BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 1008
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SENATE THIRD READING
SB
1008 (Lara)
As Amended August 1, 2016
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE: 34-0
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|Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Natural |8-1 |Williams, Jones, |Mark Stone |
|Resources | | | |
| | | | |
| | |Cristina Garcia, | |
| | |Gomez, Hadley, | |
| | |Harper, McCarty, Wood | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Local |8-0 |Eggman, Waldron, | |
|Government | |Bonilla, Chiu, | |
| | |Cooley, Beth Gaines, | |
| | |Gordon, Linder | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Appropriations |20-0 |Gonzalez, Bigelow, | |
| | |Bloom, Bonilla, | |
| | |Bonta, Calderon, | |
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| | |Chang, Daly, Eggman, | |
| | |Gallagher, Eduardo | |
| | |Garcia, Holden, | |
| | |Jones, Obernolte, | |
| | |Quirk, Santiago, | |
| | |Wagner, Weber, Wood, | |
| | |Chau | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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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 meeting and notice requirements.
Specifically, 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 meeting and notice requirements:
a) Requires the LA-RICS Joint Powers Authority (Authority),
before determining that a project is exempt from CEQA, to
hold a noticed public meeting in each county supervisorial
district in which the project is located 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
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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:
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 Assembly Appropriations
Committee, no additional state costs.
COMMENTS:
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
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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.
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. According to the author, 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.
Analysis Prepared by:
Lawrence Lingbloom / NAT. RES. / (916) 319-2092
FN:
0003815
SB 1008
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