BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 972
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Date of Hearing: June 18, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
Wesley Chesbro, Chair
SB 972 (Simitian) - As Amended: April 9, 2012
SENATE VOTE : 29-0
SUBJECT : California Environmental Quality Act: scoping meeting
and notice of completion
SUMMARY : Makes minor technical changes to existing notification
procedures for scoping meetings and environmental impact reports
(EIR) under CEQA.
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 EIR
for this action, unless the project is exempt from CEQA
2)Requires a lead agency to call at least one scoping meeting
for a proposed project of statewide, regional, or area-wide
significance. Notice of at least one scoping meeting must be
provided to specified agencies, as well as any organization or
individual who has filed a written request for notice.
3)Requires an agency to mail specified notices to any person who
has filed a written request for notices with either the
governing body clerk or the agency director. The agency may
require requests for notices to be annually renewed and may
charge a fee for providing the service. Notices to be
provided include the notice of preparation (NOP) of an EIR,
scoping meeting notice, and a notice of determination (NOD).
4)Requires a copy of a notice of completion of an EIR (NOC) to
be provided by the State Clearinghouse to any legislator in
whose district the project has an environmental impact if the
legislator requests the notice and the State Clearinghouse has
received it.
THIS BILL :
1) Requires a scoping meeting notice to also be provided to a
SB 972
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public agency that has filed a written request for the
notice.
2) Requires an NOC to also be mailed to any person who has filed
a written request for notices.
3) Replaces the legislator NOC notice requirement with a
requirement that both the NOC and NOP be provided by the
State Clearinghouse to a legislator upon request.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.
COMMENTS :
Purpose of the bill . Under current law, a person may file a
written request with an agency to receive certain CEQA notices.
However, this provision does not reference the NOC. Current law
also enables a legislator to receive an NOC for a project in
their district that has an environmental impact, but there is no
reference to the NOP.
According to the author:
SB 972 ensures that a person requesting CEQA notices from
public agencies also receives NOCs, along with other
notices required under current law and enables legislators
to be aware of proposed projects in their district early in
the CEQA process - when there is an NOP for an EIR, rather
than later when the NOC is filed.
SB 972 responds to concerns relating to late comments on
environmental documents by increasing notice requirements
to the public and public agencies, thereby encouraging
earlier comments on environmental documents under CEQA.
The author is continuing to meet with various groups to
further address late comment concerns.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None on file
SB 972
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Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Lawrence Lingbloom / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092