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 (EIR) 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.

CEQA establishes judicial review procedures for challenging a lead agency action on the ground of noncompliance with CEQA.

This bill would require a judicial proceeding challenging a project, except for a high-speed rail project, located in a distressed county, as defined, to be filed with the Court of Appeal with geographic jurisdiction over the project.