California Environmental Quality Act: exemptions: environmental leadership transit projects.

Senator Wiener's transportation infrastructure bill extends and expands California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) exemptions for sustainable transit projects while establishing new environmental leadership standards. The legislation removes sunset dates for existing CEQA exemptions related to active transportation plans and adds new exemptions for transit operational changes, including route modifications and comprehensive analyses.

The bill extends exemptions until 2040 for qualifying transportation projects that use zero or near-zero emission vehicles, including infrastructure for charging and maintenance. Projects exceeding $100 million must complete racial equity analyses and business cases, hold public workshops, and use skilled labor. The Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation will adjust these thresholds biennially based on the Consumer Price Index starting in 2026.

For environmental leadership transit projects, the measure establishes a 365-day timeline for resolving legal challenges and requires projects to operate at zero emissions while achieving specified greenhouse gas reductions. These provisions apply to projects approved by January 2027 or with draft environmental impact reports circulated before January 2025, limited to the first seven qualifying projects. Local agencies must determine exemption eligibility and conduct public hearings before granting exemptions, with notices filed through the Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation.

The legislation maintains public engagement through mandatory hearings and workshops while streamlining approval processes for sustainable transportation infrastructure. Lead agencies retain authority to levy fees to implement the new requirements without state reimbursement.