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. This bill would exempt from the provisions of CEQA a project, or the issuance of a permit for a project, that consists of the inspection, maintenance, repair, rehabilitation, replacement, or removal of, or the addition of an auxiliary lane or bikeway to, existing transportation infrastructure and that meets certain requirements. The bill would require the public agency carrying out the project to take certain actions.
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Existing provisions of the California Constitution require the Legislature to provide for primary elections for partisan offices, including an open presidential primary election whereby the candidates on the ballot are those found by the Secretary of State to be recognized candidates throughout the nation or throughout California for the office of President of the United States, and those whose names are placed on the ballot by petition, but excluding any candidate who has withdrawn by filing an affidavit of noncandidacy. Existing statutory provisions proscribe the procedures for specified political parties to select delegates to the party's national convention, at which the party chooses its candidate for the office of President of the United States. For a partisan primary election, existing law requires one form of ballot to be provided for each qualified political party and one form of nonpartisan ballot to be provided, as specified. Existing law requires a voter who is not registered as disclosing a preference for any one of the political parties participating in the election to be furnished with a nonpartisan ballot, unless he or she requests a ballot of a political party and that party authorizes a person who has declined to disclose a party preference to vote the ballot of the party, as specified. This measure would urge the Secretary of State to exercise his or her authority to establish a new advisory voting process that would allow specified voters to cast an advisory ballot in the presidential primary election, as specified. This measure would encourage each political party that participates in the presidential primary election to consider the results of the advisory ballots in selecting the party's nominee for the office of President of the United States.
(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 establishes a procedure by which a person may seek judicial review of the decision of the lead agency made pursuant to CEQA and a procedure for the preparation and certification of the record of proceedings upon the filing of an action or proceeding challenging a lead agency's action on the grounds of noncompliance with CEQA. The Water Quality, Supply, and Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2014 (Proposition 1) , approved by the voters at the November 4, 2014, statewide general election, authorizes the issuance of bonds pursuant to the State General Obligation Bond Law to finance a water quality, supply, and infrastructure improvement program. This bill would require a lead agency, in certifying the environmental impact report and in granting approvals for certain water storage projects funded, in whole or in part, by Proposition 1, to comply with specified procedures. Because a public agency would be required to comply with those new procedures, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would authorize the lead agency to concurrently prepare the record of proceedings for the project. The bill would require the Judicial Council, on or before July 1, 2017, to adopt a rule of court to establish procedures applicable to actions or proceedings seeking judicial review of a lead agency's action in certifying the environmental impact report and in granting approval for those projects that require the actions or proceedings, including any appeals therefrom, be resolved, to the extent feasible, within 370 days of the certification of the record of proceedings. The bill would prohibit a court from staying or enjoining those projects unless it makes specified findings. (2) 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 measure would recognize the Lunar New Year Celebration.
This measure would proclaim January 13, 2016, as Korean American Day.
Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission to prepare an integrated energy policy report every 2 years. This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to that provision.
Existing law establishes the Monterey County Water Resources Agency as a flood control and water agency within the County of Monterey. Existing law authorizes the agency to prevent the contamination or pollution of surface or subsurface water used or useful in the agency. This bill would appropriate $1,000,000 from the General Fund to the Monterey County Water Resources Agency, for use in the Salinas River, to assist in the removal of excess vegetation and trash, increase efficiency of instream flow using sediment and vegetation management strategies, and support the development and implementation of long-term management policies. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Salinas River System. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law, the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, requires all groundwater basins designated as high- or medium-priority basins by the Department of Water Resources that are designated as basins subject to critical conditions of overdraft to be managed under a groundwater sustainability plan or coordinated groundwater sustainability plans by January 31, 2020, and requires all other groundwater basins designated as high- or medium-priority basins to be managed under a groundwater sustainability plan or coordinated groundwater sustainability plans by January 31, 2022, except as specified. The act authorizes a local agency or combination of local agencies overlying a groundwater basin to decide to become a groundwater sustainability agency for that basin. This bill would make a nonsubstantive change to those provisions.
Existing law, the Song-Brown Health Care Workforce Training Act, declares the intent of the Legislature to increase the number of students and residents receiving quality education and training in specified primary care specialties and as primary care physician's assistants, primary care nurse practitioners, and registered nurses. This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to those provisions.
The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law allow various credits against the taxes imposed by those laws. This bill would declare the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would allow an income tax credit under those laws designed to stimulate capital investment in modernizing California farms, and would encourage investment in energy efficient technology, or in equipment and facilities for farm animal housing, feeding, ventilation, or comfort and well-being.