The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) 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. CEQA 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.
Existing law, until January 1, 2025, exempts from the requirements of CEQA certain activities approved or carried out by the City of Los Angeles and other eligible public agencies, as defined, related to supportive housing and emergency shelters, as defined, in the City of Los Angeles. Under existing law, this exemption requires the lead agency, if it determines that an activity is not subject to CEQA and approves or carries out that activity, to file a notice of exemption with the Office of Planning and Research and the county clerk for the County of Los Angeles.
This bill would instead exempt from the requirements of CEQA certain activities undertaken by the City of Los Angeles and other eligible public agencies related to affordable housing, low barrier navigation centers, supportive housing, and transitional housing for youth and young adults, as those terms would be defined by the bill, within the City of Los Angeles and certain activities undertaken by the County of Los Angeles related to affordable housing, low barrier navigation centers, supportive housing, and transitional housing for youth and young adults within the unincorporated areas of the County of Los Angeles and parcels owned by the County of Los Angeles within the City of Los Angeles. The bill would define the Los Angeles County Development Authority as an eligible public agency. The bill would broaden the definition of "supportive housing." The bill would also change the term "emergency shelter" to "low barrier navigation center" and broaden the definition of that term. The bill would require the lead agency to ensure that those projects meet certain labor requirements in order for the exemption to apply. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2030.
Because the bill would impose additional duties on local public agencies, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the City of Los Angeles and the County of Los Angeles.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Statutes affected:
AB785: 21080.27 PRC
02/13/23 - Introduced: 14000 PRC
03/23/23 - Amended Assembly: 21080.27 PRC, 21080.27 PRC, 14000 PRC
04/11/23 - Amended Assembly: 21080.27 PRC
04/20/23 - Amended Assembly: 21080.27 PRC
05/01/23 - Amended Assembly: 21080.27 PRC
07/12/23 - Amended Senate: 21080.27 PRC
09/08/23 - Amended Senate: 21080.27 PRC
09/18/23 - Enrolled: 21080.27 PRC
10/10/23 - Chaptered: 21080.27 PRC
AB 785: 14000 PRC