BILL NUMBER: SB 450 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 4, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Senator Lowenthal
FEBRUARY 26, 2009
An act to add Chapter 6.8 (commencing with Section 50676)
to Part 2 of Division 31 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to
housing. An act to add and repeal Section 40440.13 of
the Health and Safety Code, relating to the South Coast Air Quality
Management District, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take
effect immediately.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 450, as amended, Lowenthal. Federal Housing Trust
Fund. South Coast Air Quality Management District:
CEQA: permits.
(1) The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a
lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and
certify the completion of, an environmental impact report (EIR) 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.
CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative
declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the
environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that
effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as
revised, would have a significant effect on the environment. CEQA
exempts certain specified projects from its requirements.
Under existing law, every air pollution control district or air
quality management district in a federal nonattainment area for any
national ambient air quality standard is required to establish by
regulation, a system by which all reductions in emissions of air
contaminants that are to be used to offset certain future increases
in the emission of air contaminants are banked prior to use. The
South Coast Air Quality Management District (district) promulgated
various rules establishing offset exemptions, providing Priority
Reserve offset credits, and creating or tracking credits used for
offset exemption or Priority Reserve projects. In Natural Resources
Defense Council v. South Coast Air Quality Management District
(Super. Ct. Los Angeles County, 2007, No. BS 110792), the superior
court found the promulgation of certain of these district rules to be
in violation of CEQA.
This bill would authorize the district to issue permits under
specified circumstances, notwithstanding this court decision. The
provisions of the bill would be repealed on May 1, 2012.
(2) This bill would state the findings and declarations of the
Legislature concerning the need for special legislation.
(3) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately
as an urgency statute.
Existing law establishes the multifamily housing program under the
administration of the Department of Housing and Community
Development to provide a standardized set of program rules and
features applicable to all housing types based on the department's
California Housing Rehabilitation Program. Existing law also
establishes the CalHOME Program under the administration of the
department to provide grants and loans to enable low- and very low
income households to become or remain homeowners.
Existing federal law requires the Secretary of the Department of
Housing and Urban Development to establish a Housing Trust Fund to
provide grants to states to increase the supply of rental housing for
extremely low- and very low income families, including homeless
families, and homeownership for extremely low- and very low income
families.
This bill would designate the department as the state agency
responsible for administering the federal Housing Trust Fund. The
bill would require the department to administer the federal funds
pursuant to the multifamily housing program, except that up to 10% of
the funds may be appropriated by the Legislature to the CalHOME
Program.
Vote: majority 2/3 . Appropriation:
no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all
of the following:
(a) As a result of the superior court decision in Natural
Resources Defense Council v. South Coast Air Quality Management
District (Super. Ct. Los Angeles County, 2007, No. BS 110792) holding
that the South Coast Air Quality Management District (district)
violated the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act
(CEQA) (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public
Resources Code) in the promulgation of certain district rules, the
district is unable to issue over a thousand pending permits that rely
on the district's internal offset bank to offset emissions.
(b) The district may also have to set aside several thousand
permits that were previously issued in reliance on the district's
internal offset bank.
(c) Prompt legislative action is necessary as an interim measure;
otherwise projects will be stopped from going forward or frozen in
place, representing significant losses to the economy and the loss of
numerous well-paying jobs.
(d) Nothing in the case described in subdivision (a) requires the
setting aside of any permit issued by the South Coast Air Quality
Management District to any essential public service, that relied on
Rule 1309.1, nor any permit that relied on Rule 1304, between
September 8, 2006, and November 3, 2008.
SEC. 2. Section 40440.13 is added to the
Health and Safety Code , to read:
40440.13. (a) Notwithstanding the decision of the court in
Natural Resources Defense Council v. South Coast Air Quality
Management District (Super. Ct. Los Angeles County, 2007, No. BS
110792), the south coast district may issue permits in reliance on,
and in compliance with, south coast district Rule 1304, as amended on
June 14, 1996, and Rule 1309.1, as amended May 3, 2002, for
essential public services, as defined in subdivision (m) of Rule
1302, as amended December 6, 2002.
(b) Nothing in this section affects the decision in the case
described in subdivision (a) concerning the adoption, readoption, or
amendment, or environmental review, of south coast district Rule
1315.
(c) In implementing subdivision (a), the south coast district
shall rely on the emission reduction credit tracking system used
prior to the adoption of Rule 1315, until a new tracking system is
approved by the United States Environmental Protection Agency and is
in effect, at which point that new system shall be used by the south
coast district in implementing subdivision (a). The south coast
district shall make information concerning the credits, and the
tracking of these credits, available to the public.
(d) This section shall remain in effect only until May 1, 2012,
and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that
is enacted before May 1, 2012, deletes or extends that date.
SEC. 3. The Legislature finds and declares that a
special law is necessary and that a general law cannot be made
applicable within the meaning of Section 16 of Article IV of the
California Constitution because of unique circumstances concerning
the South Coast Air Quality Management District.
SEC. 4. This act is an urgency statute necessary
for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety
within the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go
into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
Due to the court decision in Natural Resources Defense Council v.
South Coast Air Quality Management District (Super. Ct. Los Angeles
County, 2007, No. BS 110792), the South Coast Air Quality Management
District is unable to issue over a thousand pending permits that are
either exempt from offset requirements or qualified to use offset
credits from the district's Priority Reserve and is required to set
aside thousands of permits already issued. Therefore, in order to
allow the district to issue permits in an expeditious manner as an
urgent interim measure, it is necessary that this act take effect
immediately.
SECTION 1. Chapter 6.8 (commencing with Section
50676) is added to Part 2 of Division 31 of the Health and Safety
Code, to read:
CHAPTER 6.8. FEDERAL HOUSING TRUST FUND
50676. (a) The department is hereby designated as the state
agency responsible for administering funds received by the state from
the federal Housing Trust Fund pursuant to the Housing and Economic
Recovery Act of 2008, Public Law 110-289, and implementing federal
regulations.
(b) The department shall administer the funds specified in
subdivision (a) pursuant to the state multifamily housing program
established in Chapter 6.7 (commencing with Section 50675), except
that up to 10 percent of the funds may be appropriated by the
Legislature to the CalHOME Program established in Chapter 6
(commencing with Section 50650).
(c) The department shall amend its regulations, as needed, to
comply with federal law.