BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                       



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                  SB 1456|
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                              UNFINISHED BUSINESS


          Bill No:  SB 1456
          Author:   Simitian (D)
          Amended:  8/20/10
          Vote:     27 - Urgency

           
           SENATE ENV. QUALITY COMMITTEE  :  6-0, 4/5/10
          AYES: Simitian, Runner, Corbett, Lowenthal, Pavley,  
            Strickland
          NO VOTE RECORDED: Hancock  
           
           SENATE FLOOR  :  35-0, 4/15/10
          AYES: Aanestad, Alquist, Ashburn, Calderon, Cedillo,  
            Cogdill, Corbett, Correa, Cox, DeSaulnier, Dutton,  
            Florez, Hancock, Harman, Hollingsworth, Huff, Kehoe,  
            Leno, Liu, Lowenthal, Maldonado, Oropeza, Padilla,  
            Pavley, Price, Romero, Runner, Simitian, Steinberg,  
            Strickland, Walters, Wolk, Wright, Wyland, Yee
          NO VOTE RECORDED: Denham, Ducheny, Negrete McLeod, Wiggins,  
            Vacancy

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  : 75-1, 8/23/10 - See last page for vote


           SUBJECT  :    Environmental quality: cumulative effects and  
          mediation

           SOURCE  :     Author


           DIGEST  :    This bill clarifies the circumstances under  
          which cumulative effects are not required to be examined  
          under the California Environmental Quality Act and makes  
                                                           CONTINUED





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          several revisions to mediation and judicial review  
          procedures.

           Assembly Amendments  (1) add the mediation provisions and  
          sunset date of January 1, 2016, (2) add co-authors, and (3)  
          add double-jointing language with AB 231 (Huber) to prevent  
          a chaptering-out problem.

           ANALYSIS  :    

           Existing law  

          1. Requires lead agencies with the principal responsibility  
             for carrying out or approving a proposed project to  
             prepare a negative declaration, mitigated negative  
             declaration, or environmental impact report (EIR) for  
             this action, unless the project is exempt from  
             California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

          2. Authorizes a lead agency to use a tiered EIR (based on a  
             prior EIR) for a project when the prior EIR has been  
             prepared for a program, plan, policy or ordinance and  
             the project is consistent.  Provides that the tiered EIR  
             is not required to examine effects that were examined at  
             a sufficient level of detail in the prior EIR.

          3  Authorizes judicial review of CEQA actions taken by  
             public agencies, following the agency's decision to  
             carry out or approve the project, subject to statutes of  
             limitations ranging from 30 to 180 days:

          4  Challenges alleging improper determination that a  
             project may have a significant effect on the  
             environment, or alleging an EIR doesn't comply with  
             CEQA, must be filed within 30 days of filing of the  
             notice of approval;

          5. Challenges alleging improper determination that a  
             project is exempt from CEQA must be filed within 35 days  
             of filing of the notice of exemption, or 180 days if no  
             notice has been filed and,

          6. Challenges alleging an agency has failed to determine  
             whether a project has a significant effect on the  







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             environment must be filed within 180 days.

          This bill makes the following changes to CEQA until January  
          1, 2016:

          1. Provides that a cumulative effect is not required to be  
             examined in an EIR or other CEQA document if a lead  
             agency finds that it has been adequately addressed in a  
             prior document, unless the lead agency finds that the  
             incremental effects of the project are cumulatively  
             considerable according to specified criteria (this  
             incorporates existing provisions of the CEQA Guidelines  
             into the statute).

          2. Authorizes the Attorney General to request an expedited  
             schedule for resolution of any CEQA lawsuit.

          3. Provides that a mediation proceeding conducted pursuant  
             to the law governing mediation and resolution of land  
             use disputes (Government Code Section 66030, et seq.) is  
             intended to be conducted concurrently with any judicial  
             proceeding (consistent with a settlement meeting  
             conducted pursuant to CEQA).

          4. Authorizes any person wishing to file a CEQA lawsuit to  
             first request, within five business days, mediation with  
             the lead agency and the real party in interest.   
             Provides that the request is deemed denied if the lead  
             agency does not respond within five business days.  If  
             mediation is conducted, provides that CEQA's statute of  
             limitations shall be tolled until the mediation is  
             completed.

          5. Authorizes a party to a CEQA lawsuit to request the  
             court impose a penalty on any party making a "frivolous"  
             claim, and authorizes the court to impose a penalty up  
             to $10,000.

          6. Requires an organization formed after the approval of a  
             project to have standing to file a CEQA lawsuit, to have  
             had a member present the alleged grounds for  
             noncompliance to the lead agency during the public  
             comment period or public hearing on the project (in  
             addition to the requirement in current law that a member  







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             of the organization simply has objected to the project).

          7. Sunsets the above changes and reenacts existing law  
             effective January 1, 2016.  

          8. Contains double-jointing language with AB 231 (Huber) to  
             resolve a potential chaptering conflict.

           Comments
           
          CEQA provides a process for evaluating the environmental  
          effects of applicable projects undertaken or approved by  
          public agencies.  If a project is not exempt from CEQA, an  
          initial study is prepared to determine whether the project  
          may have a significant effect on the environment.  If the  
          initial study shows that there would not be a significant  
          effect on the environment, the lead agency must prepare a  
          negative declaration.  If the initial study shows that the  
          project may have a significant effect on the environment,  
          the lead agency must prepare an EIR.  An EIR must  
          accurately describe the proposed project, identify and  
          analyze each significant environmental impact expected to  
          result from the proposed project, identify mitigation  
          measures to reduce those impacts to the extent feasible,  
          and evaluate a range of reasonable alternatives to the  
          proposed project.  

          Generally, CEQA actions taken by local public agencies can  
          be challenged in Superior Court once the agency approves or  
          determines to carry out the project.  CEQA appeals are  
          subject to unusually short statutes of limitations.  Under  
          current law, court challenges of CEQA decisions generally  
          must be filed within 30-35 days, depending on the type of  
          decision.  In addition, CEQA requires the courts to give  
          CEQA cases preference over all other civil actions, so that  
          the cases are quickly heard and determined.
           
           According to the author's office, this bill responds to the  
          need for mediation to resolve CEQA disputes to avoid  
          litigation while ensuring that mediation after an action is  
          filed does not affect the timing of any judicial  
          proceeding; establishing a process for an expedited  
          schedule to resolve cases while allowing any party to  
          request imposition of a penalty for frivolous litigation;  







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          ensuring more accountability for an organization  
          challenging a project that is formed after project  
          approval; and, establishing procedures for tiering  
          environmental documents.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  Yes    
          Local:  No

          According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, minor  
          state costs, if any.  Potential state savings of an unknown  
          amount to the extent state agencies serving as lead  
          agencies accept requests for mediation as an alternative to  
          litigation, which typically is less costly than litigation.


           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  : 
          AYES: Adams, Anderson, Arambula, Bass, Beall, Bill  
            Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bradford,  
            Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter,  
            Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon,  
            DeVore, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes,  
            Fuller, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto, Gilmore,  
            Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber,  
            Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie  
            Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande,  
            Niello, Nielsen, Norby, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino,  
            Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio,  
            Audra Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Tran,  
            Villines, Yamada, John A. Perez
          NOES: Torrico
          NO VOTE RECORDED: Ammiano, Furutani, Vacancy, Vacancy


          TSM:do  8/24/10   Senate Floor Analyses 

                       SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  NONE RECEIVED

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