BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 37
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nDate of Hearing: May 1, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
AB 37 (Perea) - As Amended: March 18, 2013
Policy Committee: Natural
ResourcesVote:9-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
yes Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill authorizes the lead agency for certain types of
projects subject to the California Environmental Quality Act
(CEQA) to prepare and certify the record of proceedings that
would be used in a judicial challenge concurrently with the
administrative process. Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires the lead agency to prepare and certify the record of
proceedings concurrently with the administrative process for
the following types of projects:
a) Projects of statewide, regional, or areawide
significance.
b) Infill projects.
c) Transit priority projects consistent with sustainable
communities' strategies or an alternative planning strategy
accepted by the Air Resources Board (ARB).
2)Authorizes a project applicant to request the lead agency
prepare and certify the record of proceedings concurrently
with the administrative process for all other CEQA projects.
3)Requires a project applicant to reimburse a lead agency for
the cost to prepare and certify the record of proceedings
concurrently with the administrative process.
4)Generally requires a lead agency to make CEQA permitting
documents available online and in electronic format.
5)Sunsets the bill's requirements as of January 1, 2017.
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FISCAL EFFECT
1)Unknown costs to state agencies, to the extent they are lead
CEQA permitting agencies for projects for which the lead
agency must, or agrees to, concurrently prepare the record of
proceeding. The project applicant is required to reimburse
the lead agency for the costs incurred but it is unclear how
the real costs will be determined and passed along.
2)Unknown, significant one-time and ongoing GF and special fund
costs, likely in the millions of dollars, to state agencies,
to the extent they are lead CEQA permitting agencies for
projects, to upgrade electronic data management capabilities
to allow for the functionality required by this bill, such as
posting downloadable forms online and making draft
environmental documents available electronically.
For example, the Department of Conservation estimates $250,000
one-time and $205,000 in ongoing staffing costs and unknown
significant information technology costs. CalFire estimates
significant one-time and ongoing staffing and information
technology costs totaling over $1 million.
COMMENTS
1)Purpose. The author intends to expedite the judicial process
on CEQA challenges by allowing the record of proceedings to be
prepared earlier than current law allows by extending a
procedure currently statutorily authorized for a limited set
of projects.
Projects currently eligible for the expedited process include
specific infill site projects, clean manufacturing and
renewable energy projects, and a proposed downtown Los Angeles
football stadium.
2)Background. CEQA obligates public officials to consider the
environmental effects of their decisions. The lead agency that
proposes to approve a project must conduct an initial study to
determine if the project may have significant, adverse
environmental effects. If not, the lead agency issues a
negative declaration and, after a 30-day review period,
proceeds with its review and decision. If the lead agency
finds minor effects that can be mitigated, it issues a
mitigated negative declaration and then proceeds. If the lead
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agency finds the effects of the project may be significant, it
prepares an environmental impact report (EIR), a document that
shows public officials how to avoid or mitigate the project's
environmental effects.
Preparing the EIR begins when the lead agency sends notice of
preparation to other public agencies, soliciting advice on the
EIR's scope. If the project is of statewide, regional, or
area-wide significance, the lead agency holds a scoping
meeting with the other agencies. The lead agency circulates
its draft EIR and invites public comments during a 45-day
review period.
After this public review, the lead agency issues a final EIR
that responds to the comments that it received. After
certifying the final EIR, the lead agency files notice to
allow the project to proceed.
Challenges to CEQA decisions generally must be filed within
30-35 days and be heard by the Superior Court. The courts are
required to give CEQA actions preference over all other civil
actions. Current law requires a lead agency to prepare a
CEQA record of proceeding-typically including all documents
relevant to the agency's CEQA action-within 60 days of
receiving a plaintiff's request.
3)This bill is similar to AB 1570 (Perea) and SB 984 (Simitian)
of last year. Both bills failed in the Senate.
Analysis Prepared by : Jennifer Galehouse / APPR. / (916)
319-2081