Bill Text: CA SB995 | 2019-2020 | Regular Session | Amended
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Environmental quality: Jobs and Economic Improvement Through Environmental Leadership Act of 2011: housing projects.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 12-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2020-08-31 - In Senate. Concurrence in Assembly amendments pending. [SB995 Detail]
Download: California-2019-SB995-Amended.html
Section 21181 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:
Section 21189.1 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:
Section 21189.3 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:
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.
Bill Title: Environmental quality: Jobs and Economic Improvement Through Environmental Leadership Act of 2011: housing projects.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 12-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2020-08-31 - In Senate. Concurrence in Assembly amendments pending. [SB995 Detail]
Download: California-2019-SB995-Amended.html
|
Amended
IN
Senate
May 19, 2020 |
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION
Senate Bill
No. 995
| Introduced by |
February 12, 2020 |
An act to amend Sections 21180, 21181, 21183, 21189.1, and 21189.3 of of, and to add Section 21157.8 to, the Public Resources Code, relating to environmental quality.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 995, as amended, Atkins.
Environmental quality: Jobs and Economic Improvement Through Environmental Leadership Act of 2011. 2011: housing 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 (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.
CEQA authorizes the preparation of a master EIR and authorizes the use of the master EIR to limit the environmental review of subsequent projects that are described in the master EIR, as specified.
This bill would require a lead agency to prepare a master EIR for a general plan, plan amendment, plan element, or specified plan for housing projects where the state has provided funding for the preparation of the master EIR.
The Jobs and Economic Improvement Through Environmental Leadership Act of 2011 authorizes the Governor, until January 1, 2020, to certify projects that meet certain requirements for streamlining benefits provided by that act related to compliance with CEQA and streamlining of judicial review of action taken by a public agency. The act provides
that if a lead agency fails to approve a project certified by the Governor before January 1, 2021, 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, 2021.
This bill would additionally include housing projects meeting certain conditions as projects eligible for certification. The bill would extend the authority of the Governor to certify a project to January 1, 2024. 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, 2025. The bill would instead repeal the act on January 1, 2025. 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.
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 21157.8 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:21157.8.
(a) To streamline and expedite environmental review for housing projects, a lead agency shall prepare a master environmental impact report for a general plan, plan amendment, plan element, or specific plan for housing projects where the state has provided funding for the preparation of the master environmental impact report.(b) The preparation and certification of a master environmental impact report, if prepared and certified consistent with this division, shall allow for the limited review of subsequent housing projects that are described in the master environmental impact report as being within the scope of the master environmental impact report, if the use of the master environmental impact report for subsequent housing projects are
consistent with Sections 21157.1 and 21157.6.
(c) A negative declaration or mitigated negative declaration shall be prepared for a subsequent housing project if both of the following occur:
(1) An initial study has identified potentially new or additional significant effects on the environment that were not analyzed in the master environmental impact report.
(2) Feasible mitigation measures or alternatives will be incorporated to revise the proposed subsequent project, before the negative declaration is released for public review, to avoid the effects or mitigate the effects to a point where clearly no significant effect on the environment will occur.
(d) If there is substantial evidence in light of the whole record before the lead agency that the
proposed subsequent housing project may have a significant effect on the environment and a mitigated negative declaration is not prepared, the lead agency shall prepare a focused environmental impact report pursuant to Section 21158.
SEC. 2.
Section 21180 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:21180.
For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings:(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 the following:
(1) A residential, retail, commercial, sports, cultural, entertainment, or recreational use project that is certified as 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, pursuant to subparagraph (H) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 65080 of the Government Code, has accepted a metropolitan planning organization’s determination 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 housing project that meets all of the following conditions:
(A) The project is located on an infill site.
(B) For a 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, pursuant to subparagraph (H) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 65080 of the Government Code, has accepted a metropolitan planning organization’s determination that the sustainable communities strategy or the alternative planning strategy would, if implemented, achieve the greenhouse gas emission reduction targets.
(C) Notwithstanding subdivision (a) of Section 21183, a project eligible pursuant to this subdivision will result in a minimum investment of fifteen million dollars ($15,000,000) in California upon completion of construction.
(D) At least 15 percent of the housing
project is for affordable housing.
(c) “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.
SECTION 1.SEC. 3.
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 before January 1, 2024.SEC. 4.
Section 21183 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:21183.
The Governor may certify a leadership project for streamlining pursuant to this chapter if all the following conditions are met:(a) The (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the project will result in a minimum investment of one hundred million dollars ($100,000,000) in California upon completion of construction.
(2) Paragraph (1) does not apply to a leadership project
described in paragraph (4) of subdivision (b) of Section 21180.
(b) (1) The project creates high-wage, highly skilled jobs that pay prevailing wages and living wages and provide construction jobs and permanent jobs for Californians, and helps reduce unemployment. For purposes of this subdivision, “jobs that pay prevailing wages” means that all construction workers employed in the execution of the project will receive at least the general prevailing rate of per diem wages for the type of work and geographic area, as determined by the Director of Industrial Relations pursuant to Sections 1773 and 1773.9 of the Labor Code. If the project is certified for streamlining, the project applicant shall include this requirement in all contracts for the performance of the work.
(2) (A) If the project is certified pursuant to
this chapter, contractors and subcontractors shall pay to all construction workers employed in the execution of the project at least the general prevailing rate of per diem wages.
(B) Except as provided in subparagraph (C), the obligation of the contractors and subcontractors to pay prevailing wages pursuant to subparagraph (A) may be enforced by the Labor Commissioner through the issuance of a civil wage and penalty assessment pursuant to Section 1741 of the Labor Code, which may be reviewed pursuant to Section 1742 of the Labor Code, within 18 months after the completion of the project, or by an underpaid worker through an administrative complaint or civil action. If a civil wage and penalty assessment is issued, the contractor, subcontractor, and surety on a bond or bonds issued to secure the payment of wages covered by the assessment shall be liable for liquidated damages pursuant to Section 1742.1 of the Labor Code.
(C) Subparagraph (B) does not apply if all contractors and subcontractors performing work on the project are subject to a project labor agreement that requires the payment of prevailing wages to all construction workers employed in the execution of the project and provides for enforcement of that obligation through an arbitration procedure. For purposes of this subparagraph, “project labor agreement” has the same meaning as set forth in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 2500 of the Public Contract Code.
(c) The project does not result in any net additional emission of greenhouse gases, including greenhouse gas emissions from employee transportation, as determined by the State Air Resources Board pursuant to Division 25.5 (commencing with Section 38500) of the Health and Safety Code.
(d) The project applicant
demonstrates compliance with the requirements of Chapters 12.8 (commencing with Section 42649) and 12.9 (commencing with Section 42649.8) of Part 3 of Division 30, as applicable.
(e) The project applicant has entered into a binding and enforceable agreement that all mitigation measures required pursuant to this division to certify the project under this chapter shall be conditions of approval of the project, and those conditions will be fully enforceable by the lead agency or another agency designated by the lead agency. In the case of environmental mitigation measures, the applicant agrees, as an ongoing obligation, that those measures will be monitored and enforced by the lead agency for the life of the obligation.
(f) The project applicant agrees to pay the costs of the Court of Appeal in hearing and deciding any case, including payment of the costs for the appointment of a
special master if deemed appropriate by the court, in a form and manner specified by the Judicial Council, as provided in the Rules of Court adopted by the Judicial Council pursuant to Section 21185.
(g) The project applicant agrees to pay the costs of preparing the record of proceedings for the project concurrent with review and consideration of the project pursuant to this division, in a form and manner specified by the lead agency for the project.
