Environmental quality: California Environmental Quality Act: exemption: limited duration events.

(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 requires the Office of Planning and Research to prepare and the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency to certify and adopt guidelines for the implementation of CEQA and requires the guidelines to include a list of classes of projects which have been determined not to have a significant effect on the environment and exempts those classes of projects from the requirements of CEQA (categorical exemption) . This bill would authorize a lead agency to grant, on an annual basis, one categorical exemption per specified site for a fireworks display held annually on a public site or large venue. Because a lead agency would be prohibited from granting more than one specified categorical exemption per site for a fireworks display, this bill would increase the level of services provided by a local agency and thereby impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would authorize the office to identify potential environmental issues related to fireworks displays and to develop guidelines to assist local agencies regarding fireworks displays. (2) 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.