Environment: California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA): exemption: High Desert Health System Multi-Service Ambulatory Care Center.

(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 effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect 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 effect on the environment. CEQA exempts specified projects from its requirements. This bill would exempt from the requirements of CEQA activities or approvals of the initial construction of the High Desert Health System Multi-Service Ambulatory Care Center project, as defined. The bill would repeal this exemption on January 1, 2015. Because a lead agency would be required to determine whether this exemption applies, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the High Desert Health System Multi-Service Ambulatory Care Center project. (3) 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. (4) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.