BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 731
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Date of Hearing: August 21, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
SB 731 (Steinberg) - As Amended: August 6, 2013
Policy Committee: Natural Resources
Vote: 6-1
Local Government 7-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill enacts the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)
Modernization Act of 2013 and makes a series of definitions,
findings and revisions to CEQA law. Specifically, this bill:
1)Establishes, until January 1, 2017, the position of Advisor on
Renewable Energy Facilities in the Governor's Office.
2)Modifies the existing residential exemption to limit what is
considered new information that would invalidate the
exemption.
3)States the intent of the Legislature to appropriate the sum of
$30 million in the annual Budget Act beginning in the 2014-15
fiscal year, to the Strategic Growth Council to provide
competitive grants to local agencies for planning activities
related to implementing SB 375.
4)Authorizes a project applicant for a renewable energy project
to present environmental or health benefits to the public
agency as specified.
5)Requires a public agency to make draft findings available for
public review as specified 15 days prior to project approval.
6)Requires the lead agency to prepare and electronically post
annual mitigation compliance reports until all mitigation
measures are completed.
7)Requires the Governor's Office of Planning and Research (OPR)
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to prepare and submit to the Secretary of the Natural
Resources Agency, revisions to the CEQA Guidelines to
establish prescribed thresholds of significance for noise and
transportation impacts for residential, mixed-use residential,
or employment center projects or infill sites within transit
priority areas. Requires OPR to circulate a draft of this
revision on or before July 1, 2014.
8)Prohibits aesthetic and parking impacts of a residential,
mixed-use residential, or employment center project on an
infill site within a transit priority area from being
considered significant impacts on the environment. States
that the provisions do not affect the authority of a lead
agency to consider aesthetic impacts pursuant to local design
review ordinances or other discretionary powers provided by
other laws or policies and establish more stringent thresholds
of significance for projects subject to these provisions.
9)Allows the statute of limitations for bringing a CEQA lawsuit
to be tolled for successive periods up to four years by
agreement of the parties as specified.
10)Authorizes a lead agency, for certain projects and upon a
project applicant's request, to prepare concurrently with the
administrative process the record of proceedings, as specified
that would be used in a judicial challenge. The lead agency
shall certify the record of proceedings within 30 days after
the filing of specified notices.
11)Requires the record of proceedings for the preparation of a
negative declaration, mitigated negative declaration, EIR, or
other specified documents to meet the concurrent preparation
requirements under certain circumstances for specified
projects.
12)Requires the California Research Bureau, subject to the
availability of funds and other conditions, to annually submit
a report to the Legislature as specified.
13)Requires, when a court finds that a public agency has not
complied with CEQA, that the court issue a peremptory writ of
mandate specifying what action is necessary to comply.
FISCAL EFFECT
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1)One-time GF costs to OPR of approximately $500,000 to develop
threshold standards for noise, transportation, and parking
impacts.
2)Ongoing GF costs of approximately $120,000 for the creation of
the Advisor on Renewable Energy Facilities within the Office
of the Governor.
3)GF Cost pressure of $30 million local assistance grants for
planning activities administered by the Strategic Growth
Council.
4)Unknown cost pressures for the California Research Bureau to
report annually.
COMMENTS
1)Purpose. According to the author, this bill makes several
substantive changes that will modernize CEQA by making it more
efficient to aid California's economic growth. The author
intends this bill to strengthen protection of the environment
and reduce both project litigation and delays in project
approval.
This bill is the result of months of negotiations with key
experts from the business, organized labor and environmental
communities following the identification of key issues by a
CEQA working group convened last fall.
2)Work-in-Progress. The author continues to meet and negotiate
with numerous business, environmental, governmental and other
interests to address concerns.
Broad concerns have been raised by local agencies about the
provisions in the bill. Local governments serve as the lead
agencies on most projects under CEQA. Local Agencies are
concerned that many provisions of the bill will lead to
increased litigation, thus increasing costs for local agencies
and delaying projects.
Supporters, such as the Center for sustainable Neighborhoods,
argue that the bill will reduce the barriers to building more
sustainable development and improve California's social,
environmental and economic well-being.
The majority of the stakeholders continue to seek amendments.
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Analysis Prepared by : Jennifer Galehouse / APPR. / (916)
319-2081