The Western Joshua Tree Conservation Act prohibits any person or public agency from importing into the state, exporting out of the state, or taking, possessing, purchasing, or selling within the state, a western Joshua tree or any part or product of the tree, except as specified. The act authorizes the Department of Fish and Wildlife to permit the taking of a western Joshua tree if specified conditions are met, including, but not limited to, that the permittee mitigates all impacts to, and taking of, the western Joshua tree through measures that are roughly proportional in extent to the authorized taking of the western Joshua tree. The act authorizes, in lieu of completing the mitigation measures, a permittee to elect to satisfy the mitigation obligation by paying fees pursuant to a specified fee schedule, as provided. This bill would authorize the department to permit the taking of a western Joshua tree without payment of fees or other mitigation upon demonstration to the department that the taking of a western Joshua tree is related to the maintenance, operation, or construction of a life-sustaining service connection to a single-family residence or multifamily residence, including distribution infrastructure, as specified. The bill would require the department to grant or deny that permit within 30 days of a request, or within 10 days of a request to address a threat to health or safety. The bill would allow the permittee 60 days to complete the taking authorized by that permit and the department may extend this 60-day period at its discretion.
Existing law requires the State Air Resources Board to adopt and implement motor vehicle emission standards, in-use performance standards, and motor vehicle fuel specifications for the control of air contaminants and sources of air pollution that the state board has found necessary, cost effective, and technologically feasible. The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 establishes the state board as the state agency responsible for monitoring and regulating sources emitting greenhouse gases and requires the state board to adopt rules and regulations to achieve the maximum technologically feasible and cost-effective greenhouse gas emission reductions from those sources. Pursuant to its authority, the state board has adopted the Advanced Clean Fleets Regulation, which imposes various requirements for transitioning local, state, and federal government fleets of medium- and heavy-duty trucks, other high-priority fleets of medium- and heavy-duty trucks, and drayage trucks to zero-emission vehicles. The Advanced Clean Fleets Regulation authorizes entities subject to the regulation to apply for exemptions from its requirements under certain circumstances. This bill would require the state board to establish the Advanced Clean Fleets Regulation Appeals Advisory Committee by an unspecified date for purposes of reviewing appeals of denied requests for exemptions from the requirements of the Advanced Clean Fleets Regulation. The bill would require the committee to include representatives of specified governmental and nongovernmental entities. The bill would require the committee to meet monthly and would require recordings of its meetings to be made publicly available on the state board's internet website. The bill would require the committee to consider, and make a recommendation on, an appeal of an exemption request denial no later than 60 days after the appeal is made. The bill would require specified information relating to the committee's consideration of an appeal to be made publicly available on the state board's internet website. The bill would require the state board to consider a recommendation of the committee at a public meeting no later than 60 days after the recommendation is made. This bill would exempt from the Advanced Clean Fleets Regulation or any similar regulation vehicles reasonably anticipated to respond to emergency situations, or that support those efforts. The bill would prohibit the state board from requiring a state or local government fleet owner to provide documentation showing an executed zero-emissions vehicle purchase agreement in order to count an internal combustion engine vehicle as a zero-emissions vehicle purchase for purposes of postponing a zero-emissions vehicle transition mandate in the Advanced Clean Fleets Regulation.
Existing law prohibits a person, a state or local governmental agency, or a public utility from substantially diverting or obstructing the natural flow of, or substantially changing or using any material from the bed, channel, or bank of, any river, stream, or lake, or depositing or disposing of debris, waste, or other material containing crumbled, flaked, or ground pavement where it may pass into any river, stream, or lake, unless prescribed requirements are met, including written notification to the Department of Fish and Wildlife regarding the activity. Existing law requires the department to determine whether the activity may substantially adversely affect an existing fish and wildlife resource and, if so, to provide a draft lake or streambed alteration agreement to the person, agency, or utility. Existing law prescribes various requirements for lake and streambed alteration agreements. Existing law also establishes various exemptions from these provisions. This bill would, until January 1, 2027, exempt from these provisions, subject to certain requirements, projects to repair or reconstruct a bridge 30 feet long or less or a culvert 70 feet long or less within the County of Sutter that has been damaged or destroyed as a result of fire, flood, storm, earthquake, land subsidence, gradual earth movement, or landslide, between January 1, 2022, and December 31, 2024, inclusive, except as specified. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the County of Sutter.
