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)): SB 436 Page 2 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 SB 436 Page 3 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)). SB 436 Page 4 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