California Environmental Quality Act: exemption: urban intermodal rail station project.

Section 21080.76(a)(8) had a duplicated clause about tribes 'traditionally and culturally affiliated with the geographic area' that appeared twice in the Amended Assembly version, along with an orphaned reference to '21084.3.' The Enrolled version removes the redundancy, leaving a single clear statement that the lead agency must consult with California Native American tribes traditionally and culturally affiliated with the project area as defined by the Native American Heritage Commission list.

Amendment history headers (dates of prior amendments), line numbers throughout the text, and the 'Introduced by Senator Cortese' attribution line were removed as part of standard enrollment formatting.

Passage dates (Senate August 18, 2026; Assembly August 13, 2026), the Secretary of the Senate and Chief Clerk of the Assembly signature lines, and the Governor's approval block were added as part of the final enrolled format.

The land requirement for the exemption was expanded. Previously the project footprint had to be in an 'existing public or publicly owned right-of-way.' Now it can be in a 'public right-of-way or on publicly owned property,' which broadens eligibility by including any publicly owned property, not just rights-of-way.

The timing for the air quality nonattainment determination was clarified. Previously it applied 'at the time the exemption is applied for.' Now it applies 'at the time the lead agency files the notice of exemption,' which is a more specific and administratively clear trigger point.

A new sentence was added to the tribal consultation requirement stating that the consultation 'does not need to include a consultation relating to the type of environmental review required.' This narrows the scope of what must be covered in tribal consultation, reducing a potential burden on lead agencies.

The statutory structure was reorganized from lettered subsections (a) through (k) with nested numbered items into a flat numbered list (1) through (12) under a single subsection (a). This is a formatting change that does not alter substantive requirements.

Assembly Member Kalra was added as a coauthor of the bill.

The bill was changed from a special statute exempting only the Diridon Station modernization program in San Jose to a general CEQA exemption available to any public urban intermodal rail station project within a long-urbanized area where high-capacity light, commuter, and intercity rail services converge. All Diridon-specific legislative findings and the special statute declaration were removed.

A new condition (paragraph 8) requires the lead agency to provide notice to and consult with California Native American tribes traditionally and culturally affiliated with the project area, per specific CEQA sections. The exemption is explicitly subject to this requirement, meaning even exempt projects must complete tribal consultation.

The timing for the air quality nonattainment test changed from 'at the time the exemption is applied for' to 'at the time the lead agency files the notice of exemption,' and the construction impact plan now requires the project to both adopt and implement the plan rather than merely adopt it.

A new subsection (b) requires the lead agency to file a notice of exemption with the Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation and the county clerk if it determines a project is exempt and decides to carry it out, using the same procedure as Section 21152.

A new sunset provision (subsection c) limits the exemption to projects for which a notice of exemption is filed before January 1, 2032. Projects that file before that date may still file additional notices after the deadline.

The rolling stock requirement was expanded to explicitly include zero-emission engines as an alternative to Tier 4 standards, with a specific citation to 40 CFR Section 1033.101. The right-of-way condition was broadened to include 'publicly owned property' in addition to existing public right-of-way.

A new general CEQA exemption was added for any public urban intermodal rail station project within a long-urbanized area in the statewide passenger rail network where high-capacity light, commuter, and intercity rail services converge. This extends the bill far beyond the single Diridon Station project.

The amendment to Section 533 of the Public Resources Code regarding vacancies on the State Park and Recreation Commission was removed entirely from the bill.

The new general exemption requires projects to meet 11 conditions including: primarily modernizing existing facilities, using Tier IV or cleaner rolling stock, not being in a serious/severe/extreme air quality nonattainment area, having majority footprint in existing public right-of-way, complying with historic preservation laws (including Section 106), adopting a natural resource management plan, complying with the California Endangered Species Act and Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act, and adopting a construction impact and mitigation plan.

New displacement and housing protections were added requiring projects to adopt a plan for fully addressing displacement in line with federal and state relocation laws, including replacing lost housing units through new market-rate and affordable housing, providing tenant education resources and access to legal counsel for relocated tenants, and requiring the local land use authority to adopt an affordable housing implementation plan.

New legislative findings were added establishing that urban intermodal rail stations are critical hubs, that existing stations require modernization due to growth in transit-oriented communities, and that station modernization promotes mode shift from private automobiles and reduces greenhouse gas emissions.

Added Section 21080.76 to the Public Resources Code exempting the Diridon Station modernization program in San Jose from CEQA, covering track, platform, station, public plaza or realm, roadway crossing and access improvements, and intermodal facilities and connections.

Fiscal committee review changed from 'no' to 'yes' and state-mandated local program designation changed from 'no' to 'yes,' reflecting the new CEQA exemption's impact on local agencies.

Added legislative findings (new Section 1) establishing that Diridon Station is a confluence of major rail and transit projects, that environmental review was already completed for major components including high-speed rail, and that the integrated program designs for all rail and transit needs at the station.

Added Section 3 providing the constitutional justification for a special (site-specific) statute under Article IV, Section 16 of the California Constitution, explaining why a general statute cannot be made applicable due to the need to integrate previously environmentally cleared high-speed rail tracks into the Diridon Station Program.

The original Section 533 amendment (State Park and Recreation Commission vacancy provision) was renumbered to Section 5 and had a minor nonsubstantive edit removing the word 'any' before 'a vacancy.'

Added Section 4 stating that no state reimbursement is required under Article XIII B because local agencies have authority to levy service charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the mandated program.