Existing law establishes the Transportation Agency in state government with various duties and responsibilities. The agency is under the supervision of the Secretary of Transportation, who has the power of general supervision over specified departments and offices.
Existing law requires a local agency to comply with all applicable building ordinances and zoning ordinances of the county or city in which the territory of the local agency is situated and, for purposes of that requirement, excludes rapid transit districts and certain rail transit districts from the definition of a local agency.
This bill would enact the Sustainable Transportation Project Delivery Reform Act. The bill would authorize the secretary to grant a waiver to a local agency, as defined, that is seeking to design and construct a sustainable transportation project, as defined, from any standards, criteria, specifications, requirements, or other conditions of a third party, as defined, applicable to the sustainable transportation project if the secretary determines that granting the waiver will assist the local agency in delivering the sustainable transportation project in a cost-efficient and timely manner.
This bill would also require a third party, which is defined as a local agency or utility, to publish online by July 1, 2026, a list of every permit or approval that it may require for a facility rearrangement, as defined, and all objective standards, criteria, specifications, and requirements used in evaluating requests by lead agencies, as defined, for delivery of facility rearrangements, as specified. The bill would require the lead agency to provide a specified notice to each third party it reasonably expects it will need to get permits or approvals from or otherwise coordinate with to deliver the facility rearrangements. The bill would set forth a process for delivering the notice and responding to the notices, including by entering into a cooperative agreement or entering into a streamlined project delivery process, as described. The bill would, as part of the streamlined project delivery process, set forth timelines and specifications for submitting and responding to various information and documents for the facility rearrangements, among other things.
This bill would require the lead agency to reimburse the third party for all reasonable third party review activities required by the streamlined project delivery process, among other things. The bill would also authorize a lead agency to invoke a binding dispute resolution process, as described, if a third party does not issue a permit or approval to a lead agency or does not take any other action that is necessary to facilitate the delivery of part or all of a sustainable transportation project. The bill would make its provisions severable and would make related legislative findings and declarations.
By imposing additional duties on local entities, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The bill would include findings that changes proposed by this bill address a matter of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair and, therefore, apply to all cities, including charter cities.
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:
04/09/25 - Amended Senate: 671.5 SHC, 671.5 SHC
04/10/25 - Amended Senate: 671.5 SHC
06/30/25 - Amended Assembly: 671.5 SHC