Bill Text: CA AB246 | 2017-2018 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Environmental quality: Jobs and Economic Improvement Through Environmental Leadership Act of 2011.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Passed) 2017-10-06 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 522, Statutes of 2017. [AB246 Detail]

Download: California-2017-AB246-Amended.html

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Amended  IN  Senate  September 06, 2017

Amended  IN  Senate  July 12, 2017

Amended  IN  Senate  June 21, 2017

Amended  IN  Assembly  March 09, 2017

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2017–2018 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 246

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Introduced by Assembly Members Santiago, Cristina Garcia, Gomez, and Reyes Members Santiago and Eggman

January 30, 2017

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An act to add Section 25158.2 to the Health and Safety Code, relating to hazardous waste. amend Sections 21181, 21189.1, and 21189.3 of the Public Resources Code, relating to environmental quality.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 246, as amended, Santiago. Department of Toxic Substances Control: hazardous waste: facilities: emissions monitoring. Environmental quality: Jobs and Economic Improvement Through Environmental Leadership Act of 2011.

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.

The Jobs and Economic Improvement Through Environmental Leadership Act of 2011 authorizes the Governor, until January 1, 2018, to certify projects that meet certain requirements, including the requirement that the project create high-wage, highly skilled jobs that pay prevailing wages and living wages, for streamlining benefits provided by that act. The act provides that if a lead agency fails to approve a project certified by the Governor before January 1, 2019, the certification expires and is no longer valid. The act requires a lead agency to prepare the record of proceedings for the certified project concurrent with the preparation of the environmental documents. The act is repealed by its own terms on January 1, 2019.

This bill would extend the authority of the Governor to certify a project to January 1, 2020. The bill would provide that the certification expires and is no longer valid if the lead agency fails to approve a certified project before January 1, 2021. The bill would repeal the act on January 1, 2021. Because the bill would extend the obligation of the lead agency to prepare concurrently the record of proceedings, this 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.

Existing law, as part of the hazardous waste control laws, requires a facility handling hazardous waste to obtain a hazardous waste facilities permit from the Department of Toxic Substances Control. Existing law requires the department to impose certain conditions on each hazardous waste facilities permit and authorizes the department to impose other conditions on a hazardous waste facilities permit, as specified. A violation of the hazardous waste control laws, including a regulation adopted pursuant to those laws, is a crime.

Existing law generally assigns to air pollution control and air quality management districts the primary responsibility for the control of air pollution from all sources other than vehicular sources.

This bill would require the department to assess, in consultation with the relevant air pollution control district or air quality management district, hazardous waste facilities under its jurisdiction within the respective territory of each air district to determine if fence-line or other monitoring to measure and record emissions at those facilities is necessary or appropriate. To the extent this requirement would impose additional duties on air districts, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the department, based on its findings upon completion of the assessment, to adopt regulations, on or before September 1, 2018, for fence-line monitoring at hazardous waste facilities. Because a violation of those regulations would be a crime, 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, with regard to certain mandates, no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Digest Key

Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: YES  

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Bill Text

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

 Section 21181 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:

21181.

 This chapter does not apply to a project if the Governor does not certify the project as an environmental leadership development project eligible for streamlining pursuant to this chapter prior to January 1, 2018. 2020.

SEC. 2.

 Section 21189.1 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:

21189.1.

 If, prior to January 1, 2019, 2021, a lead agency fails to approve a project certified by the Governor pursuant to this chapter, then the certification expires and is no longer valid.

SEC. 3.

 Section 21189.3 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:

21189.3.

 This chapter shall remain in effect until January 1, 2019, 2021, and as of that date is repealed unless a later enacted statute extends or repeals that date.

SEC. 4.

 No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because a local agency or school district has the authority to levy service charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program or level of service mandated by this act, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code.

SECTION 1.Section 25158.2 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read:

25158.2.

(a)The department shall assess, in consultation with the relevant air pollution control district or air quality management district, hazardous waste facilities under its jurisdiction within the respective territory of each air district to determine if fence-line monitoring to measure and record emissions along the border of the facility or other monitoring to measure and record emissions at the facility is necessary or appropriate.

(b)Upon completion of the assessment, the department shall, based on its findings, adopt regulations, on or before September 1, 2018, for fence-line monitoring at hazardous waste facilities.

SEC. 2.

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because a local agency or school district has the authority to levy service charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program or level of service mandated by this act or because costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.

However, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains other costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.