BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 226|
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CONSENT
Bill No: SB 226
Author: Simitian (D)
Amended: As introduced
Vote: 27 - Urgency
SENATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE : 5-0, 3/21/11
AYES: Simitian, Strickland, Hancock, Kehoe, Lowenthal
NO VOTE RECORDED: Blakeslee, Pavley
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SUBJECT : Land use planning
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill, under the California Environmental
Quality Act (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 Section 65352 to be conducted
concurrently with the scoping meeting, and authorizes the
city or county to submit its comments at the scoping
meeting, and under Planning and Zoning Law, makes a
technical and clarifying amendment to the interagency
referral procedures under Government Code Section 65919.10.
ANALYSIS : CEQA requires a lead agency to prepare, or
cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of, an
environmental impact report on a project, as defined, that
it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a
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significant effect on the environment, as defined, or to
adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project
will not have that effect. CEQA requires a lead agency to
call a scoping meeting for a project of statewide,
regional, or area-wide significance, and requires the lead
agency to provide notice of at least one of those scoping
meetings to specified entities, including a county or city
that borders on a county or city within which the project
is located, unless otherwise designated annually by
agreement between the lead agency and county or city.
Comments
Purpose of the bill . According to the author's office, "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 CEQA scoping process. This should also improve the
planning and environmental review process so comments and
responses can occur at the same meeting."
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 CEQA's 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
environmental impact report (EIR).
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
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program to ensure compliance with those measures.
If a mitigation measure causes one or more significant
effects in addition to those that is 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.
Improving agency involvement in CEQA process . According to
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."
This bill revises CEQA's 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.
Related legislation . This bill is similar to SB 1464
(Simitian), 2009-10 Session, which was approved by the
Senate Environmental Quality Committee (7-0) on April 20,
2010 , the Senate Floor (consent, 35-0) on April 26, 2010,
the Assembly Natural Resources Committee (7-0) on June 22,
2010, and the Assembly Floor (consent, 76-0) on July 1,
2010. The bill was then withdrawn from enrollment for
purposes of adding double-jointing amendments and was held
at the Assembly Desk.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
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DLW:do 4/12/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: NONE RECEIVED
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