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, until January 1, 2030, exempts from its requirements active transportation plans, pedestrian plans, or bicycle transportation plans for the restriping of streets and highways, bicycle parking and storage, signal timing to improve street and highway intersection operations, and the related signage for bicycles, pedestrians, and vehicles. This bill would extend the operation of the above-mentioned exemption indefinitely. The bill would also exempt a transit comprehensive operational analysis, as defined, a transit route readjustment, or other transit agency route addition, elimination, or modification, from the requirements of CEQA. Because a lead agency would be required to determine whether a plan qualifies for this exemption, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. CEQA, until January 1, 2030, exempts from its requirements certain transportation-related projects, such as pedestrian and bicycle facilities, transit prioritization projects, public projects located on a site that is wholly within the boundaries of an urbanized area or urban cluster, as provided, for the institution or increase of bus rapid transit, bus, or light rail service, including the construction or rehabilitation of stations, terminals, or existing operations facilities, and public projects for the construction or maintenance of infrastructure of facilities to charge, refuel, or maintain zero-emission public transit buses, trains, or ferries, as provided. CEQA requires, except as provided, those exempted projects to be carried out by a local agency and meet certain requirements, including certain labor requirements. This bill would extend the operation of the above-mentioned exemption until January 1, 2040. The bill would exempt from the requirements of CEQA a public project for the protection and improvement of bus rapid transit, bus, or light rail service, including the protection, operation, and maintenance, public projects for the protection, improvement, institution, or increase of microtransit, paratransit, shuttle, and ferry, and for the protection, maintenance, construction, operation, or rehabilitation of stops that will be exclusively used by zero-emission, near-zero-emission, low oxide of nitrogen engine, compressed natural gas fuel, fuel cell, or hybrid powertrain vehicles, rail or cable cars, rolling stock, or vessels. The bill would, until January 1, 2032, exempt from the requirements of CEQA a public project for the protection, improvement, institution, or increase of microtransit, paratransit, shuttle, bus, ferry, bus rapid transit, or light rail service, including the protection, maintenance, construction, operation, or rehabilitation of stops, stations, terminals, or existing operations facilities, if used primarily by near-zero-emission, low oxide of nitrogen engine, compressed natural gas fuel, or hybrid powertrain vehicles, except as provided. The bill would exclude from this exemption certain public projects for the construction or rehabilitation of a ferry terminal, as provided, and, except as provided, public projects for transit services operated by a transportation network company, as defined. Because a lead agency would be required to determine whether a project qualifies for this exemption, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. CEQA exempts from its requirements a project that consists exclusively of a combination of any of the components of specified transportation-related projects. This bill would extend the operation of the above-mentioned exemption until January 1, 2040. The bill would, until January 1, 2040, exempt from the requirements of CEQA a project that combines any of those specified transportation-related projects and a housing development project that is either subject to a nondiscretionary approval or is exempt from CEQA, as provided. Because a lead agency would be required to determine whether a project qualifies for this exemption, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law exempts from the requirements of CEQA public projects for the institution or increase of passenger rail service, other than light rail service that is eligible for a specified exemption, including the construction or rehabilitation of stations, terminals, or existing operations facilities, which will be exclusively used by zero-emission trains. This bill would extend the operation of the above-mentioned exemption until January 1, 2040. The bill would exempt from the requirements of CEQA public projects for the improvement of passenger rail service, other than light rail service eligible for a specified exemption, including the maintenance of stations, terminals, or existing operations facilities, which will be exclusively used by zero-emission trains, public projects for the maintenance, construction, or rehabilitation of stations, terminals, or existing operations facilities which will be exclusively used by zero-emission certified Tier 4 or cleaner rolling stock or locomotives, as provided. The bill would exclude from this exemption public projects located in certain air basins for the maintenance, construction, or rehabilitation of stations, terminals, or existing operations facilities that will be used by certified Tier 4 or cleaner rolling stock or locomotives that are not zero-emission rolling stock or locomotives. Because a lead agency would be required to determine whether a project qualifies for this exemption, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law requires certain CEQA-exempt projects exceeding specified dollar amounts to meet certain criteria, as provided. This bill would instead require certain CEQA-exempt projects that are, based on the project engineer's cost estimate, anticipated to exceed a specified dollar amount, to meet certain criteria, as provided. The bill would require the Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation, beginning January 1, 2026, and every two years thereafter, to adjust these amounts to reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index, as provided, and publish the updated amounts on its internet website. The bill would authorize the Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation to implement, interpret, or make specific that provision without taking any regulatory action. This bill would declare that its provisions are severable. 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.
Existing law, the Mello-Roos Community Facilities Act of 1982, authorizes the legislative body of a local agency, as defined, to create a community facilities district to finance specified types of services within an area. Existing law prohibits a territory that is dedicated or restricted to agricultural, open-space, or conservation uses from being included within or annexed to a specified community facilities district without the landowner's consent. This bill would, notwithstanding those prohibitions, specify that for territory that is located within the regional shoreline of the County of San Mateo, the consent of a landowner is not required, if specified conditions are met. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the County of San Mateo.
