant to Chapter 20 (commencing with Section
9800) of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code, for the
purpose of establishing the service contractor's net worth, or
financial data regarding the funded accounts held in escrow for
service contracts held in force in this state by a service
contractor.
   (y) (1) Records of the Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board
related to activities governed by Part 6.2 (commencing with Section
12693) or Part 6.4 (commencing with Section 12699.50) of Division 2
of the Insurance Code, and that reveal the deliberative processes,
discussions, communications, or any other portion of the negotiations
with entities contracting or seeking to contract with the board, or
the impressions, opinions, recommendations, meeting minutes,
research, work product, theories, or strategy of the board or its
staff, or records that provide instructions, advice, or training to
employees.
   (2) (A) Except for the portion of a contract that contains the
rates of payment, contracts entered into pursuant to Part 6.2
(commencing with Section 12693) or Part 6.4 (commencing with Section
12699.50) of Division 2 of the Insurance Code, on or after January 1,
1998, shall be open to inspection one year after their effective
dates.
   (B) If a contract entered into pursuant to Part 6.2 (commencing
with Section 12693) or Part 6.4 (commencing with Section 12699.50) of
Division 2 of the Insurance Code is amended, the amendment shall be
open to inspection one year after the amendment has been fully
executed.
   (3) Three years after a contract or amendment is open to
inspection pursuant to this subdivision, the portion of the contract
or amendment containing the rates of payment shall be open to
inspection.
   (4) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the entire
contract or amendments to a contract shall be open to inspection by
the Joint Legislative Audit Committee. The committee shall maintain
the confidentiality of the contracts and amendments thereto until the
contract or amendments to a contract are open to inspection pursuant
to paragraph (2) or (3).
   (5) The exemption from disclosure provided pursuant to this
subdivision for the contracts, deliberative processes, discussions,
communications, negotiations, impressions, opinions, recommendations,
meeting minutes, research, work product, theories, or strategy of
the board or its staff shall also apply to the contracts,
deliberative processes, discussions, communications, negotiations,
impressions, opinions, recommendations, meeting minutes, research,
work product, theories, or strategy of applicants pursuant to Part
6.4 (commencing with Section 12699.50) of Division 2 of the Insurance
Code.
   (z) Records obtained pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision
 (c)   (f)  of Section 2891.1 of the Public
Utilities Code.
   (aa) A document prepared by or for a state or local agency that
assesses its vulnerability to terrorist attack or other criminal acts
intended to disrupt the public agency's operations and that is for
distribution or consideration in a closed session.
   (ab) Critical infrastructure information, as defined in Section
131(3) of Title 6 of the United States Code, that is voluntarily
submitted to the California Office of Homeland Security for use by
that office, including the identity of the person who or entity that
voluntarily submitted the information. As used in this subdivision,
"voluntarily submitted" means submitted in the absence of the office
exercising any legal authority to compel access to or submission of
critical infrastructure information. This subdivision shall not
affect the status of information in the possession of any other state
or local governmental agency.
   (ac) All information provided to the Secretary of State by a
person for the purpose of registration in the Advance Health Care
Directive Registry, except that those records shall be released at
the request of a health care provider, a public guardian, or the
registrant's legal representative.
   Nothing in this section prevents any agency from opening its
records concerning the administration of the agency to public
inspection, unless disclosure is otherwise prohibited by law.
   Nothing in this section prevents any health facility from
disclosing to a certified bargaining agent relevant financing
information pursuant to Section 8 of the National Labor Relations Act
(29 U.S.C. Sec. 158).
  SEC. 2.  Section 21082.1 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
   21082.1.  (a)  Any   A  draft
environmental impact report, environmental impact report, negative
declaration, or mitigated negative declaration prepared pursuant to
the requirements of this division shall be prepared directly by, or
under contract to, a public agency.
   (b) This section is not intended to prohibit, and shall not be
construed as prohibiting,  any   a  person
from submitting information or other comments to the public agency
responsible for preparing an environmental impact report, draft
environmental impact report, negative declaration, or mitigated
negative declaration. The information or other comments may be
submitted in any format,  except that all communications between
the project applicant and the public agency or the preparers of the
environmental impact report regarding the environmental review
documents shall be in writing, or recorded in writing. All
information or comments submitted to the public agency regarding the
project or its potential environmental effects  shall be
considered  and retained  by the public agency, and may be
included, in whole or in part, in any report or declaration. 
   (c) The public agency may make preliminary drafts of its
environmental impact reports, negative declarations, or mitigated
negative declarations that are circulated among the project applicant
and public agencies, prior to the official release of the drafts for
public comments available to members of the public. The agency shall
provide public notice of the availability of a preliminary draft of
an environmental document, and the opportunity to comment on the
draft, in the same manner as provided pursuant to Section 21092.
 
