Bill Text: CA AB2091 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Introduced

California Assembly Bill 2091 (Prior Session Legislation)

CA State Legislature page for AB2091

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

Bill Title: California Environmental Quality Act: exemption: public access: nonmotorized recreation.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2024-09-22 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 377, Statutes of 2024. [AB2091 Detail]

Download: California-2023-AB2091-Introduced.html

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 2091

Introduced by Assembly Member Grayson

February 05, 2024

An act to amend Section 21080.28 of the Public Resources Code, relating to environmental quality.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 2091, as introduced, Grayson. California Environmental Quality Act: exemption: acquisition, sale, or transfer of interest in land: agricultural road use changed to public trail purposes.

The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of an environmental impact report on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve 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. CEQA 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 from its requirement the acquisition, sale, or other transfer of interest in land by a public agency for certain purposes.

This bill would additionally exempt from CEQA the acquisition, sale, or other transfer of interest in land by a public agency for the purpose of changing the use of roads from agricultural to public trail purposes.

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NO

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

Section 21080.28 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:

21080.28.

(a) This division does not apply to either of the following:

(1) The acquisition, sale, or other transfer of interest in land by a public agency for any of the following purposes:

(A) Preservation of natural conditions existing at the time of transfer, including plant and animal habitats.

(B) Restoration of natural conditions, including plant and animal habitats.

(D) Prevention of encroachment of development into flood plains.

(E) Preservation of historical resources.

(F) Preservation of open space or lands for park purposes.

(G) Changing the use of roads from agricultural to public trail purposes.

(2) The granting or acceptance of funding by a public agency for purposes of paragraph (1).

(b) Subdivision (a) applies even if physical changes to the environment or changes in the use of the land are a reasonably foreseeable consequence of the acquisition, sale, or other transfer of the interests in land, or of the granting or acceptance of funding, provided that environmental review otherwise required by this division occurs before any project approval that would authorize physical changes being made to that land.

(c) If the lead agency determines that an activity is not subject to this division pursuant to this section and the lead agency determines to approve or carry out the activity, the lead agency shall file a notice with the Office of Planning and Research and with the county clerk in the county in which the land is located in the manner specified in subdivisions (b) and (c) of Section 21152.