BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1008|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 1008
Author: Lara (D)
Amended: 8/1/16
Vote: 21
SENATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE: 5-0, 4/6/16
AYES: Wieckowski, Gaines, Bates, Hill, Leno
NO VOTE RECORDED: Jackson, Pavley
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8
SENATE FLOOR: 34-0, 5/12/16
AYES: Allen, Anderson, Bates, Beall, Berryhill, Block,
Cannella, De León, Fuller, Gaines, Glazer, Hall, Hancock,
Hernandez, Hertzberg, Hill, Hueso, Huff, Lara, Leno, Leyva,
McGuire, Mendoza, Mitchell, Moorlach, Morrell, Nguyen,
Nielsen, Pan, Roth, Stone, Vidak, Wieckowski, Wolk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Galgiani, Jackson, Liu, Monning, Pavley,
Runner
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-1, 8/18/16 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: California Environmental Quality Act: Los Angeles
Regional Interoperable Communications System:
exemption
SOURCE: County of Los Angeles
County of Los Angeles Sheriffs Department
DIGEST: This bill exempts from the California Environmental
Quality Act (CEQA) the design, site acquisition, construction,
operation or maintenance of certain structures and equipment of
the Los Angeles Regional Interoperable Communications System
(LA-RICS), consisting of long-term evolution (LTE) broadband
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Page 2
mobile data system and a land mobile radio (LMR) system, if
specified criteria are met.
Assembly Amendments delete the requirement of a public hearing
and instead require 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.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Requires, under CEQA, lead agencies with the principal
responsibility for carrying out or approving a proposed
discretionary project to prepare a negative declaration,
mitigated negative declaration, or environmental impact report
(EIR) for this action, unless the project is exempt from CEQA.
(Public Resources Code (PRC) §21000 et seq.)
2)Exempts from CEQA the design, site acquisition, construction,
operation or maintenance of certain LA-RICS equipment and
structures, if specified criteria are met. This provision
sunsets on January 1, 2017. (PRC §21080.25).
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.
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3)Adds the following meeting and notice requirements:
a) Requires the 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
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.
Background
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1)CEQA: Environmental review process. For general background
information on the CEQA environmental review process, please
refer to the Senate Environmental Committee analysis of this
bill.
2)LA-RICS. 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 [LMR] communications and a [LTE]
broadband communications system. Covering 88 cities and the
unincorporated area of Los Angeles County within a 4.084
square mile area, LA-RICS will provide integrated
communications for over 50 law enforcement agencies, 31 fire
departments as well as Emergency Medical Services (EMS),
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.
Comments
1)Purpose of bill. According to the author:
[LA-RICS] is the single greatest emergency preparedness and
homeland security need in the Los Angeles region. The
system will provide direct communication interoperability
between law enforcement, fire, Federal, State and military
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agencies in major disasters, such as floods, fires,
earthquakes, and terrorist incidents. The LA-RICS Project
is especially critical given the tragic event of September
11th, which demonstrated the necessity of an interoperable
communications system that would assist first-responders in
saving lives. SB 1008 would extend the current CEQA
exemption deadline for the LA-RICS project for three
additional years, from January 1, 2017, to January 1, 2020.
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 the timely environmental
review and construction of sites that would be used for this
important project. The Federal environmental review
process, under the National Environmental Policy Act, for
the LA-RICS Project sites, which is still required for the
CEQA-exempt sites, has taken longer than previously
anticipated.
The proposed extension is especially essential for the
continued build out of the LA-RICS system which is funded by
the critical Federal Broadband Technology Opportunities
Program (BTOP) grant awarded to the LA-RICS Authority by the
U.S. Department of Commerce. Recently enacted Federal
legislation provided a five-year extension for BTOP grant
recipients, including LA-RICS, through Federal Fiscal Year
2020. The extension would allow much needed additional time
for LA-RICS to construct additional sites to increase
coverage and capacity of the LTE broadband system, and
ensure that these sites are streamlined for environmental
review, constructed and completed on time to enable first
responders to communicate in all emergencies and major
disasters.
The exemption will not apply to undeveloped land or
privately-owned land. It will only apply to sites on
publicly-owned land where telecommunication infrastructure
is already located such as on existing police, sheriff or
fire station sites which already contain existing antenna
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support structure. Sites will not be located in
environmentally sensitive areas, such as wetlands, riparian
areas, or habitat of significant value, and would not
adversely affect historical resources.
2)AB 1486 (Lara) Letter to the Journal. On August 24, 2012, AB
1486 (Lara, Chapter 690, Statutes of 2012) was amended to
exempt from CEQA certain LA-RICS projects and was passed by
the Legislature on August 31, 2012. Because of AB 1486's rush
through the legislative process, some requirements did not
make it into the final version of the bill. However, in order
to stay true to commitments made on AB 1486, the author wrote
a Letter to the Journal on August 31, 2012, stating his intent
that the bill includes additional, specified requirements in
order for the LA-RICS exemption in AB 1486 to apply to a
project. SB 1008 includes those requirements specified in the
author's Letter to the Journal so as to ensure that the
exemption more accurately reflects AB 1486 requirements in
their entirety.
