BILL ANALYSIS
SB 1456
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Date of Hearing: August 4, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
SB 1456 (Simitian) - As Amended: August 2, 2010
Policy Committee: Natural
ResourcesVote:9-0
Urgency: Yes State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill makes several revisions to the California
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) regarding environmental impact
reports (EIRs), mediation and judicial review. Specifically,
this bill:
1)Authorizes a person who wishes to bring an action to allege
CEQA noncompliance to first request mediation with the lead
agency, to be acted upon at the lead agency's discretion.
2)Specifies that an EIR prepared subsequent to a previous EIR
for a project that has been substantially changed does not
need to consider cumulative effects of the project if the lead
agency finds, according to specified conditions, that the
prior EIR adequately considered those cumulative effects.
3)Authorizes the Attorney General to file a motion with the
court seeking an expedited schedule for resolution of a
proceeding alleging noncompliance with CEQA.
4)Requires an organization formed after project approval that
alleges CEQA violation to include a member who had alleged
CEQA noncompliance with the lead agency during the public
comment period.
5)Allows any party to file a motion, after the court has made a
decision, requesting a penalty for an allegedly frivolous
claim.
6)Sunsets all of the bill's provisions as of January 1, 2016.
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FISCAL EFFECT
1)Minor state costs, if any.
2)Potential state savings of an unknown amount to the extent
state agencies serving as lead agencies accept requests for
mediation as an alternative to litigation, which typically is
less costly than litigation.
COMMENTS
1)Rationale . The author intends this bill to streamline the
CEQA process by providing for mediation to avoid costly CEQA
litigation, expediting resolution of CEQA cases, establishing
accountability among those making CEQA challenges, and
establishing a process for "tiering" of EIRs to avoid
reassessment of cumulative impacts.
1)Background . CEQA obligates public officials to consider the
environmental effects of their decisions. CEQA recognizes
three types of effects:
a) Direct Effects : caused by a project and occur at the
same time and place as the project.
b) Indirect Effects : reasonably foreseeable and caused by a
project but which occur at a different time or place than
the project.
c) Cumulative Effects : two or more individual effects
which, when considered together, are considerable or which
compound or increase other environmental impacts.
The lead agency that proposes to approve a project must
conduct an initial study to determine if the project may have
significant, adverse environmental effects. If not, the lead
agency issues a negative declaration and, after a 30-day
review period, proceeds with its review and decision. If the
lead agency finds minor effects that can be mitigated, it
issues a mitigated negative declaration and then proceeds. If
the lead agency finds that the effects of the project may be
significant, it prepares an environmental impact report (EIR),
a document that shows public officials how to avoid or
mitigate the project's environmental effects.
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Preparing the EIR begins when the lead agency sends notice of
preparation to other public agencies, soliciting advice on the
EIR's scope. If the project is of statewide, regional, or
area-wide significance, the lead agency holds a scoping
meeting with the other agencies. The lead agency circulates
its draft EIR and invites public comments during a 45-day
review period.
After this public review, the lead agency issues a final EIR
that responds to the comments that it received. After
certifying the final EIR, the lead agency files notice to
allow the project to proceed.
CEQA allows a lead agency to prepare a supplemental EIR,
instead of a completely new EIR, to account for minor
additions or changes to the project not covered in the
original EIR. Conversely, substantial changes to a project
would require a lead agency to prepare a new EIR.
Analysis Prepared by : Jay Dickenson / APPR. / (916) 319-2081