BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                  AB 2669
                                                                  Page 1

          CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
          AB 2669 (Natural Resources Committee)
          As Amended  June 21, 2012
          Majority vote
           
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          |ASSEMBLY:  |76-0 |(May 14, 2012)  |SENATE: |35-0 |(August 31,    |
          |           |     |                |        |     |2012)          |
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           Original Committee Reference:   NAT. RES.  

           SUMMARY  :  Repeals obsolete and/or duplicative provisions from 
          the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

           EXISTING LAW  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 CEQA 

           The Senate amendments  delete Public Resources Code Sections 
          21080.5, 21169, 21170, and 21170 from the bill and authorize the 
          Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency to update the protocol 
          for reviewing prospective application of certified regulatory 
          programs to evaluate the consistency of specified regulatory 
          programs.  

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  Unknown.  This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the 
          Legislative Counsel.

           AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY  , this bill was substantially similar 
          to the version passed by the Senate.  

           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.









                                                                  AB 2669
                                                                  Page 2

          Generally, 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.  Prior to approving any project that has 
          received environmental review an agency must make certain 
          findings.  If mitigation measures are required or incorporated 
          into a project, the agency must adopt a reporting or monitoring 
          program to ensure compliance with those measures.

          This committee bill is a vehicle for non-controversial 
          amendments to the CEQA statutes.  The bill repeals obsolete 
          and/or duplicative provisions and makes related technical 
          changes.
           
           
           Analysis Prepared by  :  Lawrence Lingbloom / NAT. RES. / (916) 
          319-2092 

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