AB 756, as amended, Melendez. California Environmental Quality Act: judicial review: public works projects.
The California Environmental Quality Actbegin delete (CEQA)end deletebegin insert, referred to as CEQA,end insert requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of, an environmental impact reportbegin delete (EIR)end deletebegin insert, referred to as an EIR,end insert on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA establishes a procedure for the preparation and certification of the record of
proceedings upon the filing of an action or proceeding challenging a lead agency’s action on the grounds of noncompliance with CEQA.
The Jobs and Economic Improvement Through Environmental Leadership Act of 2011 requires that any action or proceeding alleging that a public agency has approved or is undertaking a leadership project certified by the Governor, as specified, in violation of CEQA be conducted in accordance with specified streamlining benefits. The act also requires the preparation and certification of the administrative record for a leadership project that is certified by the Governor to comply with certain procedures. The act requires the draft and final EIR of a leadership project to include a specific notice relating to required procedures for judicial actions challenging the certification of the EIR or the approval of a project described in the EIR.
This bill would also apply these provisions to a public works project, defined to mean an infrastructure project carried out by the city, county,begin insert special district,end insert or state government or contracted out to a private entity by thebegin insert special district orend insert local or state government. By requiring a lead agency to use these alternative procedures in preparing and certifying the administrative record, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would also authorize the Judicial Council to adopt Rules of Court to implement these provisions.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 21189.50)
2is added to Division 13 of the Public Resources Code, to read:
3
“Public works project,” for purposes of this chapter,
7means an infrastructure project carried out by the city, county,
8begin insert special district,end insert or state government, or contracted out to a private
9entity by a city, county,begin insert special district,end insert or state government.
10Infrastructure projects include projects relating to transportation,
11such as the construction and maintenance of roads, bridges,
12airports, and ports, and the placement of traffic signs and street
13lights, projects relating to public health-related buildings such as
14hospitals and urgent care facilities, projects relating to public safety
P3 1buildings such as law
enforcement stations and correctional
2facilities, projects relating to water quality and water waste
3treatment facilities and their related infrastructures, and projects
4relating to electrical grid improvements, landscaping, seismic
5retrofitting, and technological retrofitting.
(a) Notwithstanding any other law, any action or
7proceeding alleging that a public agency has approved or is
8undertaking a public works project in violation of this division
9shall be conducted in accordance with the following streamlining
10benefits:
11(1) The action or proceeding shall be filed in the court of appeal
12with geographic jurisdiction over the project.
13(2) begin deleteAny end deletebegin insertA end insertparty
bringing a claim described in this section shall
14also file concurrently any other claims alleging that a public agency
15has granted land use approvals for the public works project in
16violation of the law. The court of appeal shall have original
17jurisdiction over all those claims.
18(3) The court of appeal shall issue its decision in the case within
19175 days of the filing of the petition.
20(4) The court may appoint a master to assist the court in
21managing and processing the case.
22(5) The court may grant extensions of time only for good cause
23shown and in order to promote the interests of justice.
24(b) The Judicial Council may adopt rules of court to implement
25this chapter.
Notwithstanding any other law, the preparation and
27certification of the administrative record for a public works project
28shall be performed in the following manner:
29(a) The lead agency for the project shall prepare the
30administrative record pursuant to this division concurrently with
31the administrative process.
32(b) All documents and other materials placed in the
33administrative record shall be posted on, and be downloadable
34from, an Internet Web site maintained by the lead agency
35commencing with the date of the release of the draft environmental
36impact report.
37(c) The lead agency shall make available to thebegin delete publicend deletebegin insert public,end insert
38 in a readily accessible electronicbegin delete formatend deletebegin insert format,end insert the draft
39environmental impact report and all other documents submitted
P4 1to, or relied on by, the lead agency in the preparation of the draft
2environmental impact report.
3(d) A document prepared by the lead agency or submitted by
4the applicant after the date of the release of the draft environmental
5impact report that is a part of the
record of the proceedings shall
6be made available to the public in a readily accessible electronic
7format within five business days after the document is released or
8received by the lead agency.
9(e) The lead agency shall encourage written comments on the
10 project to be submitted in a readily accessible electronic format,
11begin delete andend deletebegin insert and, except as provided in subdivision (f),end insert shall make any
12comment available to the public in a readily accessible electronic
13format within five days of its receipt.
14(f) Within seven business days after the receipt of any comment
15that is not in an
electronic format, the lead agency shall convert
16that comment into a readily accessible electronic format and make
17it available to the public in that format.
18(g) The lead agency shall certify the final administrative record
19within five days of its approval of the project.
20(h) Any dispute arising from the administrative record shall be
21resolved by the court of appeal pursuant to Section 21189.51.
The draft and final environmental impact report
23shall include a notice in no less than 12-point type stating the
24following:
26“THIS EIR IS SUBJECT TO CHAPTER 7 (COMMENCING
27WITH SECTION 21189.50) OF DIVISION 21 OF THE PUBLIC
28RESOURCES CODE, WHICH PROVIDES, AMONG OTHER
29THINGS, THAT ANY JUDICIAL ACTION CHALLENGING
30THE CERTIFICATION OF THE EIR OR THE APPROVAL OF
31THE PROJECT DESCRIBED IN THE EIR IS SUBJECT TO
32THE PROCEDURES SET FORTH IN SECTION 21189.51 OF
33THE PUBLIC RESOURCES CODE AND MUST BE FILED
34WITH THE COURT OF APPEAL. A COPY OF CHAPTER 7
35OF DIVISION 21 OF THE PUBLIC RESOURCES CODE IS
36INCLUDED IN THE APPENDIX TO THIS EIR.”
The provisions of this chapter are severable. If any
39provision of this chapter or its application is held invalid, that
P5 1invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications that can
2be given effect without the invalid provision or application.
If the Commission on State Mandates determines that
4this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to
5local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
6pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division
74 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
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