California Senate Bill SB584 Latest Draft

 BILL NUMBER: SB 584AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 20, 2015 INTRODUCED BY Senator Nguyen FEBRUARY 26, 2015 An act to  amend   add  Section  21061   21080.06  of the Public Resources Code, relating to the environment. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 584, as amended, Nguyen. California Environmental Quality  Act.   Act: exemption.  The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared by contract, and certify the completion of, an environmental impact report, as defined, on a project that may have a significant effect on the environment, or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect.  The act also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment. CEQA exempts specified projects from its provisions.  This bill would  make technical, nonsubstantive changes to the definition of "environmental impact report."   exempt from the requirements of CEQA a project for the resurfacing of a city or county park, as specified.  Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:  SECTION 1.   Section 21080.06 is added to the   Public Resources Code   , to read:   21080.06. This division does not apply to a project for the resurfacing of a city or county park. For purposes of this section, "resurfacing" means changing the surface of a field while retaining the original purpose of the park as a recreational facility, including, but not limited to, changing a grass field to a baseball field or an artificial turf field.   SECTION 1.   Section 21061 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read: 21061. (a) "Environmental impact report" means a detailed statement setting forth the matters specified in Sections 21100 and 21100.1. The information or data that is relevant to the statement and is a matter of public record, or is generally available to the public need not be repeated in its entirety in the statement, but may be specifically cited as the source for conclusions stated in the statement. The information or data shall be briefly described in the statement. The relationship between the information or data to the environmental impact report shall be indicated in the statement. The source of the information and data shall be reasonably available for inspection at a public place or public building. An environmental impact report also includes any comments that are obtained pursuant to Section 21104 or 21153, or that are required to be obtained pursuant to this division. (b) An environmental impact report is an informational document that, when its preparation is required by this division, shall be considered by every public agency before its approval or disapproval of a project. The purpose of an environmental impact report is to provide public agencies and the public in general with detailed information about the effect that a proposed project is likely to have on the environment, to list ways in which the significant effects of the proposed project might be minimized, and to indicate alternatives to the proposed project. (c) In order to facilitate the use of environmental impact reports, public agencies shall require that the reports contain an index or table of contents and a summary. Failure to include the index, table of contents, or summary shall not constitute a cause of action pursuant to Section 21167.