California Environmental Quality Act: projects funded by qualified opportunity zone funds or other public funds.

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. CEQA establishes a procedure by which a person may seek judicial review of the decision of the lead agency made pursuant to CEQA. This bill would, until January 1, 2025, establish specified procedures for the administrative and judicial review of the environmental review and approvals granted for projects located in specified counties that are funded, in whole or in part, by specified public funds or public agencies and that meet certain requirements. Because a public agency would be required to comply with those new procedures, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the Judicial Council, by March 31, 2021, to adopt rules of court applicable to an action or proceeding brought to attack, review, set aside, void, or annul the certification or adoption of an environmental review document or the granting of project approvals, including any appeals therefrom, to be resolved, to the extent feasible, within 270 days of the filing of the certified record of proceedings with the court to an action or proceeding seeking judicial review of the lead agency's action related to those projects. The bill would require a party seeking to file an action or proceeding pursuant to CEQA to provide the lead agency and the real party in interest a notice of intent to sue within 10 days of the posting of a certain notice and would prohibit a court from accepting the filing of an action or proceeding from a party that fails to provide the notice of intent to sue. The bill would also require a qualified opportunity fund that finances, in whole or in part, a qualified project to provide, to the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development and upon initial application for a qualified project and every 6 months thereafter, specified information regarding the fund and the qualified opportunity zone in which the project is located. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Counties of Fresno, Madera, Merced, Monterey, San Benito, and Stanislaus. 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.