BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 959|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 959
Author: Ducheny (D), et al
Amended: 6/1/10
Vote: 27 - Urgency
SENATE LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE : 5-0, 4/7/10
AYES: Cox, Aanestad, Kehoe, DeSaulnier, Price
SENATE ENV. QUALITY COMMITTEE : 7-0, 4/19/10
AYES: Simitian, Runner, Corbett, Hancock, Lowenthal,
Pavley, Strickland
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-3, 5/27/10
AYES: Kehoe, Alquist, Corbett, Leno, Price, Wolk, Yee
NOES: Denham, Walters, Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Cox
SUBJECT : Development: expedited permit review
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill requires cities and counties to
provide a single coordinating entity for all permitting
associated with proposed residential, commercial, and
industrial development. The bill requires the Office of
Planning and Research to develop guidelines to assist local
governments in complying with the requirements of the bill.
ANALYSIS :
CONTINUED
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Existing law
1. Under the Permit Streamlining Act (PSA), sets time
limits relating to determining the completeness of
applications and reaching decisions on development
projects. A lead agency for a development project must
approve or disapprove a project within specified time
periods (for example, 180 days from the date the lead
agency certifies an EIR, [except 90 days for a very low
or low income housing project under certain conditions],
60 days from the date of adopting a negative declaration
or determining that a project is exempt from the
California Environmental Quality Act [CEQA]).
2. Requires each state agency to consolidate its existing
staff functions relating to contract opportunities for
small business into a single point of contact for small
businesses and designate a small business advocate as a
liaison to small business suppliers, and creates the
Office of Small Business Advocate within the Office of
Planning and Research (OPR) with various
responsibilities.
3. Under the Environmental Protection Permit Reform Act of
1993, requires the Secretary for Environmental
Protection to establish an administrative process that
may be used at the request of a permit applicant for the
designation of a consolidated permit agency to
administer the processing and issuance of a consolidated
permit for certain projects.
4. Requires the Secretary for Environmental Protection to
establish an electronic online permit assistance center
through the Internet that must be available for use by
any business or other entity subject to a law or
regulation by a board, department, or office within the
California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal-EPA).
The program must be called the California Government On
Line to Desktops (CALGOLD) program and must provide
software and other online resources to streamline and
expedite compliance with laws and regulations
implemented by entities within Cal-EPA. The CALGOLD
program must, to the extent feasible, incorporate permit
assistance activities of local, state, and federal
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entities into its operations.
This bill requires cities and counties to establish a
single administrative entity that is responsible for
coordinating the review and decision making associated with
any proposed residential, commercial, or industrial
development within its jurisdiction. In addition, the bill
authorizes the administrative entity to also coordinate
with special districts or other local governments that may
be involved in permitting a proposed development. The bill
authorizes cities and counties to charge fees to a project
developer to pay for those costs that are directly
attributable to coordination of decision making related to
the specific proposal.
This bill requires the Office of Planning and Research to
develop guidelines to provide technical assistance to
cities and counties in implementing the requirements of the
bill. The bill specifies a series of issues that the
guidelines must cover. The bill states that the guidelines
are advisory only, and do not mandate any additional duties
by local governments.
This bill's requirements exclude residential development
and will not apply to cities with less than 100,000 people.
Cities and counties are required to designate a single
point of contact only upon request by a project proponent.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/1/10)
California Apartment Association
Consulting Engineers and Land Surveyors of California
AGB:do 6/1/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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