Environmental quality: public comments.

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 requires the lead agency to consider and respond to comments received on a draft EIR, proposed negative declaration, or proposed mitigated negative declaration that are received within the public review period. This bill would specify that the lead agency does not have a duty to consider, evaluate, or respond to comments received after the expiration of the public review period. The bill would provide these comments are not a part of the record of proceedings for the EIR, negative declaration, or mitigated negative declaration.