SB 633, as amended, Pavley. CEQA.
The California Environmental Quality Act, referred to as CEQA, requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify completion of, an environmental impact report, referred to as an EIR, 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 also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment. CEQA prescribes certain requirements for the review of draft EIRs, as specified. CEQA prohibits a lead agency or responsible agency from requiring a
subsequent or supplemental EIR when an EIR has been prepared for a project pursuant to its provisions, unless one or more of specified events occurs, including, among other things, that new information, which was not known and could not have been known at the time the EIR was certified as complete, becomes available. CEQA requires the Office of Planning and Research to prepare and develop, and the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency to certify and adopt, guidelines for the implementation of CEQA. CEQA requires the office to review the guidelines once every 2 years and recommend proposed changes or amendments to the guidelines to the secretary. CEQA requires the guidelines to include a list of classes of projects that have been determined not to have a significant effect on the environment and to exempt those classes of projects frombegin delete CEQA,end deletebegin insert
CEQA. These areend insert referred to as categorical exemptions.
This bill wouldbegin delete specify thatend deletebegin insert, for purposes ofend insert the new informationbegin insert exception to the prohibition on requiring a subsequent or supplemental EIR, specify that the exception applies if new informationend insert that becomes available was not known and could not have been known by the lead agency or any responsible agency at the time the EIR was certified as complete. The bill would authorize the office, by July 1, 2015, tobegin delete reviseend deletebegin insert draft and
transmit to the secretary revisions toend insert the guidelines to include as a categorical exemption projects involving minor temporary uses of land and public gatherings that have been determined not to have a significant effect on the environment. The bill would require the secretary,begin delete by January 1, 2016end deletebegin insert if the Office of Planning and Research transmits the revisions to the secretaryend insert, to certify and adopt the proposed revisions to the guidelinesbegin insert by January 1, 2016end insert. Because a lead agency would be required to determine whether a project would fall within this categorical exemption, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 21084.2 is added to the Public Resources
2Code, to read:
(a) On or before July 1, 2015, the Office of Planning
2and Research maybegin delete reviseend deletebegin insert draftend insert and transmit to the Secretary of the
3Natural Resources Agency for certification and adoptionbegin insert revisions
4toend insert the guidelines to include a class of projects involving minor
5temporary uses of land and public gatherings that have been
6determined not to have a significant effect on the environment and
7that shall be exempt from this division.
8(b) begin deleteOn or before January 1, 2016, end deletebegin insertIf the Office of Planning and
9Research transmits revisions pursuant to subdivision (a), end insertthe
10Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency shall certify and adopt
11the proposed revisionsbegin delete prepared pursuant to subdivision (a)end delete in
12accordance with Section 21083begin insert on or before January 1, 2016end insert.
13(c) This section shall not be construed to be a limitation on
14requirements under this division and any other laws.
15(d) This section
does not affect a pending action or proceeding
16challenging the issuance of a permit for the temporary uses of land
17and public gathering based on an alleged violation of this division
18that is filed before January 1, 2014.
Section 21166 of the Public Resources Code is
20amended to read:
When an environmental impact report has been prepared
22for a project pursuant to this division, a subsequent or supplemental
23environmental impact report shall not be required by the lead
24agency or by any responsible agency, unless one or more of the
25following events occurs:
26(a) Substantial changes are proposed in the project that will
27require major revisions of the environmental impact report.
28(b) Substantial changes occur with respect to the circumstances
29under which the project is being undertaken that will require major
30revisions in the environmental impact report.
31(c) New information, which was not known and could not have
32been known by the lead agency or any responsible agency at the
33time the environmental impact report was certified as complete,
34becomes available.
No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
36Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
37a local agency or school district has the authority to levy service
38charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program or
P4 1level of service mandated by this act, within the meaning of Section
217556 of the Government Code.
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