CEQA

SB 674 (Corbett) – Support
As Amended January 6, 2014

SB 674, by Senator Ellen Corbett, passed out of the Assembly Local Government Committee this week. SB 674 bill would make a simple change to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) infill exemption. In 2002, SB 1925 (Sher) created a number of new provisions to encourage the development of affordable housing for agricultural workers, as well as infill projects in urbanized areas. Included in these provisions was the infill exemption for housing projects that meet certain size and location criteria, as well as relying on a specified level of previously adopted environmental review. The approved criteria also allowed for the inclusion of a limited amount of neighborhood-serving goods, services and retail uses up to 15% of the total floor area. This bill would simply increase the current maximum total floor area from 15% to 25% maximum of the total building square footage. Counties have been unable to use this tool in the past because the criteria are too stringent to be realistically implemented. This bill would help counties take advantage of this tool, making the exemption more feasible for smart growth projects.

Groundwater

AB 793 (Gray) – Request for Comments
As Amended June 26, 2014

AB 793 is a gut and amend that was introduced this week. This bill would establish the San Joaquin Valley Groundwater Conservancy and would prescribe the management, powers, and duties of the conservancy with the goal of protecting, conserving and restoring the region’s underground aquifers and surface water resources. The conservancy would consist of 15 voting members, including one member for each of the eight counties which make up the San Joaquin Valley, who shall be a member of the Board of Supervisors. The duties of the conservancy would be to carry out projects and activities that further the goal of reducing the risk of groundwater overdraft, protecting and improving water quality, assisting the regional economy, undertaking efforts to enhance sustainable groundwater management. 

Medical Marijuana 

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

SB 1262, by Senator Lou Correa, passed out of the Assembly Public Safety Committee this week. This bill would impose new requirements on doctors who issue medical marijuana recommendations and would also establish licensing requirements on all marijuana dispensing facilities and cultivations sites. Significant amendments melding this bill with Ammiano’s AB 1894 were taken in Committee this week. CSAC is reviewing these amendments, but continues to have concerns with new requirements imposed on counties, including enforcement obligations. 

Solid Waste

SB 498 (Lara) – Support
As Proposed to be Amended

SB 498, by Senator Ricardo Lara, is the CSAC/ LA County co-sponsored measure on conversion technology. The bill passed out of the Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee this week. CSAC, LA County and the author’s office have been working with the Administration on amendments that will require biomass facilities, both combustion and non-combustion, to report to Cal Recycle information on what feedstock they are accepting and information regarding who supplies various materials. The bill has been referred to the Appropriations Committee. 

AB 1826 (Chesbro) – Support if Amended
As Proposed to be Amended

AB 1826, by Assembly Member Wes Chesbro, passed out of the Senate Environmental Quality Committee this week. This bill would establish a commercial organics recycling program in California. CSAC has been working extensively with the author, Administration and stakeholders in developing this legislation, ensuring that is workable for local governments. Specifically, this bill would require large generators of organic waste to arrange for recycling services. The bill also requires local governments to develop an organics program, providing outreach and education to effected entities. CSAC has been actively involved in negotiations on the bill over the last 6 months and currently have a support- if- amended position on the bill. The latest draft includes a rural exemption for jurisdictions within a rural county, defined as a county with a population of 70,000 & under. This is the most substantive change; however, we are in the process of negotiating several smaller, finer points. 

AB 1594 (Williams) – Neutral
As Amended June 12, 2014

AB 1594, by Assembly Member Das Williams, passed out of the Senate Environmental Quality Committee this week. This bill would eliminate the solid waste diversion credit for green waste used as Alternative Daily Cover (ADC) at a solid waste landfill. ADC is the cover material other than earthen material placed on the surface of the active face of a solid waste landfill at the end of each operating day to control vectors, fires, odors, blowing litter, and scavenging. Cal Recycle has approved a list of acceptable ADC materials, which includes green material, such as lawn and tree trimmings. Currently, jurisdictions receive solid waste diversion credit for the use of green material as ADC. This bill would eliminate the solid waste diversion credit for the use of green waste as ADC at landfills by 2020. While CSAC has traditionally opposed bills that remove diversion credit for ADC, we recognize that counties will not need this tool to reach their 50% diversion in 2020. CSAC had a concerns position with the bill based the $1.40 fee disposal fee that would be imposed on ADC after 2020. An exemption from this fee has since been included in the bill. In addition, the author is accepting amendments that would allow jurisdictions (mostly cities) that would fall below 50% without ADC diversion credit to be able to receive an extension and create a plan to meet their 50% diversion requirements. Based on these amendments, CSAC removed our concerns position from the bill. 

Energy

AB 2145 (Bradford) – Oppose
As Amended June 12, 2014

AB 2145, by Assembly Member Bradford, passed out of the Senate Energy Committee this week with amendments. As you may recall, this bill would make changes to the process for how community choice aggregator’s (CCA) form. Amendments taken in Committee remove the most egregious components of the bill, including the “opt-in” requirement and the limitation of a CCA to a single county. As we have not seen any amendments in print, CSAC continues to maintain an oppose position on the bill. 

AB 2188 (Muratsuchi) – Oppose
As Proposed to be Amended 

AB 2188, by Assembly Member Al Muratsuchi, passed out of the Senate Governance and Finance Committee this week with amendments. The author accepted conceptual amendments from the Committee that would remove the five day inspection requirement. CSAC has not seen a copy of amendments and we continue to have concerns with a number of components of the bill. Specifically, the bill would require cities and counties to adopt an ordinance to create an expedited permitting process for rooftop solar that would include a checklist of all requirements in which small rooftop solar energy systems must comply. All applications that meet the requirements in the checklist shall be permitted in an “over-the-counter” manner. 

CSAC, along with RCRC and UCC and the League of Cities, is opposing this bill. AB 2188 would create an unfunded mandate and jeopardize city and county building department’s ability to thoroughly review plans to ensure that they do not pose a safety risk to permittees. The bill has been referred to the Senate Governance & Finance Committee.