Amended in Assembly March 18, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 2026

Introduced by Assembly Member Hadley

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(Coauthor: Assembly Member Baker)

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February 16, 2016

An act to begin delete amend Section 21001.1 of end delete begin insert add Section 21175 to end insert the Public Resources Code, relating to environmental quality.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2026, as amended, Hadley. California Environmental Quality begin delete Act. end delete begin insert Act: judicial challenge: identification of contributors. end insert

The California Environmental Quality Act requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of an environmental impact report 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. begin delete Existing law declares the policy of the state that a project to be carried out by a public agency be subject to the same level of review and consideration under the act as that required of private projects required to be approved by public agencies. end delete begin insert The act authorizes specified entities to file and maintain with a court an action or proceeding to attack, review, set aside, void, or annul an act of a public agency on grounds of noncompliance with the requirements of the act. end insert

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This bill would make a technical, nonsubstantive change to those provisions.

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This bill would require a plaintiff or petitioner, in an action brought pursuant to the act, to disclose the identity of a person or entity that contributes in excess of $1,000, as specified, toward the plaintiff’s or petitioner’s costs of the action. The bill also would require the plaintiff or petitioner to identify any pecuniary or business interest related to the project or issues involved in the action of any person or entity that contributes in excess of $1,000 to the costs of the action, as specified. The bill would provide that a failure to comply with these requirements may be grounds for dismissal of the action by the court.

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Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

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begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

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(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:

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(1) The California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13
(commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code)
facilitates the maintenance of a quality environment for the people
of the state through identification of significant effects on the
environment caused by a proposed project, consideration of
alternatives, and implementation of feasible mitigation measures
to reduce those effects.

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(2) The act is premised on transparency in decisionmaking
through public dissemination of information about a proposed
project’s effect on the environment.

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(3) The act empowers the public to challenge a project in court
for failure to fully comply with the act’s exhaustive disclosure and
mitigation requirements.

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(4) Various entities are increasingly using litigation pursuant
to the act for competitive purposes to either frustrate a competitor’s
project or to extract concessions from a project proponent.

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(5) Despite the focus on transparency and public disclosure in
the decisionmaking process, shadow groups funded by unknown
backers often threaten and bring litigation challenging proposed
projects without being required to disclose who is funding the
litigation or what financial interests those entities have related to
the proposed project.

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(6) Project opponents sometimes strategically use litigation to
delay a project past its point of economic viability, thereby using
litigation to stop projects that could not otherwise be stopped
during the decisionmaking process.

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(7) California Rules of Court require the disclosure of entities
that fund the preparation and submission of amicus briefs to the
court.

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(8) The state and public have a compelling interest in the
disclosure of the identities of entities that fund litigation under the
act so they can better understand the identities of those
organizations participating in the public decisionmaking process,
determine whether the petitioner or plaintiff may be suing for
competitive or other nonenvironmental purposes, and protect
scarce judicial resources by deterring entities from using lawsuits
for competitive or other nonenvironmental purposes.

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(9) The courts have a compelling interest in disclosure to
determine whether the plaintiff or petitioner is seeking to advance
environmental, nonenvironmental, or a mix of environmental and
nonenvironmental interests in filing an action pursuant to the act.

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(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to require plaintiffs and
petitioners bringing an action pursuant to the act to disclose those
persons or entities who make contributions to fund the preparation
of the petition and subsequent actions or proceedings and any
financial interests they may have related to the proposed project.

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begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

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begin insert Section 21175 is added to the end insert begin insert Public Resources Code end insert begin insert ,
to read: end insert

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begin insert 21175. end insert   

(a) In an action or proceeding to attack, review, set
aside, void, or annul any act or decision of a public agency on the
grounds of noncompliance with this division, the plaintiff or
petitioner shall include an affidavit identifying every person or
entity who made a monetary contribution of one thousand dollars
($1,000) or more, or committed to contribute one thousand dollars
($1,000) or more, for the preparation of the petition and subsequent
action or proceeding.

(b) The plaintiff or petitioner shall have a continuing obligation
throughout the course of the proceeding to identify any person or
entity that has made a single or multiple contributions or
commitments, the sum of which is $1,000 or more, and that were
intended to fund the action or proceeding.

(c) The disclosures required pursuant to subdivisions (a) and
(b) shall also include the identity of any pecuniary or business
interest that the person or entity has related to the proposed
project.

(d) A plaintiff or petitioner may request the court’s permission
to withhold the public disclosure of a contributor. The court may
grant the request if it finds that the public interest in keeping that
information confidential clearly outweighs the public interest in
disclosure.

(e) A court may, upon its own motion or the motion of any party,
take any action necessary to compel compliance with the
requirements of this section, up to and including dismissal of the
action or proceeding.

(f) An individual contributing funds to file an action or
proceeding pursuant to this division in his or her individual
capacity, and not as a representative for an organization or
association, has the right to limit disclosure of his or her personal
information to an in-camera review by the court.

(g) The information disclosed pursuant to this section may be
used to enable a court to determine whether the financial burden
of private enforcement supports the award of attorneys’ fees in
actions or proceedings brought to enforce this division.

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SECTION 1.  

Section 21001.1 of the Public Resources Code
is amended to read:

21001.1.  

The Legislature further finds and declares that it is
the policy of the state that projects to be carried out by public
agencies be subject to the same level of review and consideration
under this division as that required of private projects required to
be approved by public agencies.

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