BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 323
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Date of Hearing: April 20, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Jim Frazier, Chair
AB 323
(Olsen) - As Amended April 6, 2015
SUBJECT: California Environmental Quality Act: exemption:
roadway improvement
SUMMARY: Extends the January 1, 2016, sunset date, until
January 1, 2020, on an exemption from the California
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) for projects to repair,
maintain, and make minor alterations to existing roadways.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Requires lead agencies with the principal responsibility for
carrying out or approving a proposed project to prepare a
negative declaration, mitigated negative declaration, or
environmental impact report (EIR) for this project, unless the
project is exempt from CEQA.
2)Exempts from CEQA, until January 1, 2016, minor roadway
repairs, maintenance and minor alterations meeting the
following conditions:
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a) The project is carried out by a city or county with a
population of less than 100,000 to improve public safety.
b) The project does not cross a "waterway" (defined as a
bay, estuary, lake, pond, river, slough, or a perennial,
intermittent, or ephemeral stream, lake, or
estuarine-marine shoreline).
c) The project involves negligible or no expansion of an
existing use.
d) The project is not on a state highway.
e) The site of the project does not contain wetlands,
riparian areas, or significant wildlife habitat value and
does not harm any protected species, impact cultural
resources, or affect scenic resources.
3)Requires the lead agency to: include measures in the project
to mitigate potential vehicular traffic and safety impacts and
bicycle and pedestrian safety impacts, hold a noticed public
hearing on the project to hear and respond to public comments,
and file a notice of exemption with the Office of Planning and
Research (OPR).
4)Exempts from CEQA any emergency project undertaken by a public
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agency to maintain, repair, or restore an existing highway
that has been damaged as a result of fire, flood, storm,
earthquake, land subsidence, gradual earth movement, or
landslide, within one year of the damage.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS: CEQA provides a process for evaluating the
environmental effects of applicable projects undertaken or
approved by public agencies. If a project is not exempt from
CEQA, an initial study is prepared to determine whether the
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, 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 project, identify mitigation measures to reduce those
impacts to the extent feasible, and evaluate a range of
reasonable alternatives to the project.
Legislation enacted in 2012, AB 890 (Olsen), Chapter 528,
Statutes of 2012, exempted from CEQA minor highway repair
projects carried out by a local government, until January 1,
2016. This exemption is consistent with other existing CEQA
exemptions. For example, CEQA guidelines provide a categorical
exemption for work on existing facilities where there is
negligible expansion of an existing use, specifically including
existing highways and streets, sidewalks, gutters, bicycle and
pedestrian trails, and similar facilities. Additionally,
emergency projects undertaken by a public agency to maintain,
repair, or restore an existing highway that has been damaged as
a result of fire, flood, storm, earthquake, land subsidence,
gradual earth movement or landslide are exempt from CEQA if
carried out within one year of the damage.
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AB 890 included a provision that requires lead agencies claiming
the exemption to file a notice with OPR. According to the
Assembly Natural Resources Committee analysis, where this bill
was heard previously, OPR reports no notices filed to date
related to the AB 890 exemption. Consequently, it appears the
AB 890 exemption has not been used yet. To preserve the
Legislature's ability to periodically evaluate the effects of
this exemption, AB 323 includes a
four-year sunset, until January 1, 2020.
Supporters assert that, while the need for environmental review
on major projects is without question, less intensive safety
projects, such as installing or replacing a guardrail within the
existing footprint of a local street, have few if any
environmental impacts. They support AB 323 because it has the
potential to save money and time, especially for local
authorities in rural areas of the state.
Double-referral: This bill passed out of the Assembly Natural
Resources Committee on
March 23, 2015, with a 9-0 vote.
Previous legislation: AB 890 (Olsen), Chapter 528, Statutes of
2012, provided the original CEQA exemption for minor repairs of
existing roadwork.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
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Support
Association of California Cities-Orange County
California Central Valley Flood Control Association
California Chamber of Commerce
California Construction Trucking Association
California State Association of Counties
League of California Cities
Rural County Representatives of California
Southwest California Legislative Council
Tuolumne County Board of Supervisors
Opposition
None on file
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Analysis Prepared by:Janet Dawson / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093