BILL NUMBER:  AB 499
  VETOED	DATE: 09/29/2010




To the Members of the California State Assembly:

I am returning Assembly Bill 499 without my signature.

This bill makes several changes to the California Environmental
Quality Act (CEQA) under the guise of CEQA streamlining.
Unfortunately, it appears to simply be a back-door attempt to lessen
the legal requirements for those who seek to challenge projects under
CEQA.

Current CEQA law requires the dismissal of a lawsuit if the plaintiff
fails to name a real party in interest.  This bill eliminates that
dismissal and instead requires the court to grant the petitioner
additional time to find a real party in interest and give them
notice.  By doing so, it gives plaintiffs multiple bites at the apple
to file CEQA lawsuits.

The bill also requires a lead agency to list only the project
applicant in its notice.  I vetoed a similar bill in 2008 due to my
concerns that it placed upon the lead agency a new liability for
actions not directly related to its review of a project.
Additionally, simply listing the project applicant omits other
parties who may have legal standing and could infringe upon their
constitutional right to due process.

For these reasons, I am unable to sign this bill.

Sincerely,



Arnold Schwarzenegger