California Environmental Quality Act: notices and documents: electronic filing and posting.

(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 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, if an environmental impact report is required, the lead agency to mail a notice of determination to each responsible agency, the Office of Planning and Research, and public agencies with jurisdiction over natural resources affected by the project. CEQA requires the lead agency to provide notice to the public and to organizations and individuals who have requested notices that the lead agency is preparing an environmental impact report, negative declaration, or specified determination. CEQA requires notices for an environmental impact report to be posted in the office of the county clerk of each county in which the project is located. This bill would instead require the lead agency to mail or email those notices, and to post them on the lead agency's internet website. The bill would also require notices of an environmental impact report to be posted on the internet website of the county clerk of each county in which the project is located. Because this bill would impose additional duties on a lead agency and a county clerk, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) CEQA requires the lead agency to mail certain notices to persons who have filed a written request for notices. This bill would require the lead agency to post those notices on its internet website. Because this bill would impose additional duties on a lead agency, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (3) CEQA requires a lead agency to submit to the State Clearinghouse a sufficient number of copies, in either a hard-copy or electronic form, of a draft environmental impact report, proposed negative declaration, or proposed mitigated negative declaration for projects in which a state agency is the lead agency, a responsible agency, or a trustee agency; a state agency otherwise has jurisdiction with respect to the project; or the project is of sufficient statewide, regional, or areawide environmental significance. This bill would instead require a lead agency to submit to the State Clearinghouse, in an electronic form, the above-described environmental review documents for all projects and would require the lead agency to post those documents on its internet website. Because this bill would impose additional duties on a lead agency, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (4) CEQA requires the public review period for a draft environmental impact report to not be less than 30 days and to be at least 45 days if the draft environmental impact report is submitted to the State Clearinghouse. CEQA requires the public review period for a proposed negative declaration or proposed mitigated negative declaration to not be less than 20 days and to be at least 30 days if the proposed negative declaration or proposed mitigated negative declaration is submitted to the State Clearinghouse. This bill would instead require the public review period of at least 45 days if the draft environmental impact report is for a proposed project where a state agency is the lead agency, a responsible agency, or a trustee agency; a state agency otherwise has jurisdiction with respect to the project; or the proposed project is of sufficient statewide, regional, or areawide environmental significance. The bill would also instead require the public review period of at least 30 days if the proposed negative declaration or proposed mitigated negative declaration is for a proposed project where a state agency is the lead agency, a responsible agency, or a trustee agency; a state agency otherwise has jurisdiction with respect to the project; or the proposed project is of sufficient statewide, regional, or areawide environmental significance. (5) CEQA requires a state agency, if it approves or determines to carry out a project that is subject to CEQA, to file a notice of determination with the Office of Planning and Research. CEQA authorizes a state agency, if it determines that a project is not subject to CEQA, to file a notice of exemption with the Office of Planning and Research. CEQA requires a filed notice to be available for public inspection, and a list of these notices to be posted on a weekly basis and for 30 days in the Office of Planning and Research and retained for not less than 12 months. This bill would require the notice of determination or the notice of exemption to be filed electronically by the state agency. The bill would instead require the filed notice to be available for public inspection on the Office of Planning and Research's internet website for not less than 12 months. (6) CEQA requires a local agency, if it approves or determines to carry out a project that is subject to CEQA, to file a notice of determination with the county clerk of each county in which the project will be located. CEQA authorizes a local agency, if it determines that a project is not subject to CEQA, to file a notice of exemption with the county clerk of each county in which the project will be located. This bill would require the notice of determination or notice of exemption to be filed electronically by the local agency if that option is offered by the county clerk. Because this bill would impose additional duties on a lead agency, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (7) CEQA requires a public agency that has completed an environmental document to file a notice of completion with the Office of Planning and Research. This bill would require the public agency to file the notice using the Office of Planning and Research's online process. To the extent that this bill would impose additional duties on a public agency, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (8) 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.