SB 1097 California Senate · 2025-2026 Regular Session

California Environmental Quality Act: electrical distribution: exemptions.

Summary

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 (EIR) on a project that the lead agency 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. This bill would exempt from CEQA projects that consist of the inspection, maintenance, repair, restoration, reconditioning, reconductoring with advanced conductors, replacement, or removal of an existing transmission wire or cable used to conduct electricity or other piece of equipment that is directly attached to the wire or cable and that meet certain requirements, including, among other things, that for a project that is not located on a sensitiva site, the project is undertaken entirely within an existing right-of-way. For projects that are located on a sensitive site, as defined, the bill would also require that the project not increase the footprint of the existing transmission line by more than 10%. In addition to those requirements, for projects that are located within a national park, a national monument, a national wilderness area, or a national recreation area, the bill would also require that the existing right-of-way that the project is undertaken within have a certified EIR, negative declaration, or mitigated negative declaration. For any of these above-described projects that are undertaken within a private right-of-way, the bill would require the project applicant to obtain permission from each underlying property owner to access the property for the project and to enter into an agreement to restore the right-of-way to its condition before the commencement of the project. If a lead agency determines that a project is exempt from CEQA pursuant to the above-described provision, the bill would require the lead agency to file a notice of exemption with the Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation and the county clerk in each county in which the project is located, as provided. By increasing the duties of a lead agency, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. 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.

Issues: ✗ Environment

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2026

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Feb 13, 2026 Last action May 14, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

02/13/26 - Introduced → 03/25/26 - Amended Senate · 9 edits · Mar 25, 2026

MAJOR

The bill was transformed from a one-section placeholder expressing legislative intent to streamline energy permitting into a full CEQA reform bill that adds two new sections to the Public Resources Code. The most significant change is Section 21080.80, which replaces the 'fair argument' standard with a 'more likely than not' substantial evidence standard for determining whether an environmental impact report is required for solar, wind, energy storage, non-fossil thermal powerplants, and associated transmission lines. This makes it substantially harder to force full EIRs on clean energy projects and imposes a 270-day deadline on judicial challenges.

SCOPE

Added Section 21080.39 creating a CEQA exemption for inspection, maintenance, repair, restoration, reconditioning, reconductoring with advanced conductors, replacement, or removal of transmission wires/cables and directly attached equipment, provided the work is within an existing right-of-way and the applicant agrees in writing to restore the right-of-way.

Added Section 21080.80 establishing a modified CEQA approval process specifically for solar photovoltaic powerplants, terrestrial wind powerplants, energy storage systems, stationary non-fossil thermal powerplants, and overhead transmission lines connecting those facilities to the grid.

The original single-section intent bill (expressing intent to enact future legislation) was retained but moved to the end, and the bill now contains four substantive sections of operative law in addition to that intent statement.

REQUIREMENT

Replaced the 'fair argument' standard with a 'more likely than not' substantial evidence standard: an EIR is only required if the lead agency determines based on substantial evidence that it is more likely than not the project will have a significant environmental effect. Public controversy alone cannot trigger an EIR requirement.

DEFINITION

Defined 'substantial evidence' to include fact, reasonable assumptions predicated on fact, and expert opinion supported by fact, while explicitly excluding argument, speculation, unsubstantiated opinion, clearly inaccurate evidence, and social or economic impacts not caused by physical environmental impacts.

ELIGIBILITY

Established an extensive list of excluded locations where the modified process does not apply, including state parks, wilderness areas, marine protected areas, national parks, wetlands (within 300 feet), prime farmland, very high fire hazard severity zones, conservation easements, coastal environmentally sensitive areas, and hazardous waste sites (with narrow exceptions).

TIMELINE

Imposed a 270-day deadline for resolution of any judicial action or proceeding brought to attack, review, set aside, void, or annul the adoption of a negative declaration or project approval under this section, including appeals to the court of appeal or Supreme Court.

ENFORCEMENT

Provided that if a court sets aside a project condition that was necessary to avoid significant environmental effects, the lead agency's approval is invalid and a new environmental review must be conducted, unless the lead agency substitutes an equivalent or more effective condition after a public hearing.

FISCAL

Changed fiscal committee designation from 'no' to 'yes' and state-mandated local program from 'no' to 'yes', reflecting that the new duties imposed on lead agencies constitute a state-mandated local program. Added a no-reimbursement provision based on local authority to levy service charges.

03/25/26 - Amended Senate → 04/23/26 - Amended Senate · 6 edits · Apr 23, 2026

MODERATE

The April 23 amendment substantially restructures the CEQA exemption for transmission wire and cable work (Section 21080.39), replacing a simple two-part test with a tiered system based on site sensitivity. Projects on sensitive sites now face a 10 percent footprint limit, and projects in national parks, monuments, wilderness areas, or recreation areas must be within a right-of-way that already has a certified environmental document. The bill also removes a legislative intent section about future streamlining legislation and changes its fiscal committee and state-mandated local program designations to 'yes.'

SCOPE

The CEQA exemption for transmission wire and cable work (Section 21080.39) was restructured from a flat two-requirement test into a tiered system. Projects not on sensitive sites only need to be within an existing right-of-way. Projects on sensitive sites must also not increase the footprint by more than 10 percent. Projects in national parks, monuments, wilderness areas, or recreation areas must additionally be within a right-of-way that has a certified EIR, negative declaration, or mitigated negative declaration.

The former Section 1 expressing legislative intent to enact subsequent legislation to streamline permitting of energy generation, storage, and transmission projects was removed entirely. The bill's subject was also reframed from 'relating to energy' to 'relating to environmental quality.'

DEFINITION

A new definition of 'sensitive site' was added to Section 21080.39, covering state parks, wilderness areas, national parks, national monuments, national recreation areas, national wilderness areas, habitat for protected species (candidate, sensitive, special status, fully protected, or federally/state endangered), and lands with conservation easements (unless the project is consistent with the easement terms).

REQUIREMENT

For projects within a private right-of-way, the requirement was changed from permission from 'the underlying property owner' to permission from 'each underlying property owner,' clarifying that all affected owners must consent.

FISCAL

The fiscal committee designation changed from 'no' to 'yes' and the state-mandated local program designation changed from 'no' to 'yes,' indicating the bill now imposes costs on local agencies that trigger fiscal analysis and potential reimbursement obligations.

TECHNICAL

The exemption now applies to work on 'an existing transmission wire or cable' rather than just 'a transmission wire or cable,' narrowing the scope to pre-existing infrastructure only.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

May 14, 2026

Upper · Passed

May 14 hearing: Held in committee and under submission.

upper

Apr 23, 2026

Upper · Passed

Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

upper

Apr 22, 2026

Upper · Passed

From committee: Do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 17. Noes 0. Page 3973.) (April 21).

upper

Apr 15, 2026

Upper · Passed

From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on E., U & C. (Ayes 5. Noes 0. Page 3900.) (April 15). Re-referred to Com. on E., U & C.

upper

Apr 8, 2026

Committee

Re-referred to Coms. on E.Q. and E., U & C.

upper

Mar 25, 2026

Upper · Passed

From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on RLS.

upper

Feb 26, 2026

Committee

Referred to Com. on RLS.

upper

Feb 13, 2026

Introduced

Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.

upper

1 primary · 1 co-sponsor