Public resources.

(1) Existing law establishes the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development and sets forth its powers and duties, including, but not limited to, the administration of the California Health Facility Construction Loan Insurance Law for the purposes of insuring health facility construction loans. Existing law authorizes the office to make loans from the continuously appropriated Health Facility Construction Loan Insurance Fund to participating health facilities to finance or refinance the construction, improvement, or expansion of health facilities. Existing law requires that all debentures, as defined, issued under those provisions to any lender or bondholder be executed in the name of the fund as obligor, be signed by the Treasurer, and be negotiable. Existing law provides that in the event that the fund fails to pay the principal or interest on debentures issued, then the Treasurer is required to pay to the holders the amount entitled out of any money in the State Treasury not otherwise appropriated. This bill would make those funds continuously appropriated from the General Fund, thereby making an appropriation. The bill would also require issued debentures to bear interest equal to the insured loan or bond, as specified, and would require the Treasurer to take appropriate steps to provide that interest on debentures be exempt from federal taxation, if tax exempt. (2) 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 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. The Jobs and Economic Improvement Through Environmental Leadership Act of 2011 authorizes the Governor, until January 1, 2016, to certify projects meeting certain requirements for streamlining benefits provided by that act. The act provides that if a lead agency fails to approve a project certified by the Governor before January 1, 2016, then the certification expires and is no longer valid. The act requires a lead agency to prepare the record of proceedings for the certified project concurrent with the preparation of the environmental documents. This bill would provide that the certification expires and is no longer valid if the lead agency fails to approve a certified project before January 1, 2017. Because the bill would extend the obligation of the lead agency to prepare concurrently the record of proceedings, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (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 a bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill.