AB 6

Bill Subjects

Abstract

Existing law requires certain transportation planning agencies to prepare and adopt regional transportation plans directed at achieving a coordinated and balanced regional transportation system. Existing law requires that each regional transportation plan include a sustainable communities strategy prepared by each metropolitan planning organization in order to, among other things, achieve certain regional targets established by the State Air Resources Board for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles and light trucks in the region for 2020 and 2035, respectively. Existing law requires the state board to update the regional targets every 8 years until 2050. Existing law requires a metropolitan planning organization, before adopting a sustainable communities strategy, to quantify the reduction in the emissions of greenhouse gases projected to be achieved by the sustainable communities strategy and set forth the difference, if any, between the amount of that reduction and the regional targets. This bill would require the state board to update the regional targets indefinitely, rather than only until 2050, and authorize the state board to update the years to which those targets apply, as specified. The bill would additionally require a metropolitan planning organization, before adopting amendments to a regional transportation plan that could impact a sustainable communities strategy, to quantify the reduction in the emissions of greenhouse gases projected to be achieved by those amendments and set forth the difference, if any, between the amount of that reduction and the regional targets established by the state board. Existing law requires that each sustainable communities strategy, among other things, set forth a forecasted development pattern for the region that will reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases from automobiles and light trucks to achieve the regional targets established by the state board. This bill would additionally require the forecasted development pattern to maintain those emission reductions through the 20-year or longer life of the regional transportation plan, including any amendments to the regional transportation plan. The bill would require each sustainable communities strategy to identify and analyze connectivity areas, permeability, and natural landscape areas within the region, to consider wildlife passage features, and to avoid, minimize, and mitigate impacts and barriers to wildlife movement to the maximum extent feasible. Existing law requires a metropolitan planning organization to prepare an alternative planning strategy if the sustainable communities strategy is unable to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases to achieve the greenhouse gas emission reduction targets established by the state board, as specified. This bill would instead require a metropolitan planning organization to prepare an alternative planning strategy if the sustainable communities strategy is unable to meet the above-described requirement and unable to maintain those emission reductions through the 20-year or longer life of the regional transportation plan, as specified. This bill would prohibit any environmental review of a project conducted for purposes of the California Environmental Quality Act from relying on a certified environmental impact report prepared for a regional transportation plan if the regional transportation plan does not include a sustainable communities strategy determined by the state board to achieve the region's greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets. Existing law requires a metropolitan planning organization, after adopting a sustainable communities strategy or alternative planning strategy, as applicable, to submit the strategy to the state board for review, and limits that review to acceptance or rejection of the metropolitan planning organization's determination that the strategy would, if implemented, achieve the region's greenhouse gas emission reduction targets. This bill would expand the state board's authority to review a sustainable communities strategy or alternative planning strategy, as applicable, by eliminating the restriction that limits the review to acceptance or rejection of the above-described determination. The bill would authorize the state board to reject that determination if it determines that the strategy is unlikely to be implemented. Existing law requires each transportation planning agency to adopt and submit, every 4 years, an updated regional transportation plan to the California Transportation Commission and the Department of Transportation. This bill would require amendments to a regional transportation plan to be submitted to the state board, and require that those amendments quantify the reductions of emissions of greenhouse gases the regional transportation plan would achieve as a result of those amendments and describe the technical methodology used to obtain that result. The bill would authorize the state board to review those amendments. To the extent this bill would impose new requirements on a transportation planning agency or metropolitan planning organization, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. 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, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.