Transportation: permits.

Existing law establishes the Department of Transportation and the California Transportation Commission and provides that the department has full possession and control of all state highways and all property and rights in property acquired for state highway purposes and authorizes and directs the department to lay out and construct all state highways between the termini designated by law and on the locations as determined by the commission. Existing law, on or before April 1, 2018, requires the Secretary of Transportation, in consultation with the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency, to establish a Transportation Permitting Taskforce consisting of the Secretary of Transportation, the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency, and the Chair of the California Transportation Commission, or their designees, and representatives of specified entities. Existing law requires the taskforce to develop a process for early engagement of all parties in the development of transportation projects to reduce permit processing time, establish reasonable deadlines for permit approvals, and provide for greater certainty of permit approval requirements. Existing law requires the Secretary of Transportation, on or before December 1, 2019, to prepare and submit to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature a report of findings based on the efforts of the taskforce, as specified. This bill would require the Department of Fish and Wildlife, the State Water Resources Control Board, and the California Coastal Commission, upon receipt of a completed request from the Department of Transportation for a permit for a project, to complete its review of the request no later than two years after receipt. If a resource agency does not complete the review of the request for a permit within this timeframe, the bill would provide that the permit is deemed approved for purposes of the project.