BILL NUMBER: SB 341 CHAPTERED 10/13/07 CHAPTER 643 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE OCTOBER 13, 2007 APPROVED BY GOVERNOR OCTOBER 13, 2007 PASSED THE SENATE SEPTEMBER 5, 2007 PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 30, 2007 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JULY 11, 2007 AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 11, 2007 INTRODUCED BY Senator Lowenthal (Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Arambula) FEBRUARY 20, 2007 An act to amend Section 7075 of the Government Code, relating to economic development, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 341, Lowenthal. Enterprise zones: environmental impact reports. The Enterprise Zone Act requires the lead agency filing a preliminary application for designation of an area under its jurisdiction as an enterprise zone, to provide an initial study and a notice of preparation to the Department of Housing and Community Development, the state clearinghouse, and all responsible agencies. Only an entity chosen by the department as a final applicant for designation is required to prepare or cause to be prepared, a draft environmental impact report, subject to specified criteria. Prior to final designation, the applicant is required to complete and certify a final impact report, and no further environmental impact report is required if specified conditions are met. This bill would instead require the submission of a notice of preparation and a draft environmental impact report if an environmental impact report is to be prepared. It would require the submission by an applicant lead agency chosen as a final applicant of a draft environmental impact report, negative declaration, or mitigated negative declaration, as required by specified provisions of law, and would delete the exceptions to the requirement of further environmental impact reports for preliminary applications filed on and after October 1, 2007. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 7075 of the Government Code is amended to read: 7075. (a) For preliminary applications filed before October 1, 2007, the following shall apply: (1) Upon filing a preliminary application, the applicant city, county, or city and county, as lead agency, shall submit an initial study and a notice of preparation to the department, the state clearinghouse, and all responsible agencies. (2) Only an applicant lead agency chosen by the department as a final applicant shall prepare, or cause to be prepared, a draft environmental impact report, which shall set forth the potential environmental impacts of any and all development planned within the enterprise zone. The draft environmental impact report shall be submitted to the department with the final application. (3) Prior to final designation by the department, the applicant shall complete and certify the final environmental impact report. (4) The environmental impact report shall comply with Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code. (5) No further environmental impact report shall be required if the effects of the project were any of the following: (A) Mitigated or avoided as a result of the environmental impact report prepared for the area. (B) Examined at a sufficient level of detail in the environmental impact report for the area to enable those effects to be mitigated or avoided by specific site revisions, the imposition of conditions, or other means in connection with the designation of the area. (C) Identified in the final environmental impact report and the lead agency made written findings that specific economic, social, or other considerations made the mitigation measures or project alternatives identified in the final environmental impact report unfeasible. (b) For preliminary applications filed on and after October 1, 2007, the following shall apply: (1) Upon filing a preliminary application, the applicant, city, county, or city and county, as lead agency, shall submit an initial study and a notice of preparation if an environmental impact report is to be prepared, to the department, the state clearinghouse, and all responsible agencies. (2) Only an applicant lead agency chosen by the department as a final applicant shall prepare, or cause to be prepared, a draft environmental impact report, negative declaration, or mitigated negative declaration, as required by Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code, which shall be submitted to the department with the final application. (3) Prior to final designation by the department, the applicant lead agency shall complete and certify the final environmental impact report, or approve the negative declaration or mitigated negative declaration. (4) The environmental impact report, negative declaration, or mitigated negative declaration shall comply with Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code. SEC. 2. This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are: In order that the provisions governing the submission of applications for designation as enterprise zones set forth in Section 7075 of the Government Code, as amended by Section 1 of this act, may take affect at the earliest possible time, it is necessary that this act take effect immediately.