BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 1008
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Date of Hearing: June 13, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
Das Williams, Chair
SB
1008 (Lara) - As Amended April 27, 2016
SENATE VOTE: 34-0
SUBJECT: California Environmental Quality Act: Los Angeles
Regional Interoperable Communications System: exemption
SUMMARY: Extends until January 1, 2020 the California
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) exemption for the design, site
acquisition, construction, operation or maintenance of certain
structures and equipment of the Los Angeles Regional
Interoperable Communications System (LA-RICS), which was enacted
in 2012 and sunsets in 2017. Excludes from the exemption
projects at fire stations, school sites, and cultural or sacred
sites, and imposes new hearing and notice requirements.
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 action, unless the
project is exempt from CEQA (CEQA includes various statutory
exemptions, as well as categorical exemptions in the CEQA
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Guidelines).
2)Exempts from CEQA the design, site acquisition, construction,
operation or maintenance of specified LA-RICS equipment and
structures, including antennas, support structures, equipment
enclosures, switch facilities, associated foundations and
equipment, at existing publicly-owned sites that include
public safety radio facilities. This exemption sunsets
January 1, 2017.
THIS BILL:
1)Extends the CEQA exemption for eligible LA-RICS projects until
January 1, 2020.
2)Excludes from eligible sites fire stations, schools, and
cultural or sacred sites, as defined.
3)Adds the following hearing and notice requirements:
a) Requires the LA-RICS Joint Powers Authority
(Authority), before determining that a project is exempt
from CEQA, to hold noticed public hearings in areas
affected by the project to hear and respond to public
comments.
b) Requires the Authority to file a notice of exemption
with the Office of Planning and Research and the county
clerk in which the project is located, and post the
notice of exemption on its Internet Web site.
c) Requires the Authority to post on its Internet Web
site all of the following, as applicable:
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i. Draft and final environmental
documentation in compliance with CEQA or the federal
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
ii. The date of filing of notices required
pursuant to CEQA or NEPA.
iii. All notice and hearing information
regarding review and approval of environmental
documentation by federal agencies.
d) Requires the Authority and its member agencies to
approve use agreements for the LA-RICS in an open and
noticed public meeting.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.
COMMENTS:
1)Background. 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.
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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 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.
According to the Authority:
LA-RICS will provide improved radio and broadband
communication for the public safety providers of the
greater Los Angeles region. LA-RICS is comprised of two
distinct, but compatible projects: a land mobile radio
(LMR) communications and a long-term evolution (LTE)
broadband communications system. Covering 88 cities and
the unincorporated area of Los Angeles County, LA-RICS will
provide integrated communications for over 50 law
enforcement agencies, 31 fire departments, as well as
emergency medical services, transportation, and education
agencies. The LMR communication system will provide
day-to-day voice and narrowband data radio communications
service for individual public safety agencies, enable
interoperability and interagency communications among
member agencies and mutual aid providers, and support
communications with regional, state, and federal agencies
during disaster events?The LTE wireless network technology
will provide day-to-day broadband data communications
service for individual public safety agencies, provide
emergency responders high speed access to lifesaving
multimedia information, and support the National Public
Safety Broadband Network (NPSBN) initiative.
2)Author's statement:
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Current law, under AB 1486 (Lara), Chapter 690, Statutes of
2012, provides the LA-RICS Authority with a narrowly-focused
CEQA exemption, until January 1, 2017. The exemption applies
only to sites of the LA-RICS projects that are on publicly owned
land (i.e., police and sheriff stations), which already contain
existing antenna support structures (i.e., communication towers
or monopoles) and related infrastructure. None of these sites
are located on environmentally sensitive areas.
The required Federal environmental review process, under the
National Environmental Policy Act, which is still required for
the CEQA-exempt LA-RICS project sites, has taken longer than
previously anticipated.
The extension of the current CEQA exemption is needed to
continue to build out the LA-RICS LTE broadband system and LMR
system, and would facilitate a timely environmental review, and
the subsequent construction at those sites.
3)LA-RICS complications and delays. LA-RICS has not been
without its share of problems, such as labor disputes,
environmental concerns, and public protests. Some issues that
have arisen over the last year include:
a) By mid-February 2015, 13 of the 86 cities dropped out of
LA-RICS, which leaves those remaining to carry a larger
portion of the costs. Also, some cities refused to approve
sites, which reduced the number of sites for the LTE
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network.
b) In March 2015, the Los Angeles County Board of
Supervisors ordered a halt to the construction of towers at
county fire stations citing a lack of transparency and
complaints that the project was moving forward without
adequate notice to residents. Firefighters raised concern
about radio frequency emissions causing the potential
health hazards to them and neighboring residents.
c) On April 1, 2015, the Los Angeles City Council members
voted to stop build-out of the LTE system as well, citing
potential financial burdens on the city.
d) On April 3, 2015, the National Telecommunications and
Information Administration (NTIA) suspended a $154 million
grant to the Authority for LA-RICS, noting the project was
"severely behind schedule." Federal officials ordered
communications project managers to "stop all work
immediately" and directed LA-RICS authority to submit an
amended LTE network plan by April 13, 2015 that was
acceptable to the Los Angeles City Council, the Los Angeles
County Board of Supervisors, and NTIA. The LTE network
plan began with potentially 232 sites; when the suspension
occurred, the number of sites had decreased to 177; the
revised LTE network plan reduced the number to 82 sites.
e) In November 2015, the Los Angeles City Council members
unanimously voted to opt out of its membership to LA-RICS
citing potential cost advantage of deploying a new
city-owned LMR network. According to a city report, if the
city had remained a member of LA-RICS after November 24,
2015, the city would have been liable for 29% to 33% of all
LA-RICS costs.
f) The LA-RICS projects subject to this bill require an
environmental review under NEPA. According to the author,
the federal environmental review process for the LA-RICS
project sites has taken longer than previously expected.
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In fact, the closing date for the public review period for
the Draft Programmatic Environmental Assessment for the
LA-RICS LMR project was April 5, 2016. The Authority
complied with CEQA for the LMR sites that were not exempt
under AB 1486; and issued the Final EIR for the LA-RICS LMR
System on March 21, 2016.
4)Double referral. This bill has been double-referred to the
Assembly Local Government Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors (co-sponsor)
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (co-sponsor)
California State Sheriffs' Association
Opposition
California League of Conservation Voters
Sierra Club California
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Analysis Prepared by:Lawrence Lingbloom / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092