(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 (EIR) 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, the Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act, requires, on or before July 1, 2025, the State Air Resources Board to develop and adopt regulations to require a reporting entity, defined to mean a corporation, partnership, limited liability company, or other business entity with total annual revenues in excess of $1 billion, as specified, to annually disclose to the emissions reporting organization, as defined, or the state board all of the reporting entity's scope 1 emissions, scope 2 emissions, and scope 3 emissions, as defined. Existing law requires the state board to adopt regulations that authorize it to seek administrative penalties for nonfiling, late filing, or other failure to meet the requirements of the act, as provided. This bill would exempt those regulations from CEQA. Existing law requires, on or before January 1, 2026, and biennially thereafter, a covered entity, defined to mean a corporation, partnership, limited liability company, or other business entity with total annual revenues in excess of $500,000,000, as specified, to prepare a climate-related financial risk report, as specified, and to make this report available to the public on its own internet website. Existing law requires the state board to adopt regulations that authorize it to seek administrative penalties from a covered entity that fails to make the report publicly available on its internet website or publishes an inadequate or insufficient report. This bill would exempt those regulations from CEQA. (2) This bill would appropriate from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund $1,000 to the State Air Resources Board for purposes of implementing the above-described provisions relating to climate corporate accountability and climate-related financial risk, as provided. (3) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as a bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill.
Existing law, the California Endangered Species Act, prohibits the taking of an endangered or threatened species, except in certain situations, including, if specified conditions are met, under a permit issued by the Department of Fish and Wildlife commonly known as an incidental take permit. Existing law also enumerates fully protected species and prohibits the take of fully protected species, except under limited circumstances. This bill would permit the department to authorize, under the California Endangered Species Act, the incidental take of specified fully protected species resulting from impacts attributable to a specified project on State Route 37, if certain conditions are met, including, among others, the conditions required for the issuance of an incidental take permit.
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 exempts from its requirements a change in use approved by a lead agency that is a park district or the Great Redwood Trail Agency to allow public access to preexisting paved and natural surface roads, preexisting trails, preexisting pathways, preexisting disturbed areas for vehicle parking, as specified, and rail lines converted by the Great Redwood Trail Agency into trails known as the Great Redwood Trail, in areas used exclusively for nonmotorized recreation, if certain conditions are met, including that the change in use is consistent with a plan adopted by the park district or the Great Redwood Trail Agency, as applicable, and does not involve a physical alteration of the affected area. Existing law requires, before making a determination to approve or carry out a change in use that is determined to be exempt from CEQA, the lead agency to, among other things, make a finding that the above-described criteria are met. Existing law requires the lead agency, if the lead agency determines that a change in use is not subject to CEQA pursuant to this exemption and determines to approve or carry out the activity, to file a notice with the State Clearinghouse in the Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation and with the county clerk of the county in which the land is located, as provided. This bill would extend the above exemption to a lead agency that is a county park agency. The bill would remove the condition that the change in use is consistent with a plan adopted by the park district or the Great Redwood Trail Agency, as applicable, and would instead require the lead agency, before making the exemption determination, to adopt a natural resource management plan, or equivalent document, that includes appropriate identification of resources and management strategies for the affected area, as specified. The bill would instead require, as a condition of this exemption, that the change in use only involves minimal physical alterations and minimal improvements to the affected area, as specified. The bill would require the lead agency to make an additional finding that there is sufficient funding to implement the natural resource management plan, or equivalent document, and would require the finding, as well as the finding that the above-described criteria are met, to be based on substantial evidence. The bill would provide that its provisions do not apply where it is reasonably foreseeable that the provision of public access within a park or open space area will have a significant or cumulatively considerable effect on the environment. By imposing duties on public agencies related to the exemption, this bill would create 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.
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 exempts from its requirements various projects, including, but not limited to, housing projects that meet certain requirements and activities and approvals related to certain prison facilities. This bill would exempt from the requirements of CEQA any activity or approval necessary for the completion of the Gypsum Canyon Veterans Cemetery in the County of Orange if specified conditions are met. To the extent that a local agency would be required to determine whether an activity or approval qualifies for this exemption, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would repeal this provision on January 1, 2030. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Gypsum Canyon Veterans Cemetery in the County of Orange. 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 an urgency statute.
The California Land Reuse and Revitalization Act of 2004 provides, among other things, that an innocent landowner, bona fide purchaser, or contiguous property owner, as defined, qualifies for immunity from liability from certain state statutory and common laws for pollution conditions caused by a release or threatened release of a hazardous material if specified conditions are met, including entering into an agreement for a specified site assessment and response plan. The act prohibits the Department of Toxic Substances Control, the State Water Resources Control Board, and a California regional water quality control board from requiring one of those persons to take a response action under certain state laws, except as specified. Existing law repeals the act on January 1, 2027. Existing law provides that a person who qualifies for immunity under the act before January 1, 2027, shall continue to have that immunity on and after January 1, 2027, if the person continues to be in compliance with the requirements of the former act. This bill would extend the repeal date of the act to January 1, 2037, and would provide that a person who qualifies for immunity under the act before January 1, 2037, shall continue to have that immunity on and after January 1, 2037, if the person continues to be in compliance with the requirements of the former act.
