CEQA

SB 1451 (Hill) – Request for Comments
As proposed to be Amended

SB 1451, by Senator Jerry Hill, seeks to address the “document dump” issue in the CEQA process. Last minute comments on a draft EIR delay a public agency’s ability to consider and respond to the comments, and creates additional costly delays for public agencies. Currently, negative declarations and EIRs must be circulated for public review and comment for a specified period before going to an agency’s governing body for approval. Under current law, however, would-be petitioners do not have to raise their arguments during the public comment period in order to preserve them for review in court—comments can be raised at any time up until the agency takes final action at the hearing on the project. This has resulted in members of the public submitting lengthy comments at the project hearing, forcing lengthy delays in the process in order to appropriately review and respond to those comments. 

SB 1451 would require comments to be presented during the public comment period on the draft environmental document, unless the comments could not have been presented during the public comment period. Importantly, under the proposal, any comments that could not have been presented during the public comment period may be presented after the public comment period and prior to the close of the public hearing on the project. This change is meant to prevent commenters from raising issues on the day of the hearing that could have been brought earlier in the process. This bill is substantially similar to the CSAC, RCRC & UCC requested amendments to SB 731 (Steinberg) proposed last year as part of the CEQA Reform discussions. This bill has not yet been set for hearing and language is not yet in print.

Medical Marijuana

AB 1894 (Ammiano) – Pending
As Amended April 1, 2014

AB 1894, by Assembly Member Tom Ammiano, would establish a statewide system for regulating and controlling commercial medical cannabis activities. It would establish within the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control a Division of Medical Cannabis Regulation and Enforcement that would be required to enact and enforce regulations governing the cultivation, processing, manufacturing, testing, transportation, distribution, and sale of commercial medical cannabis. 

AB 1894 specifies that its provisions would not prevent a city or county from adopting or enforcing local ordinances that ban or regulate the location, operation, or establishment of a mandatory commercial registrant; from establishing a reasonable fee for the operation of a mandatory commercial registrant within its jurisdiction; or from enacting other laws consistent with AB 1894.

AB 1894 would also authorize cities and counties to increase, or extend transactions and use taxes on the retail sale of or storage, use, or other consumption of, medical marijuana or medical marijuana-infused products for general and specified purposes at a combined rate, not to exceed 5%.

This bill is currently awaiting a hearing before the Assembly Public Safety Committee.

SB 1262 (Correa) – Pending
As Proposed to be Amended

SB 1262, by Senator Lou Correa and co-sponsored by the League of California Cities and the California Police Chiefs Association, would establish a statewide licensing framework for medical marijuana dispensing facilities and cultivation sites that provide, process, and grow marijuana for medical use. The State Department of Public Health would be responsible for issuing the licenses, developing criteria and certifying labs for marijuana testing, developing quality assurance standards, and the crafting of regulations for enforcement of the Sherman Food, Drug and Cosmetic Law as it applies to edible marijuana products.

• The proposed amendments would impose the following enforcement duties on counties:
• Requires county agricultural commissioners to issue operator IDs for cultivation activity as required by Title 3, California Code of Regulations, Section 6622 (c); enforce compliance with the prohibition against non-organic pesticides; and, enforce compliance with cultivation standards consistent with quality assurance standards at all cultivation sites, including on-site cultivation at dispensaries. It would authorize the commissioners to levy inspection fees to cover the cost of this enforcement responsibility. 
• Requires county health departments to enforce compliance with regulatory provisions of the Sherman Food, Drug and Cosmetic Law as they apply to edible marijuana products.
• Requires local law enforcement shall enforce compliance with the bill’s proposed regulations for licensed facilities and compliance with the bill’s proposed security requirements for licensed facilities. The bill would authorize local law enforcement to levy inspection fees to cover the cost of this enforcement responsibility.

The proposed amendments include language that would protect the ability of cities and counties to adopt and enforce local ordinances that regulate the location, operation, or establishment of a medical marijuana cooperative or collective. Cities and counties would be able to enact other laws consistent with the provisions of the bill.

SB 1262 would also establish various requirements for physicians and surgeons that recommend medical marijuana and the proposed amendments include secondary smoke provisions.

This measure is scheduled to be heard before the Senate Business, Professions and Economic Development Committee on Monday, April 21. The author is planning to present the February 21st version of the bill as the proposed amendments are still being vetted.

Cap and Trade

AB 1970 (Gordon) – Support
As Introduced February 19, 2014

AB 1970, by Assembly Member Rich Gordon, would create the Community Investment and Innovation Program which will provide cap and trade funding, upon appropriation of the Legislature to local governments in the form of competitive grants and other financial assistance to develop and implement greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction projects. CSAC along with our local government partners are supporting Assembly Member Gordon in his efforts to develop a funding category for local GHG projects. This bill is substantially similar to last year’s AB 416. AB 1970 builds off the current, but expiring, local planning grants administered by the Strategic Growth Council (SGS). SGC used funds from Proposition 84 to award competitive grants to local governments for planning activities associated with reducing GHGs, such as climate action plans. AB 1970 would create the next, natural phase of these grants intended to fund GHG project implementation at the local level. CSAC is organizing a coalition of supporters for AB 1970. This bill will be heard on April 7th in the Assembly Natural Resources Policy Committee.