Hazardous materials: California Land Reuse and Revitalization Act of 2004.

Ávila Farías, with Coauthor Wicks, advances an extension of California’s land reuse immunity framework for hazardous-material releases, setting a 2037 sunset and preserving immunity for those who qualified before that date so long as they remain in compliance with the act’s requirements. The measure treats immunity as continuing through the extended period and ties post-2037 eligibility to adherence to the act as read on December 31, 2036.

Core changes in operation include moving the chapter’s sunset from 2027 to January 1, 2037, with the possibility of extension only if a later statute is enacted before that date. Immunity continuity is extended: a person who qualified before January 1, 2037 shall continue to have immunity after that date if they remain in compliance with the requirements of former Chapter 6.82, including site assessments and response plans approved under Article 6 and compliance with all other applicable laws. The operative date for the extended framework is January 1, 2037. The bill maintains the existing framework that restricts certain state regulators from requiring a response action for qualifying immunities, subject to the act’s specified exceptions, and it does not create new penalties or a new appropriation.

Implementation and context notes emphasize that the act’s core immunities framework remains intact, with the sunset extended and a clear transition rule for those already immunized. Agencies such as the state and regional environmental authorities would continue to administer the immunity regime and its associated compliance obligations, relying on the act’s site-assessment and response-plan requirements. The measure sets up a pathway for potential further extension only through future legislation enacted before January 1, 2037, preserving continuity unless the Legislature acts again before that deadline.