BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 890 Page 1 CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS AB 890 (Olsen and Perea) As Amended August 24, 2012 Majority vote ----------------------------------------------------------------- |ASSEMBLY: |54-9 |(January 26, |SENATE: |33-2 |(August 29, | | | |2012) | | |2012) | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Original Committee Reference: NAT. RES. SUMMARY : Exempts from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) repair, maintenance, and minor alterations of existing roadways, provided the project is carried out by a city or county to improve public safety, does not cross a waterway, and involves negligible or no expansion of an existing use. The exemption sunsets January 1, 2016. The Senate amendments : 1)Limit the size of cities and counties eligible to claim the exemption to those with a population under 100,000. 2)Define "waterway" to mean a bay, estuary, lake, pond, river, slough, or a perennial, intermittent, or ephemeral stream, lake, or estuarine-marine shoreline. 3)Exclude projects: a) On state roadways. b) On sites containing wetlands, riparian areas, and significant wildlife habitat value. c) That harm any protected species, impact cultural resources, or affect scenic resources. 4)Require the lead agency to: a) Mitigate potential vehicular traffic and safety impacts, and bicycle and pedestrian safety impacts. b) Hold a noticed public hearing on the project to hear and respond to public comments. AB 890 Page 2 5)Require any state or local agency claiming an exemption pursuant to the bill to file a notice with the Office of Planning and Research. EXISTING LAW 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 CEQA (CEQA includes various statutory exemptions, as well as categorical exemptions in the CEQA guidelines). AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill exempted from CEQA repair, maintenance, and minor alterations of existing roadways, provided the project is initiated by a city or county to improve public safety, does not cross a waterway, and involves negligible or no expansion of an existing use. The exemption sunsets January 1, 2016. FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, negligible state costs. 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. Generally, 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. Prior to approving any project that has received environmental review, an agency must make certain findings. If mitigation measures are required or incorporated into a project, the agency must adopt a reporting or monitoring program to ensure compliance with those measures. AB 890 Page 3 According to the author: In recent years, CEQA has slowed or halted many public and private projects. It is important to understand the environmental impacts of a public works project, but to slow or halt a public roadway project that improves public safety is illogical. Cities and counties need to be able to quickly perform some public works projects. Public safety must be the number one priority of the state, and CEQA has hindered cities and counties from performing their basic duty?AB 890 streamlines the process for minor roadway improvements for cities and counties to improve road safety. It should be noted that CEQA already provides alternatives to comprehensive environmental review for minor projects. First, the CEQA Guidelines provide a categorical exemption for work on existing facilities where there is negligible expansion of an existing use, specifically including "(e)xisting highways and streets, sidewalks, gutters, bicycle and pedestrian trails, and similar facilities," (CEQA Guidelines, Section 15301(c)). Second, if the project is not exempt from CEQA, but the initial study shows that it would not result in a significant effect on the environment, the lead agency must prepare a negative declaration, and no EIR is required. According to statistics compiled by the Governor's Office of Planning and Research, the vast majority of projects subject to CEQA review result in a negative declaration. As amended, this bill is consistent with the existing categorical exemption for minor work on existing roads. Analysis Prepared by : Lawrence Lingbloom / NAT. RES. / (916) 319-2092 FN: 0005797