Bill Text: CA AB914 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Amended
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Electrical infrastructure: California Environmental Quality Act: review time period.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-2)
Status: (Engrossed) 2023-09-01 - In committee: Held under submission. [AB914 Detail]
Download: California-2023-AB914-Amended.html
An act relating to electricity. An act to amend Section 21100.2 of, and to add Sections 21080.59 and 21080.60 to, the Public Resources Code, relating to electricity.
NOYES
Local Program:
NOYES
SECTION 1.
Bill Title: Electrical infrastructure: California Environmental Quality Act: review time period.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-2)
Status: (Engrossed) 2023-09-01 - In committee: Held under submission. [AB914 Detail]
Download: California-2023-AB914-Amended.html
|
Amended
IN
Assembly
March 09, 2023 |
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Bill
No. 914
| Introduced by Assembly Member Friedman |
February 14, 2023 |
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 914, as amended, Friedman.
Electric distribution grid planning: building and transportation electrification. Electrical infrastructure: California Environmental Quality Act: exemptions: review time period.
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.
This bill would exempt from CEQA certain electrical infrastructure projects intended to provide capacity or enhance reliability to accommodate the increased electrical demand or forecasted electrical demand associated with transportation electrification, building electrification, distributed energy projects, including energy storage projects, or the interconnection of a renewable generation source.
This bill would exempt from CEQA the construction, upgrade, modification, or expansion of a facility to store, for later transmission or distribution, electricity previously generated by, and transmitted to, the facility and certain related facilities.
By requiring a lead agency to determine the applicability of the above-described exemptions to a project, this bill would impose a
state-mandated local program.
CEQA requires each state agency to establish, by resolution or order, time limits for completing the environmental review of a project where the state agency is the lead agency for the project, as specified.
This bill would require a state agency, acting as the lead agency, to complete its environmental review for an electrical infrastructure project and to approve or deny the project within 2 years of the submission of an application for the issuance of a lease, permit, license, certificate, or other entitlement for use for electrical infrastructure to the state agency. If the state agency fails to meet this time period, the bill would require the state agency to submit to the Legislature a report setting forth the reasons for why the review could not be completed within the time period and identifying potential impacts to the electrical system that could result from the delay.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission with regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations. Under existing law, it is the policy of the state that each electrical corporation operate its electric distribution grid in its service territory, including owning, controlling, operating, managing, maintaining, planning, engineering, designing, and constructing its own electrical distribution grid, and do so in a safe, reliable, efficient, and cost-effective manner. Existing law requires each electrical corporation to continue to make reasonable investments in its electric distribution grid, and requires that each electrical corporation continue to have a reasonable opportunity to fully recover those costs from its customers in a manner determined by the commission.
This bill would state the intent of the
Legislature to enact subsequent legislation to optimize electric distribution grid planning in support of building and transportation electrification.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee:Bill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 21080.59 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:21080.59.
This division does not apply to either of the following:(a) The expansion or upgrade of an existing electrical substation, or the expansion, upgrade, or modification of existing electrical line facilities designed for operation at a voltage of 200 kilovolts or greater, if the project is intended to provide capacity or enhance reliability to accommodate the increased electrical demand or forecasted electrical demand associated with transportation electrification, building electrification, distributed energy projects, including energy storage projects, or the interconnection of a renewable generation source.
(b) The construction of new electrical line facilities, or the expansion, upgrade, or
modification of electrical line facilities designed for operation at a voltage less than 200 kilovolts, if the project is intended to provide capacity or enhance reliability to accommodate the increased electrical demand or forecasted electrical demand associated with transportation electrification, building electrification, distributed energy projects, including energy storage projects, or the interconnection of a renewable generation source.
SEC. 2.
Section 21080.60 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:21080.60.
This division does not apply to either of the following:(a) The construction, upgrade, modification, or expansion of a facility to store, for later transmission or distribution, electricity previously generated by, and transmitted to, the facility.
(b) The construction of a substation, transmission line, or tie-line, for purposes of transforming or transmitting electricity to, or from, a storage facility described in subdivision (a).
SEC. 3.
Section 21100.2 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:21100.2.
(a) (1) For projects described in subdivision (c) of Section 21065, each state agency shall establish, by resolution or order, time limits that do not exceed the following:(A) One year for completing and certifying environmental impact reports.
(B) One hundred eighty days for completing and adopting negative declarations.
(2) The time limits specified in paragraph (1) shall apply only to those circumstances in which the state agency is the lead agency for a project. These resolutions or orders may establish different time limits for different types or classes of projects, but all limits shall be measured from
the date on which an application requesting approval of the project is received and accepted as complete by the state agency.
(3) No application for a project may be deemed incomplete for lack of a waiver of time periods prescribed in state regulations.
(4) The resolutions or orders required by this section may provide for a reasonable extension of the time period in the event that compelling circumstances justify additional time and the project applicant consents thereto. to the extension.
(b) (1) Notwithstanding any other
provision of this division, within two years from the date on which an application for the issuance of a lease, permit, license, certificate, or other entitlement for use for electrical infrastructure is submitted to a state agency that is a lead agency for the project, the state agency shall complete the review of the environmental impacts of the proposed project pursuant to this division, including the completion and certification of an environmental impact report or the completion or adoption of a negative declaration or mitigated negative declaration, and shall approve or deny the application.
(2) If the state agency fails to meet the time period set forth in paragraph (1), the state agency shall, in accordance with Section 9795 of the Government Code, submit to the Legislature a report setting forth the reasons why the review could
not be completed within the time period and identifying potential impacts to the electrical system that could result from the delay.
(3) The time period set forth in paragraph (1) is mandatory not directory.
(b)
(c) If a draft environmental impact report, environmental impact report, or focused environmental impact report is prepared under a contract to a state agency, the contract shall be executed within 45 days from the date on which the state agency sends a notice of preparation pursuant to Section 21080.4. The
state agency may take longer to execute the contract if the project applicant and the state agency mutually agree to an extension of the time limit provided by this subdivision.
(c)This section shall become operative January 1, 2018.
SEC. 4.
No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because a local agency or school district has the authority to levy service charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program or level of service mandated by this act, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code.It is the intent of the Legislature to enact subsequent legislation to optimize electric distribution grid planning in support of building and transportation electrification.
