An Association-sponsored bill that would affect the California Environmental Quality Act is moving toward possible approval in the State Legislature, and recent amendments have changed the stakes for some transit agencies.
By Arianna Smith
Managing Editor
Transit California
For decades, California transit agencies experienced the frustration of attempting to proceed with pro-climate construction projects, only to run afoul of sometimes-onerous legal requirements intended to prevent harm to the environment: the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Recent laws temporarily exempting a variety of such construction projects have eased some of the frustration and have given transit agencies the opportunity to prove the environmental value of speedier, cheaper construction. As a result, the Association is working hard to make these exemptions permanent through a sponsored bill this year, Senate Bill 71 (Wiener).
CEQA exemptions under current law and their proven utility
Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), author of SB 71, stated in a hearing for the measure, “Unfortunately, over the years we have seen situations where CEQA, in terms of the EIRs (environmental impact reviews) and studies involved, in addition to appeals litigation, have made it longer and more expensive. To deliver these projects which improve people's lives, we need to do things more expeditiously.”
CEQA is intended to provide transparency and environmental protection, both of which are laudable goals that are aligned with longstanding state – and transit – priorities. According to the Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation, the law “is intended to inform government decision makers and the public about the potential environmental effects of proposed activities and to prevent significant, avoidable environmental damage.” Unfortunately, the application of the law toward proposed transit projects has often slowed down or has even stopped projects that actually would prevent the “significant, avoidable environmental damage” of climate change caused by transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions.
Especially since 2020, and over the course of several legislative sessions, the Association has led the way in bringing common sense, narrowly crafted reforms and exemptions to CEQA for transit projects that would help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. To this end, the Association strongly supported a trio of successive bills (SB 288 in 2020, SB 922 in 2022, and AB 2503 in 2024) that exempted a variety of transit construction projects that, once completed, would help California meet greenhouse gas reduction goals.
These measures exempted a variety of construction activities, large and small, that would ultimately reduce greenhouse gas emissions. They included active transportation plans, pedestrian plans, street restriping, bicycle parking and storage, signal timing to improve intersection operations, transit prioritization projects, construction and rehabilitation of bus and light rail stations, terminals, and operations facilities, and zero-emission vehicle facilities.
“The most common uses for the exemption are for active transportation, traffic calming, safety improvements and sidewalk repairs, signal modifications to get buses out of traffic, and investments to shift to zero emission fleets in compliance with CARB's ICT rule,” said Laura Tolkoff, Transportation Policy Director of SPUR, at an April 2025 legislative hearing. “These are precisely the types of projects that the state needs more of.”
Large projects – those over $100 million – are subject to additional transparency, equity, and environmental planning requirements to qualify for the exemption.
Reasonably, these measures included sunsets, or expirations, to these exemptions; the most recent sunset was extended until January 1, 2030. The authors of the measures included sunsets to ensure that the laws would work as intended: to get transit construction projects completed faster and cheaper than before while still protecting the environment and benefiting surrounding communities.
A March 2025 brief from SPUR, “Success on the Street,” confirmed that the exemptions have been a success for transit agencies and the communities they serve: “SPUR’s analysis of the exemption from January 2021 to August 2024 revealed that local jurisdictions and transit agencies used CEQA exemptions to successfully deliver 92 projects, such as curb cuts and mobility hubs, more quickly and cost-effectively.”
Jenny Delumo, Environmental Review Manager for the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) provided testimony at the same April hearing describing how her own agency benefited from the various exemptions: “Since SB 288 was passed, the SFMTA has used the exemption to quickly deliver more than 40 community supported projects such as transit only lanes and prioritization projects on key routes, Vision Zero and quickbuild projects that enhance safety for people walking and biking, and most recently a Biking and Rolling Plan to create safer and better connected and more accessible streets.”
Senator Wiener made the case for the utility of these exemptions succinctly: “We've seen nearly 100 projects statewide invoking this exemption that's been very successful so far and we want to keep that success going.”
SB 71: What it does and where it is now
In short, SB 71 eliminates the January 1, 2030, sunset for most of the currently-exempted transportation plans and projects. With recent amendments, the measure now expands some of the exemptions to include bus shelter and lighting, micro transit, paratransit, shuttle ferry projects, transit comprehensive operational analyses and transit infrastructure maintenance, and some projects outside of urbanized areas. However, the measure has been narrowed to retain the January 1, 2032 sunset for the exemption on transportation projects using near-zero emission, natural gas, or low-nitrogen oxide technology, as well as a January 1, 2040, sunset for exemptions to projects related to Tier 4 or cleaner locomotives.
“SB 71 extends this proven strategy to deliver the infrastructure that we need faster, better and at lower cost without compromising our environment and our health,” said Laura Tolkoff of SPUR about the measure. “SB 71 is really a no-cost infrastructure accelerator for the state, and it will help transit agencies do more with less.”
Jenny Delumo of SFMTA went on to explain what would happen if SFMTA could no longer access the exemption: “Without this exemption, the SFMTA would spend money and time on the review of climate friendly projects that could otherwise be invested in performance and recovery enhancing transit projects which ultimately saves the agency precious operating dollars. San Franciscans are looking to the SFMTA to deliver the network they need and want.”
There is good news for transit agencies that are looking forward hopefully toward the possibility of sunset-free CEQA exemptions: SB 71, which has received no “NO” votes to date, passed the Senate Floor unanimously on June 3 and will be heard in the Assembly Natural Resources Committee on July 7. If approved there, the measure will move to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, then to a vote on the Assembly Floor, and finally back to the Senate Floor if any amendments were taken in the Assembly. If the Governor signs the measure into law, it will take effect on January 1, 2026.
The Association's Advocacy Team encourages all Association members to support SB 71, as well as its other sponsored or co-sponsored bills. Please contact Legislative & Regulatory Advocate Brendan Repicky at brendan@caltransit.org if you have any questions.