BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 226
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Senator S. Joseph Simitian, Chairman
2011-2012 Regular Session
BILL NO: SB 226
AUTHOR: Simitian
AMENDED: As introduced
FISCAL: Yes HEARING DATE: March 21, 2011
URGENCY: Yes CONSULTANT: Randy Pestor
SUBJECT : CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT
SUMMARY :
Existing law :
1) Under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA):
a) Requires lead agencies with the principal
responsibility for carrying out or approving a proposed
discretionary project to prepare a negative declaration,
mitigated declaration, or environmental impact report
(EIR) for this action, unless the project is exempt from
CEQA (CEQA includes various statutory exemptions, as
well as categorical exemptions in the CEQA guidelines).
(Public Resources Code �21000 et seq.).
b) Requires a lead agency to call at least one scoping
meeting for a proposed project that may affect highways
or other facilities under Department of Transportation
(Caltrans) jurisdiction, if requested by Caltrans, or
for a project of statewide, regional, or areawide
significance. Notice of at least one scoping meeting
must be provided to certain entities, including a county
or city bordering a county or city within which the
project is located. (�21083.9).
2) Under Planning and Zoning Law:
a) Requires a planning agency to refer a proposed action
to adopt or substantially amend a general plan to
certain entities for comment, including a city or county
within or abutting the area covered by the
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proposal, prior to legislative body's action on that
general plan. (Government Code �65352).
b) Establishes procedures for interagency referrals of
certain matters, including the adoption or amendment of
a general plan or zoning ordinance. (�65919 et seq.).
This bill :
1) Under CEQA, revises the scoping procedures by authorizing
referral of a proposed action to adopt or substantially
amend a general plan to a city or county under Government
Code �65352 to be conducted concurrently with the scoping
meeting, and authorizes the city or county to submit its
comments at the scoping meeting.
2) Under Planning and Zoning Law, makes a technical and
clarifying amendment to the interagency referral procedures
under Government Code �65919.10.
COMMENTS :
1) Purpose of Bill . According to the author, "SB 226
streamlines the CEQA process for adopting or amending a
general plan by allowing the general plan interagency
referral process under Planning and Zoning Law to occur
during the CEQA scoping process. This should also improve
the planning and environmental review process so comments
and responses can occur at the same meeting."
2) Brief background on CEQA . CEQA provides a process for
evaluating the environmental effects of a project, and
includes statutory exemptions, as well as categorical
exemptions in the CEQA guidelines. If a project is not
exempt from CEQA, an initial study is prepared to determine
whether a 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.
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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.
If a mitigation measure would cause one or more significant
effects in addition to those that would be caused by the
proposed project, the effects of the mitigation measure
must be discussed but in less detail than the significant
effects of the proposed project.
3) Improving agency involvement in CEQA process . According to
the CEQA guidelines, early consultation "solves many
potential problems that would arise in more serious forms
later in the review process." The guidelines also provide
that scoping "has been helpful to agencies in identifying
the range of actions, alternatives, mitigation measures,
and significant effects to be analyzed in depth in an EIR
and in eliminating from detailed study issues found not to
be important." The guidelines further note that scoping
"has been found to be an effective way to bring together
and resolve the concerns of affected federal, state, and
local agencies, the proponent of the action, and other
interested persons including those who might not be in
accord with the action on environmental grounds."
SB 226 revises the CEQA scoping process to allow the referral
of a proposed action to adopt or substantially amend a
general plan to a city or county, as required under
Planning and Zoning Law, to be conducted concurrently with
the scoping meeting under CEQA. This bill also authorizes
the city or county to submit its comments at the scoping
meeting.
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4) Related Legislation . SB 226 is similar to SB 1464 of 2010.
SB 1464 was approved by the Senate Environmental Quality
Committee April 20, 2010 (7-0), the Senate April 26, 2010
(consent, 35-0), the Assembly Natural Resources Committee
June 22, 2010 (7-0), and the Assembly July 1, 2010
(consent, 76-0). SB 1464 was then withdrawn from
enrollment for purposes of adding double-joining amendments
and was held at the Assembly Desk.
SOURCE : Senator Simitian
SUPPORT : None on file
OPPOSITION : None on file