Public resources: California Environmental Quality Act: exemptions: native fish and wildlife: Capitol Annex.

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. Existing law, until January 1, 2025, exempts from the requirements of CEQA projects that conserve, restore, protect, or enhance, and assist in the recovery of California native fish and wildlife and the habitat upon which they depend and projects that restore or provide habitat for California native fish and wildlife, as provided. Existing law requires the lead agency to obtain the concurrence of the Director of Fish and Wildlife for the exemption determination. Existing law requires the lead agency to file a notice of exemption within 48 hours of making a determination that a project is exempt from CEQA with the Office of Planning and Research and requires the Department of Fish and Wildlife to post the director's concurrence on its internet website. This bill would extend the above-described exemption from the requirements of CEQA by 5 years to instead be until January 1, 2030. By extending the duties of the lead agency in implementing the exemption, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law, known as the State Capitol Building Annex Act of 2016 (annex act) , authorizes the Joint Rules Committee to pursue the construction of a state capitol building annex or the restoration, rehabilitation, renovation, or reconstruction of the existing State Capitol Building Annex. Existing law states that it is the intent of the Legislature that all available cash sources, as described, be used to fund the projects authorized under a specified provision of the annex act. Existing law establishes the State Project Infrastructure Fund and continuously appropriates moneys in the fund for state projects and specified other purposes, including for transferring to the Operating Funds of the Assembly and Senate to be used for the capital outlay projects specified in the annex act, as specified. For works undertaken pursuant to the State Capitol Building Annex Act of 2016 or the State Office Building Act of 2018, existing law requires the environmental review under CEQA be conducted in a specified manner and requires an action or proceeding alleging that a public agency has approved or is undertaking those works in violation of CEQA to be subject to the Judicial Council rule of court requiring the action or proceeding, including any appeals, be resolved, to the extent feasible within 270 days of the certification of the record of proceedings. This bill would repeal those provisions related to environmental and judicial reviews of those works and would expressly provide that works performed under the State Capitol Building Annex Act of 2016 are exempt from CEQA. The bill would make conforming changes to the State Office Building Act of 2018. This bill would appropriate a total of $700,000,000 from the General Fund over 3 fiscal years, starting with the 2024–25 fiscal year, as specified, to fund the acquisition, design, construction, and equipping of projects authorized by the annex act and would require the amount appropriated for each fiscal year to be transferred to the State Project Infrastructure Fund, as provided. The bill would require the Director of Finance to augment the appropriated amounts in any fiscal year with a corresponding reduction in the subsequent fiscal year or years if needed to provide timely payments for those purposes and upon receipt of an amended transfer schedule provided by the Joint Rules Committee. The bill would require the Joint Rules Committee to confer with the Department of Finance and the Department of General Services or their designated representatives before submitting the amended transfer schedule. The bill would, upon the transfers of the appropriated amounts or the augmented amount specified in the amended transfer schedule, if any, require the Director of Finance to direct the Controller to transfer the entirety of the amount to the Operating Funds of the Assembly and Senate. The bill would, upon the transfer of $700,000,000 from the State Project Infrastructure Fund to the General Fund, as provided, require all remaining amounts in the State Project Infrastructure Fund be transferred to the Operating Funds of the Assembly and Senate for capital outlay projects specified in the annex act. This bill would declare the severability of its provisions. 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. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as a bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill.