California Air Resources Board

Would have removed references to non-federally recognized tribes and tribal organizations in the Government-to-Government Consultation Act, as well as introduced a new definition for “California tribe" that includes all Native American tribes on the contact list maintained by the California Native American Heritage Commission. The bill would have also required State agencies to consult with a tribe upon request and within 60 days, instead of just encouraging consultation. The consult would have been required to include communication that meets the needs of diverse cultures and education levels, and state agencies would have had to make multiple attempts to engage with tribes in different formats. Amended to deal with the Tribal Housing Grant Program Trust Fund.

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Would have expanded the definition of tribal cultural resources under the California Environmental Quality Act and required lead agencies to adopt mitigation measures when a project may cause a substantial harm to a tribal cultural resource. Lead agencies would have been required to explain their decision with substantial evidence when not using mitigation measures identified by the consulting tribe for tribal cultural resources. Held on suspense in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

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Would have expanded the California Environmental Quality Act’s definition of "environment" and "significant effect on the environment" to include impacts on people. The bill would have also required the lead agency preparing the Environmental Impact Report to include a detailed statement on any significant effects that may result from locating the proposed project near, or attracting people to, existing or likely natural hazards or harmful environments.

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Would have required, under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the creation of an environmental impact report, negative declaration, mitigated negative declaration for any project that substantially expands or intensifies industrial activity if the project is half a mile or closer to an overburdened community. The bill would have also required, by July 1, 2027, specified CEQA notices to be translated into all languages spoken by 5% or more of the local agency jurisdiction’s population. The bill also would have set new requirements for additional notices, in-hearing translation, hearing locations, and hearing times (5pm-9pm only). The bill would have prohibited a small inaccuracy in the translation of a document from being a reason for undoing a public agency decision. Held on suspense in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

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Would have authorized a local or State law enforcement agency to buy and install an incinerator for destroying seized controlled substances, as provided. The bill would have required the local or State law enforcement agency to follow specified federal regulations and to notify CARB and the local air district of the project, as specified. The bill would have exempted a project to buy and install an incinerator that complies with these requirements from the California Environmental Quality Act. Amended to deal with guidance for management and disposal of controlled substances in the possession of law enforcement.

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Permanently exempts active transportation plans, pedestrian plans, and bicycle transportation plans for the restriping of streets and highways, bicycle parking and storage, and signal timing to improve street and highway intersection operations from CEQA. This bill expands the project types applicable for the CEQA exemption of certain transportation-related projects and extends the exemption from January 1, 2030, to January 1, 2040. The bill extends and expands other CEQA exemptions for public projects related to transit and requires certain CEQA-exempt projects that exceed a specified dollar amount to meet certain criteria.

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Requires that a housing development project within a specified distance of a transit-oriented development (TOD) stop, be an allowed use as a transit-oriented housing development on any site zoned for residential, mixed, or commercial development, if the development complies with applicable requirements. Among these requirements, the bill requires a project to include at least 5 dwelling units and establish requirements concerning height limits, density, and residential floor area ratio in accordance with a development’s proximity to specified tiers of TOD stops. The bill provides that a local government that denies a project meeting the requirements of these provisions located in a high-resource area, as defined, would be presumed in violation of the Housing Accountability Act and immediately liable for penalties, beginning on January 1, 2027. These provisions do not apply to a local agency until July 1, 2026, or within unincorporated areas of counties until the 7th regional housing needs allocation cycle. The bill specifies that a development proposed pursuant to these provisions is eligible for streamlined, ministerial approval pursuant to specified law, except that the bill exempts a project under these provisions from specified requirements and specifies that the project is required to comply with certain affordability requirements, under that law.

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Would have authorized a project to satisfy the CEQA mitigation requirements for transportation impacts by contributing an amount of money per vehicle mile traveled, as determined by the Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation (LCI), to the Transit-Oriented Development Implementation Fund for the purposes of the Transit-Oriented Development Implementation Program. The bill would have required LCI, on or before July 1, 2029, and at least once every 3 years thereafter, to update the price per vehicle mile traveled based on specified factors. The bill also would have required, upon appropriation by the Legislature, the contributions to be available to the department to fund developments located in the same region with preference given to specified projects. Was not heard in the Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee.

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Authorizes up to 35 projects per year that are exclusively for noncommercial wildfire fuels reduction in timberland, less than 1,500 acres in size, and paid for in part or in whole with public funds, to prepare a timber harvesting plan as an alternative to complying with CEQA. The provision expires on January 1, 2031. Was not heard in the Senate Committee of Natural Resources and Water Committee.

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Would have required, on or before July 1, 2027, the Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation (LUCI) to consult with regional, local, State, and federal agencies to develop a technical advisory on thresholds of significance for greenhouse gas and noise pollution effects on the environment to assist local agencies. The technical advisory would have provided suggested thresholds of significance for all areas of the State, as specified, and would have provided that lead agencies may elect to adopt the suggested thresholds of significance. Held on suspense in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

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