BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                SB 436
                                                                       

                      SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
                              Senator Jerry Hill, Chair
                              2013-2014 Regular Session
                                           
           BILL NO:    SB 436
           AUTHOR:     Jackson
           AMENDED:    April 3, 2013
           FISCAL:     Yes               HEARING DATE:     May 1, 2013
           URGENCY:    No                CONSULTANT:       Joanne Roy
            
           SUBJECT  :    CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT:  NOTICE

            SUMMARY :    
           
            Existing law  , under the California Environmental Quality Act  
           (CEQA):

           1) Requires lead agencies with the principal responsibility  
              for carrying out or approving a proposed discretionary  
              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). (Public  
              Resources Code §21000 et seq.).  

           2) Requires a lead agency preparing an EIR or negative  
              declaration to provide public notice specifying the period  
              during which comments will be received on the draft EIR or  
              negative declaration; the date, time, and place of any  
              public meetings or hearings on the proposed project; a  
              brief description of the proposed project and its location;  
              the significant effects on the environment, if any,  
              anticipated by the project; and the address where copies of  
              the draft EIR or negative declaration, and all documents  
              referenced in the draft EIR or negative declaration, are  
              available for review. (§21092(b)).

           3) Requires the above public notice to be given to the last  
              known name and address of all organizations and individuals  
              who have previously requested notice, and by at least one  
              of the following procedures (§21092(b)(3)):










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              a)    Publication in a newspaper of general circulation in  
                 the area affected by the project;
              b)    Posting of notice by the lead agency on- and off-site  
                 in the project area; or,
              c)    Direct mailing to the owners and occupants of  
                 contiguous property.

           4) Requires a lead agency to call at least one scoping meeting  
              for specified projects.

            This bill  :  

           1) Adds the State Clearinghouse and project applicants to the  
              specified parties required to receive notice by the lead  
              agency, which is preparing an EIR or negative declaration,  
              specifying the period during which comments will be  
              received on the draft EIR or negative declaration.

           2) Requires lead agencies to provide notice to the following  
              parties in the following manner:

              a)    Owners and occupants of contiguous property by mail.

              b)    Responsible and trustee agencies by mail or  
                 electronic mail.

              c)    Project applicants, if different than the lead  
                 agency, and the applicant's duly authorized agent by  
                 mail or electronic mail.

              d)    The State Clearinghouse.

           3) Clarifies that a lead agency must conduct at least one  
              public scoping meeting for specified projects.

            COMMENTS  :

            1) Purpose of Bill  .  According to the author, "SB 436 helps  
              address concerns regarding late comments on environmental  
              documents under CEQA by increasing and clarifying those  
              parties and entities that must receive public notice  
              regarding the period to comment on an environmental  
              document and the date, time, and place of any public  









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              hearings on a proposed project."

            2) Brief background on CEQA  .  CEQA provides a process for  
              evaluating the environmental effects of a project, and  
              includes statutory exemptions as well as categorical  
              exemptions in the CEQA guidelines.  If a project is not  
              exempt from CEQA, an initial study is prepared to determine  
              whether a 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, then 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 an 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.

           If a mitigation measure would cause one or more significant  
              effects in addition to those that would be caused by the  
              proposed project, the effects of the mitigation measure  
              must be discussed but in less detail than the significant  
              effects of the proposed project.

            3) Providing environmental documents in an electronic format  .   
              Under CEQA, environmental documents must be submitted to  
              the State Clearinghouse for review and comment by state  
              agencies under certain conditions (e.g., state agency is a  
              lead, responsible or trustee agency; proposed project is of  
              sufficient statewide, regional, or areawide environmental  
              significance).  A copy of the environmental document must  
              also be provided in an electronic format.  (PRC  
              §21082.1(c)(4)).










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            4) Related legislation and technical consideration  .  SB 617  
              (Evans), among other provisions, requires notices during  
              the environmental review process be posted concurrently  
              online with the Office of Planning and Research and at the  
              county recorders' office in the affected county.  Each bill  
              amends different provisions in the same section.  If SB 436  
              and SB 617 are both approved by the Senate, double-jointing  
              language will be necessary to amend in each bill in the  
              Assembly.  SB 617 is also being heard in Senate  
              Environmental Quality on May 1, 2013.  
            
            5) Previous legislation  .  AB 209 (Ammiano), Chapter 171,  
              Statutes of 2011, requires a lead agency preparing an EIR  
              or negative declaration under CEQA to include a description  
              of how the draft EIR or negative declaration could be  
              provided in an electronic format.

            SOURCE  :        Author  

           SUPPORT  :       California League of Conservation Voters
                          Natural Resources Defense Council
                          Planning and Conservation League
                          Sierra Club California  

           OPPOSITION  :    None on file