California Environmental Quality Act: judicial streamlining: state of emergency: wildfire.

Senators Limón and Blakespear's proposal to streamline environmental review processes for wildfire recovery projects would establish new judicial timelines for areas under state emergency declarations. The legislation creates expedited procedures for California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) reviews of projects that maintain, repair, restore, demolish, or replace property damaged by wildfires in regions where the Governor has declared a state of emergency since January 1, 2023.

Under the measure, lead agencies must prepare administrative records concurrently with their review process for qualifying projects. Legal challenges to environmental impact reports, negative declarations, or project approvals would need to be resolved within 270 days of filing the certified record with the court. The Judicial Council would adopt rules to implement this timeline. Projects must comply with local zoning and land use ordinances to qualify for these procedures, which cease to apply if the Governor rescinds the emergency declaration for that area.

The bill designates these requirements as a state-mandated local program but specifies that state reimbursement is not required, as local agencies can levy fees to cover implementation costs. This provision aligns with existing Government Code authorities for local revenue generation to fund mandated services.