AB 1749: California Environmental Quality Act: City of Porterville.

Existing law, the California Environmental Quality Act, 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. 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. The act exempts from its requirements projects consisting of the construction or expansion of recycled water pipeline and directly related infrastructure within existing rights of way, and directly related groundwater replenishment, if the project does not affect wetlands or sensitive habitat, and where the construction impacts are fully mitigated, and undertaken for the purpose of mitigating drought conditions for which a state of emergency was proclaimed by the Governor on a certain date. The act provides that this exemption remains operative until the state of emergency has expired or until January 1, 2017, whichever occurs first.

This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the City of Porterville.

This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.