On May 14, Governor Newsom unveiled the May Revisions to his proposed budget. As part of that presentation, he acknowledged and thanked Assembly Member Wicks and Senator Wiener for their efforts to undertake significant California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) reform in AB 609 (Wicks) and SB 607 (Wiener). RCRC supports AB 609, which creates a clear statutory CEQA exemption for infill housing and is co-sponsoring SB 607 (Wiener) with Prosperity California, Housing Action Coalition, and the Bay Area Council. SB 607 makes much broader and transformative changes to CEQA to reduce the risk of litigation abuse, focus environmental reviews, and reduce the scope of the administrative record.
The Governor noted that our biggest impediment to realizing these essential reforms is ourselves and said these bills will be included in a budget trailer bill.
In particular, SB 607:
- Exempts from CEQA rezonings that are consistent with an approved housing element.
- Replaces the “fair argument standard” for negative declarations and mitigated negative declarations with the substantial evidence standard.
- Narrows the scope of CEQA review for projects that would otherwise be categorically or statutorily exempt but for a single condition, in which case the initial study or EIR is only required to examine the effects caused by that single condition.
- Expands the Class 32 infill exemption to unincorporated areas.
- Requires the state to establish objective and measurable safe harbors that lead agencies may elect to use when making habitat, traffic, noise, air quality, water quality, utility service determinations under to the Class 32 categorical exemption.
- Narrows the universe of written materials that are part of the CEQA administrative record by excluding communications of persons tangential or removed from project decision-making.
SB 607 will next be heard in the Senate Appropriations Committee, chaired by Senator Anna Caballero, and on which Senators Christopher Cabaldon and Megan Dahle sit.
RCRC’s letters on AB 609 and SB 607 can be found here. An updated local government coalition letter on SB 607 can be found here. For additional information, contact RCRC Senior Policy Advocate, John Kennedy.