On Wednesday, June 1st, two RCRC-sponsored bills passed the Senate Environmental Quality Committee.   

Assembly Bill 1154, authored by Assembly Member Jim Patterson (R-Fresno), creates a narrow California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) exemption for fire safety egress route projects stemming from recommendations made by the Board of Forestry (BOF).  It seeks to expedite fire safety improvements for subdivisions that are at significant risk of fire and lack a secondary egress route. 

The Senate Environmental Quality Committee slightly amended the bill to require local government using the CEQA exemption to consult with the Department of Fish and Wildlife, and clarified that the size of the egress route must be tailored to the existing population of the subdivision.   

AB 1154 is intended to help reduce costs and potential project delays for these important egress route projects. 

The Committee also passed Assembly Bill 2481, authored by Assembly Member Thurston “Smitty” Smith (R-Hesperia), which seeks to reduce administrative and financial burdens on local governments that administer household hazardous waste collection facilities (HHWCFs); provide flexibility for operation of local HHWCFs; and facilitate proper disposal of hazardous waste.  RCRC has been working closely with the Department of Toxic Substances Control, local enforcement agencies, and local programs to develop common sense proposals to improve the existing hazardous waste management system. 

In other news, the Senate Energy, Utilities, and Communications Committee passed Assembly Bill 1078, authored by Assembly Member Jim Patterson (R-Fresno), which  exempts post-fire residential rebuilding of homes destroyed in 2020’s unprecedented fires from the recently-adopted California Energy Commission (CEC) solar energy installation mandates.   

All three bills head to the Senate Appropriations Committee next where their fiscal impact to the state will be analyzed.  RCRC’s letters of support can be found here: 

For additional information, please contact RCRC Policy Advocate, John Kennedy.