(SACRAMENTO) – On Monday, Assemblymember Tim Grayson (D-Concord) introduced legislation to prevent duplicative lawsuits from holding up transportation projects that have already undergone robust environmental review under the state’s Sustainable Communities Strategy. AB 1905, the Green Transportation Development Act, will support transportation infrastructure in the state’s largest metropolitan areas while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Upon introduction of the legislation Assemblymember Grayson said the following: “This bill will allow stringently reviewed shovel-ready projects with real environmental benefits to proceed in a timely manner, both reducing climate impacts and improving our transportation infrastructure.”
Assemblymember Grayson continued, “CEQA review is a useful tool for ensuring that projects are not harmful to the environment and the health of surrounding communities, but duplicitous litigation is not. Once a project has undergone stringent review and is able to demonstrate significant future pollution reductions, it is counterproductive and harmful to the state’s climate goals to allow additional lawsuits to impede its timely completion.”
The Sustainable Communities and Climate Protection Act of 2008 requires Metropolitan Planning Organizations to prepare a Sustainable Communities Strategy (SCS) as part of their Regional Transportation Plan. Each Regional Transportation Plan is then certified by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) if it significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions in the region. Even after a Regional Transportation Plan is certified under a SCS, which itself may be subject to litigation, individual projects may again be challenged under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
Assemblymember Timothy S. Grayson represents the 14th Assembly District which includes the communities of Clayton, Concord, Martinez, Pittsburg, Pleasant Hill, Walnut Creek, Benicia, and Vallejo. For more information, please visit https://a14.asmdc.org/
