This week, Senator Scott Wiener introduced Senate Bill 71, which would make permanent a successful pilot project that has jumpstarted dozens of sustainable transportation projects in California. SPUR is a sponsor of this legislation, in partnership with California Transit Association, Bay Area Council, and LA Metro.
As California strives to meet its ambitious climates goals and lower the cost of living, the need for public transit and other forms of sustainable transportation has never been greater. But these projects have often encountered significant delays and increased costs due to regulatory challenges stemming from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). In 2020, SPUR worked with Senator Wiener to pass Senate Bill 288, a statutory exemption to CEQA that expedited sustainable transportation projects in urban areas. The legislation was extended through 2030 (SB 922, Wiener) and expanded to include zero-emission rail projects (Assembly Bill 2305, Lee). SPUR has been a driving force behind this exemption, which the SPUR Regional Strategy recommended as one of several ways to help build infrastructure quickly, at lower cost, and better value. SPUR was a co-sponsor of SB 288 and SB 922 and is now a co-sponsor of SB 71. We asked SPUR’s transportation policy director, Laura Tolkoff, to tell us what California has been able to accomplish with the exemption and what SB 71 will do.
Why is this exemption needed?
CEQA requires state and local agencies to evaluate and disclose the significant environmental impacts of projects they approve and to avoid or mitigate those impacts if possible. This evaluation is the basis for many state and local approvals needed to deliver infrastructure projects. CEQA is one of the most powerful laws that the state possesses to protect people and the environment from harmful projects, such as oil refineries. But not all projects are alike. And some projects, such as sidewalks, protected bicycle lanes, signal modifications, and public transit, are beneficial to people and the environment. Unfortunately, CEQA studies, appeals, and litigation have regularly entangled these types of projects in lengthy and costly delays.
For instance, one individual used CEQA to sue San Francisco over its plan to expand bike lanes throughout the city. The lawsuit was based not on any environmental concerns but instead on the removal of parking spaces and potential impacts on car traffic. This legal challenge held up implementation of 34 miles of bike lanes for four years. During this period, the absence of improved cycling infrastructure had dire consequences, contributing to nine fatalities and more than 2,000 injuries among cyclists in the city. This example illustrates how the misuse of CEQA can block environmentally and socially beneficial projects.
How does the current exemption work?
The CEQA exemption for sustainable transportation keeps what’s good about CEQA, while updating it so that it meets contemporary needs. It allows certain types of transportation projects — including but not limited to a busway, the electrification of a maintenance yard, a sidewalk, or a curb cut — to be exempt from the requirements of CEQA. But it doesn’t exempt those projects everywhere — projects of this nature are only eligible for exemptions if they are located on existing public rights of way in urbanized areas. That’s an important guardrail that helps ensure that transportation projects aren’t given this benefit if they are in greenfield locations where growth shouldn’t occur.
The law also has a set of guardrails focused on equity, environmental justice, and transparency. Projects that use the exemption must not involve the demolition of affordable housing units, thereby preventing the direct displacement of low-income households. Sponsors of projects costing more than $100 million must complete a racial equity analysis, which is a useful disclosure and decision-making tool. Projects that exceed this cost threshold are required to hold additional public meetings.
If a project meets all these criteria and fulfills the above steps, the Board of Directors of the project sponsor can take an action at a public meeting to approve the project and file a “notice of an exemption” to the state. The project sponsor does not have to complete an environmental assessment, and they are not subject to other provisions in the law that allow individuals to indefinitely delay a project through appeals and litigation.
What impact has the existing CEQA exemption had?
From January 2021 to August 2024, local jurisdictions and transit agencies have used the exemption for 92 sustainable transportation projects. These projects are getting built faster and more cost-effectively than they would have without the exemption. There aren’t many sustainability investments that are free, but this one didn’t cost the state a penny. In fact, it saved local governments and transit agencies money. You can’t beat that return on investment.
What would SB 71 do?
First, it eliminates the sunset date on the existing CEQA exemption, currently 2030, by making the exemption permanent. This change provides certainty to sponsors of projects with long lead times, who would become more hesitant to claim the exemption as 2030 approaches. Because CEQA is just one part of the permitting and project development process, it can be risky to claim a CEQA exemption in 2029 if a project won’t have all its permits and funding in place before 2031. Second, the bill makes bus stops, bus shelters, and zero- or low-emission ferries eligible for the exemption. Third, the bill “cleans up” some of the provisions in the law, creating greater certainty and clarity for project sponsors.