Bill Text: CA AB2940 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: California Environmental Quality Act: environmental leadership development projects: transmission projects.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-03-18 - Referred to Coms. on NAT. RES. and JUD. [AB2940 Detail]
Download: California-2023-AB2940-Introduced.html
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Bill
No. 2940
| Introduced by Assembly Member Muratsuchi |
February 15, 2024 |
An act to amend Section 21180 of the Public Resources Code, relating to environmental quality.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2940, as introduced, Muratsuchi.
California Environmental Quality Act: environmental leadership development projects: transmission projects.
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 2021 (the act) authorizes the
Governor, until January 1, 2032, to certify environmental leadership development projects that meet specified requirements for certain streamlining benefits related to CEQA. The act requires the lead agency for an environmental leadership development project certified by the Governor to prepare the record of proceedings under CEQA concurrently with the administrative process.
This bill would make transmission projects that bring new renewable energy generation onto the grid to be environmental leadership development projects for purposes of the act. Because the lead agency for those transmission projects would be required 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.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: YESBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 21180 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:21180.
For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply:(a) “Applicant” means a public or private entity or its affiliates, or a person or entity that undertakes a public works project, that proposes a project and its successors, heirs, and assignees.
(b) “Environmental leadership development project,” “leadership project,” or “project” means a project as described in Section 21065 that is one of the following:
(1) A residential, retail, commercial, sports, cultural, entertainment, or recreational use project that is certified as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) gold or better by the United States Green Building Council and, where
applicable, that achieves a 15-percent greater standard for transportation efficiency than for comparable projects. These projects must be located on an infill site. For a project that is within a metropolitan planning organization for which a sustainable communities strategy or alternative planning strategy is in effect, the infill project shall be consistent with the general use designation, density, building intensity, and applicable policies specified for the project area in either a sustainable communities strategy or an alternative planning strategy, for which the State Air Resources Board has accepted a metropolitan planning organization’s determination, under subparagraph (H) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 65080 of the Government Code, that the sustainable communities strategy or the alternative planning strategy would, if implemented, achieve the greenhouse gas emission reduction targets.
(2) A clean renewable energy
project that generates electricity exclusively through wind or solar, but not including waste incineration or conversion.
(3) A clean energy manufacturing project that manufactures products, equipment, or components used for renewable energy generation, energy efficiency, or for the production of clean alternative fuel vehicles.
(4) (A) A housing development project that meets all of the following conditions:
(i) The housing development project is located on an infill site.
(ii) For a housing development project that is located within a metropolitan planning organization for which a sustainable communities strategy or alternative planning strategy is in effect, the project is consistent with the general use designation, density,
building intensity, and applicable policies specified for the project area in either a sustainable communities strategy or an alternative planning strategy, for which the State Air Resources Board has accepted a metropolitan planning organization’s determination, under subparagraph (H) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 65080 of the Government Code, that the sustainable communities strategy or the alternative planning strategy would, if implemented, achieve the greenhouse gas emission reduction targets.
(iii) Notwithstanding paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 21183, the housing development project will result in a minimum investment of fifteen million dollars ($15,000,000), but less than one hundred million dollars ($100,000,000), in California upon completion of construction.
(iv) (I) Except as provided in subclause (II), at least 15
percent of the housing development project is dedicated as housing that is affordable to lower income households, as defined in Section 50079.5 of the Health and Safety Code. Upon completion of a housing development project that is qualified under this paragraph and is certified by the Governor, the lead agency or applicant of the project shall notify the Office of Planning and Research of the number of housing units and affordable housing units established by the project.
(II) Notwithstanding subclause (I), if a local agency has adopted an inclusionary zoning ordinance that establishes a minimum percentage for affordable housing within the jurisdiction in which the housing development project is located that is higher than 15 percent, the percentage specified in the inclusionary zoning ordinance shall be the threshold for affordable housing.
(v) (I) Except
for use as a residential hotel, as defined in Section 50519 of the Health and Safety Code, no part of the housing development project shall be used for a rental unit for a term shorter than 30 days, or designated for hotel, motel, bed and breakfast inn, or other transient lodging use.
(II) No part of the housing development project shall be used for manufacturing or industrial uses.
(B) For purposes of this paragraph, “housing development project” means a project for any of the following:
(i) Residential units only.
(ii) Mixed-use developments consisting of residential and nonresidential uses with at least two-thirds of the square footage designated for residential use.
(iii) Transitional
housing or supportive housing.
(5) A transmission project that brings new renewable energy generation onto the grid.
(c) “Infill site” has the same meaning as set forth in Section 21061.3.
(d) “Transportation efficiency” means the number of vehicle trips by employees, visitors, or customers of the residential, retail, commercial, sports, cultural, entertainment, or recreational use project divided by the total number of employees, visitors, and customers.