3)What is lost with a CEQA exemption? It is not unusual for
certain interests to assert that a particular exemption will
expedite construction of a particular type of project and
reduce costs. This, however, frequently overlooks the
benefits of adequate environmental review where lead and
responsible agencies are legally accountable for their actions
to:
Inform decisionmakers and the public about project
impacts;
Identify ways to avoid or significantly reduce
environmental damage;
Prevent environmental damage by requiring feasible
alternatives or mitigation measures;
Disclose to the public reasons why an agency approved a
project if significant environmental effects are involved;
Involve public agencies in the process; and,
Increase public participation in the environmental
review and the planning processes.
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If a project is exempt from CEQA, certain issues should be
addressed. For example:
How can decisionmakers and the public be aware of
impacts, mitigation measures, and alternatives of a project
because of the exemption?
Is it appropriate for the public to live with the
consequences when a project is exempt and impacts may not
be mitigated and alternatives may not be considered
regarding certain matters, such as air quality, water
quality, and noise impacts?
Because adverse project impacts do not disappear when
they are not identified and mitigated, does an exemption
result in a direct transfer of responsibility for
mitigating impacts from the applicant to the public (i.e.,
taxpayers) if impacts are ultimately addressed after
completion of the project?
If taxpayers, rather than the project applicant, are
ultimately responsible for mitigating certain impacts of
such a project after project completion, what assessments
or taxes will be increased to fund mitigation or pay for
alternatives at a later date?
It is also not unusual for certain interests to blame CEQA
lawsuits. However, the total number of CEQA cases filed
averages about 200 cases per year statewide and make up
approximately 0.02% of 1,100,000 civil cases filed annually in
California. The California Attorney General's Office
conducted a case study of CEQA challenges in the City and
County of San Francisco from July 2011 through December 2011
and found that 18 lawsuits were filed out of 5,203 projects
considered under CEQA. CEQA litigation is low considering the
thousands of projects subject to CEQA each year as well as for
the volume of civil litigation in general statewide.
In addition, those citing CEQA and CEQA litigation as a
problem do not indicate the result of that litigation. Were
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significant impacts that were not evaluated in the initial
document ultimately addressed? What would have been the
result if those impacts had not been mitigated (e.g.,
flooding, exposure of people to hazards, inadequate public
services, congestion)?
1)LA-RICS past issues. 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
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
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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%-33% of all
LA-RICS costs.
f) The LA-RICS projects subject to this bill require an
environmental review under the National Environmental
Protection Act (NEPA). According to the author, the
federal environmental review process for the LA-RICS
project sites has taken longer than previously expected -
In fact, the closing date for the public review period for
the Draft Programmatic Environmental Assessment for the
LA-RICS LMR project is April 5, 2016. The Authority
complied with CEQA for the LMR sites that were not exempt
pursuant to PRC Section 21080.25; and issued the Final EIR
for the LA-RICS LMR System on March 21, 2016.
The author states, "The Authority approved sites in the LTE
project in 2014 and 2015 and determined that all LTE sites were
exempt from review under CEQA pursuant to PRC §21080.25, the
statutory CEQA exemption specifically adopted for LA-RICS." A
question arises as to whether some of these issues could have
been avoided or mitigated through the CEQA process such as
providing transparency and a forum to address public concerns
about health risks to firefighters and local residents, which as
noted above, were serious enough concerns to make both the City
of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
halt construction in March 2015. Also, considering that the
NEPA review was completed in April 2016 for the LMR project and
the CEQA review was completed a month earlier, a question arises
as to how much time the CEQA exemption actually saved.
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Related/Prior Legislation
AB 1486 (Lara, Chapter 690, Statutes of 2012) exempted the
design, site acquisition, construction, operation or maintenance
of certain LA-RICS equipment, and sunsets January 1, 2017.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: Yes
According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, there are no
additional state costs.
SUPPORT: (Verified8/12/16)
County of Los Angeles (co-source)
County of Los Angeles Sheriff's Department (co-source)
California Ambulance Association
California Chamber of Commerce
California State Sheriffs' Association
LA RICS Authority
Los Angeles Mayor's Office
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/12/16)
California League of Conservation Voters
Sierra Club California
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-1, 8/18/16
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Arambula, Atkins, Baker,
Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke,
Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley,
Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth
Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto,
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Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper,
Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine,
Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty,
Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell,
Olsen, Patterson, Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas,
Santiago, Steinorth, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber,
Wilk, Williams, Wood, Rendon
NOES: Mark Stone
NO VOTE RECORDED: Roger Hernández
Prepared by:Joanne Roy / E.Q. / (916) 651-4108
8/29/16 18:45:38
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