   (c) 
    (d)    The lead agency shall do all of the
following:
   (1) Independently review and analyze any report or declaration
required by this division.
   (2) Circulate draft documents that reflect its independent
judgment.
   (3) As part of the adoption of a negative declaration or a
mitigated negative declaration, or certification of an environmental
impact report, find that the report or declaration reflects the
independent judgment of the lead agency.
   (4) Submit a sufficient number of copies of the draft
environmental impact report, proposed negative declaration, or
proposed mitigated negative declaration, and a copy of the report or
declaration in an electronic form as required by the guidelines
adopted pursuant to Section 21083, to the State Clearinghouse for
review and comment by state agencies, if any of the following apply:
   (A) A state agency is any of the following:
   (i) The lead agency.
   (ii) A responsible agency.
   (iii) A trustee agency.
   (B) A state agency otherwise has jurisdiction by law with respect
to the project.
   (C) The proposed project is of sufficient statewide, regional, or
areawide environmental significance as determined pursuant to the
guidelines certified and adopted pursuant to Section 21083.
  SEC. 3.  Section 21166 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
   21166.   (a)    When an environmental impact
report has been  prepared   certified  for
a project pursuant to this division  within the past five years
 , no subsequent or supplemental environmental impact report
                                       shall be required by the lead
agency or by  any   a  responsible agency,
unless one or more of the following events occurs: 
   (a) 
    (1)    Substantial changes are proposed in the
project which will require major revisions of the environmental
impact report. 
   (b) 
    (2)    Substantial changes occur with respect
to the circumstances under which the project is being undertaken
which will require major revisions in the environmental impact
report. 
   (c) 
    (3)    New information, which was not known and
could not have been known at the time the environmental impact
report was certified as complete, becomes available. 
   (b) A public agency shall not rely on an environmental impact
report the certification of which is more than five years old. Such
an environmental impact report shall be treated as an uncertified,
draft environmental impact report under this division by the agency,
circulated for public review and comment, and recertified by the
public agency pursuant to this division before the agency takes an
action in reliance on the environmental impact report's analysis or
conclusions. 
  SEC. 4.  Section 21167.1 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
   21167.1.  (a) In all actions or proceedings brought pursuant to
Sections 21167, 21168, and 21168.5, including the hearing of an
action or proceeding on appeal from a decision of a lower court, all
courts in which the action or proceeding is pending shall give the
action or proceeding preference over all other civil actions, in the
matter of setting the action or proceeding for hearing or trial, and
in hearing or trying the action or proceeding, so that the action or
proceeding shall be quickly heard and determined. The court shall
regulate the briefing schedule so that, to the extent feasible, the
court shall commence hearings on an appeal within one year of the
date of the filing of the appeal.
   (b)  (1)    To ensure that actions or
proceedings brought pursuant to Sections 21167, 21168, and 21168.5
may be quickly heard and determined in the lower courts, the superior
courts in all counties with a population of more than 200,000 shall
designate one or more judges to develop expertise in this division
and related land use and environmental laws, so that those judges
will be available to hear, and quickly resolve, actions or
proceedings brought pursuant to Sections 21167, 21168, and 21168.5.

   (2) If an action or proceeding brought pursuant to Sections 21167,
21168, and 21168.5 is filed in a court that has designated one or
more judges pursuant to this subdivision but the case is assigned to
another judge of this court or the court has not made an assignment,
a party may request the presiding judge of the court to assign or
reassign the action or proceeding to a judge who has been designated
pursuant to this subdivision.  
   (3) A request for reassignment under paragraph (2) is not a
peremptory challenge made under Section 170.6 of the Code of Civil
Procedures, but shall be filed by the requesting party within the
time limits established by that section.  
   (4) Upon the filing of a request under paragraph (2), the
presiding judge shall use his or her best efforts to promptly assign
or reassign the case to a judge designated pursuant to this
subdivision, except that an assignment shall not be made to a judge
who has been the subject of a prior peremptory challenge in the case
or who has otherwise previously recused him or herself from the
matter. 
   (c) In an action or proceeding filed pursuant to this chapter that
is joined with any other cause of action, the court, upon a motion
by any party, may grant severance of the actions. In determining
whether to grant severance, the court shall consider such matters as
judicial economy, administrative economy, and prejudice to any party.

  SEC. 5.  No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII  B of the California Constitution because a
local agency or school district has the authority to levy service
charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program or
level of service mandated by this act, within the meaning of Section
17556 of the Government Code.