Environmental and land use court.

(1) Existing law establishes a statewide system of courts with a superior court of one or more judges in each county. Existing law requires the presiding judge of each superior court to distribute the business of the court among the judges, and to prescribe the order of business, subject to the rules of the Judicial Council. This bill would, commencing July 1, 2014, require the Judicial Council to direct the creation of an environmental and land use division within 2 or more superior courts within each of the appellate districts of the state to process civil proceedings brought pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act or in specified subject areas, including air quality, biological resources, climate change, hazards and hazardous materials, land use planning, and water quality. The bill would require the Judicial Council, by rule of court, to identify statutes in those specified areas that would be within the jurisdiction of the environmental and land use court division. The bill would require the Judicial Council, by rule of court, to establish appropriate standards and protocols for the environmental and land use court division to accomplish the objectives of consistency, expediency, and expertise, including educational requirements and other qualifications for specialized judges assigned to the division. (2) Existing law authorizes the issuance of environmental license plates, as defined, for vehicles, upon application and upon payment of certain fees. Existing law requires all revenue derived from the fees for issuance, renewal, retention, duplication, and transfer of the plates to be deposited in the California Environmental License Plate Fund in the State Treasury. Existing law requires the Legislature to make an annual appropriation to the Judicial Council for the general operations of the trial courts based on the request of the Judicial Council, which is submitted to the Governor and the Legislature. This bill would increase the fees for the issuance, renewal, retention, duplication, and transfer of environmental license plates by $10. The bill would create the Environmental and Land Use Court Support Account within the California Environmental License Plate Fund. The bill would, notwithstanding the above-described provisions pertaining to the annual appropriation to the Judicial Council or any other law, authorize the Controller to transfer $10 of each fee collected for an environmental license plate on or after January 1, 2014, to the Environmental and Land Use Court Support Account for the exclusive use, upon appropriation by the Legislature, of the Judicial Council to supplement funding for the operation of the environmental and land use court division. The bill would also make conforming changes.