SB 195

Bill Subjects

Abstract

(1) The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of, an environmental impact report (EIR) on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant impact on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that impact. CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant impact on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant impact on the environment. This bill would provide that impacts, potential impacts, or cumulative impacts on the environment of a project that is subject to an environmental regulation are deemed to be insignificant for the purposes of CEQA unless a preponderance of evidence demonstrates that the specific impact, potential impact, or cumulative impact is significant after giving full effect to the environmental regulation. (2) CEQA requires a lead agency to prepare a negative declaration if there is no substantial evidence in the administrative record that a project would have a significant environmental impact or a mitigated negative declaration if the project's environmental impacts may be avoided through a revision of the project so that there is no substantial evidence in the administrative record that the revised project would have a significant environmental impact. CEQA requires the preparation of an EIR if there is substantial evidence in the administrative record that a project may have a significant environmental impact. This bill would instead require the lead agency to prepare a negative declaration or a mitigated negative declaration if there is a preponderance of the evidence in the record that a project or a revised project would not have a significant environmental impact. The bill would require the preparation of an EIR if the lead agency finds, in light of the whole record, that a project, based on a preponderance of the evidence, will have a significant environmental impact that could not be avoided through a revision of the project. Because the bill would require a lead agency to determine whether there is a preponderance of the evidence in the record that a project would not have a significant environmental impact, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (3) CEQA authorizes the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency to certify and adopt guidelines to include a list of classes of projects that have been determined not to have a significant effect on the environment and are exempted from the requirements of CEQA. This bill would provide that a project's greenhouse gas emissions are not, in and of themselves, deemed to cause the exemption to be inapplicable under specified conditions. (4) CEQA prohibits a person from bringing or maintaining an action or proceeding unless the alleged grounds for noncompliance with CEQA were presented to the public agency during the public comment period or before the close of the public hearing on the project before the issuance of the notice of determination. This bill would authorize, with specified exceptions, a lead agency to not consider written materials submitted after the close of the public comment period and would prohibit the use of those materials as a basis for challenging the lead agency's action pursuant to CEQA. (5) CEQA requires the Office of Planning and Research to prepare and develop, and the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency to certify and adopt, guidelines for the implementation of CEQA that include criteria for public agencies to follow in determining whether or not a proposed project may have a "significant effect on the environment." CEQA defines "significant effect on the environment" to include, among other things, effects on the environment that are "cumulatively considerable." CEQA defines "cumulatively considerable" to mean incremental effects of an individual project that are considerable when viewed in connection with the effects of past projects, other current projects, and probable future projects. This bill would revise the definition of "cumulatively considerable" to delete reference to the effects of "probable future projects" and instead include the effects of "reasonably foreseeable future projects," which are projects that have been proposed or approved 90 days before the issuance of an EIR or 30 days prior to the circulation of a negative declaration or a mitigated negative declaration. (6) Existing law authorizes the court, upon the motion of a party, to award attorney's fees to a prevailing party in an action that has resulted in the enforcement of an important right affecting the public interest if 3 conditions are met. The bill would require the court to additionally consider specified factors in awarding the attorney's fees. (7) Existing law authorizes the court until January 1, 2016, to impose a sanction of up to $10,000 for the filing of a frivolous claim in an action brought pursuant to CEQA. This bill would increase the maximum amount of a sanction for such a filing to $20,000. (8) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.