BILL ANALYSIS ------------------------------------------------------------ |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1456| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ------------------------------------------------------------ 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 SB 1456 Page 2 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 SB 1456 Page 3 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 SB 1456 Page 4 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; SB 1456 Page 5 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 **** END ****