BILL ANALYSIS
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 1456
Author: Simitian (D)
Amended: 8/20/10
Vote: 27 - Urgency
SENATE ENV. QUALITY COMMITTEE : 6-0, 4/5/10
AYES: Simitian, Runner, Corbett, Lowenthal, Pavley,
Strickland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Hancock
SENATE FLOOR : 35-0, 4/15/10
AYES: Aanestad, Alquist, Ashburn, Calderon, Cedillo,
Cogdill, Corbett, Correa, Cox, DeSaulnier, Dutton,
Florez, Hancock, Harman, Hollingsworth, Huff, Kehoe,
Leno, Liu, Lowenthal, Maldonado, Oropeza, Padilla,
Pavley, Price, Romero, Runner, Simitian, Steinberg,
Strickland, Walters, Wolk, Wright, Wyland, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Denham, Ducheny, Negrete McLeod, Wiggins,
Vacancy
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 75-1, 8/23/10 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Environmental quality: cumulative effects and
mediation
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill clarifies the circumstances under
which cumulative effects are not required to be examined
under the California Environmental Quality Act and makes
CONTINUED
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several revisions to mediation and judicial review
procedures.
Assembly Amendments (1) add the mediation provisions and
sunset date of January 1, 2016, (2) add co-authors, and (3)
add double-jointing language with AB 231 (Huber) to prevent
a chaptering-out problem.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law
1. Requires lead agencies with the principal responsibility
for carrying out or approving a proposed project to
prepare a negative declaration, mitigated negative
declaration, or environmental impact report (EIR) for
this action, unless the project is exempt from
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
2. Authorizes a lead agency to use a tiered EIR (based on a
prior EIR) for a project when the prior EIR has been
prepared for a program, plan, policy or ordinance and
the project is consistent. Provides that the tiered EIR
is not required to examine effects that were examined at
a sufficient level of detail in the prior EIR.
3 Authorizes judicial review of CEQA actions taken by
public agencies, following the agency's decision to
carry out or approve the project, subject to statutes of
limitations ranging from 30 to 180 days:
4 Challenges alleging improper determination that a
project may have a significant effect on the
environment, or alleging an EIR doesn't comply with
CEQA, must be filed within 30 days of filing of the
notice of approval;
5. Challenges alleging improper determination that a
project is exempt from CEQA must be filed within 35 days
of filing of the notice of exemption, or 180 days if no
notice has been filed and,
6. Challenges alleging an agency has failed to determine
whether a project has a significant effect on the
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environment must be filed within 180 days.
This bill makes the following changes to CEQA until January
1, 2016:
1. Provides that a cumulative effect is not required to be
examined in an EIR or other CEQA document if a lead
agency finds that it has been adequately addressed in a
prior document, unless the lead agency finds that the
incremental effects of the project are cumulatively
considerable according to specified criteria (this
incorporates existing provisions of the CEQA Guidelines
into the statute).
2. Authorizes the Attorney General to request an expedited
schedule for resolution of any CEQA lawsuit.
3. Provides that a mediation proceeding conducted pursuant
to the law governing mediation and resolution of land
use disputes (Government Code Section 66030, et seq.) is
intended to be conducted concurrently with any judicial
proceeding (consistent with a settlement meeting
conducted pursuant to CEQA).
4. Authorizes any person wishing to file a CEQA lawsuit to
first request, within five business days, mediation with
the lead agency and the real party in interest.
Provides that the request is deemed denied if the lead
agency does not respond within five business days. If
mediation is conducted, provides that CEQA's statute of
limitations shall be tolled until the mediation is
completed.
5. Authorizes a party to a CEQA lawsuit to request the
court impose a penalty on any party making a "frivolous"
claim, and authorizes the court to impose a penalty up
to $10,000.
6. Requires an organization formed after the approval of a
project to have standing to file a CEQA lawsuit, to have
had a member present the alleged grounds for
noncompliance to the lead agency during the public
comment period or public hearing on the project (in
addition to the requirement in current law that a member
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of the organization simply has objected to the project).
7. Sunsets the above changes and reenacts existing law
effective January 1, 2016.
8. Contains double-jointing language with AB 231 (Huber) to
resolve a potential chaptering conflict.
Comments
CEQA provides a process for evaluating the environmental
effects of applicable projects undertaken or approved by
public agencies. If a project is not exempt from CEQA, an
initial study is prepared to determine whether the project
may have a significant effect on the environment. If the
initial study shows that there would not be a significant
effect on the environment, the lead agency must prepare a
negative declaration. If the initial study shows that the
project may have a significant effect on the environment,
the lead agency must prepare an EIR. An EIR must
accurately describe the proposed project, identify and
analyze each significant environmental impact expected to
result from the proposed project, identify mitigation
measures to reduce those impacts to the extent feasible,
and evaluate a range of reasonable alternatives to the
proposed project.
Generally, CEQA actions taken by local public agencies can
be challenged in Superior Court once the agency approves or
determines to carry out the project. CEQA appeals are
subject to unusually short statutes of limitations. Under
current law, court challenges of CEQA decisions generally
must be filed within 30-35 days, depending on the type of
decision. In addition, CEQA requires the courts to give
CEQA cases preference over all other civil actions, so that
the cases are quickly heard and determined.
According to the author's office, this bill responds to the
need for mediation to resolve CEQA disputes to avoid
litigation while ensuring that mediation after an action is
filed does not affect the timing of any judicial
proceeding; establishing a process for an expedited
schedule to resolve cases while allowing any party to
request imposition of a penalty for frivolous litigation;
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ensuring more accountability for an organization
challenging a project that is formed after project
approval; and, establishing procedures for tiering
environmental documents.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, minor
state costs, if any. 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.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Anderson, Arambula, Bass, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bradford,
Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter,
Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon,
DeVore, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes,
Fuller, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto, Gilmore,
Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber,
Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie
Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande,
Niello, Nielsen, Norby, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino,
Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio,
Audra Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Tran,
Villines, Yamada, John A. Perez
NOES: Torrico
NO VOTE RECORDED: Ammiano, Furutani, Vacancy, Vacancy
TSM:do 8/24/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: NONE RECEIVED
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