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AB-2059 • 2026

California Environmental Quality Act: transportation impacts: vehicle miles traveled: mitigation.

California Environmental Quality Act: transportation impacts: vehicle miles traveled: mitigation.

Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor
Wilson
Last action
Official status
Senate - Appropriations
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The source text mentions 'except as provided' before listing the rules but does not detail what those exceptions are.

Limits on Transportation Impact Costs Under CEQA

This law sets a cost limit of 5% of total project costs for fixing transportation problems measured by vehicle miles traveled and creates special rules for projects in nonmetropolitan counties.

What This Bill Does

  • Sets a cap where the total cost of mitigation measures to fix significant vehicle miles traveled impacts cannot exceed 5% of estimated total project costs.
  • States that any required fixes costing more than 5% are considered economically infeasible under CEQA rules.
  • Presumes transportation projects have less than significant impact if at least 80% of the project is located within one or more nonmetropolitan counties.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Lead agencies that review environmental impacts under CEQA
  • Projects proposing to address significant vehicle miles traveled impacts
  • Transportation projects where at least 80% of the work is in nonmetropolitan counties

Terms To Know

CEQA
California Environmental Quality Act, a law requiring environmental reviews for public or private projects.
Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT)
A measurement of the total distance driven by vehicles used to judge transportation impacts in this bill.
Mitigation
Actions taken to reduce or fix negative environmental effects caused by a project.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The official text states no state reimbursement is required for the new duties placed on local agencies, but does not specify the exact reason.
  • The effective date of this law is not listed in the provided source material.
  • The specific definition or list of 'nonmetropolitan counties' is not included in the summary.

Bill History

  1. California Legislative Information

    Senate - Appropriations

Official Summary Text

California Environmental Quality Act: transportation impacts: vehicle miles traveled: mitigation.