California Environmental Quality Act: environmental impact reports: coal handling, storage, and export.

Removed the condition that an EIR older than 10 years triggers a mandatory subsequent EIR for large-volume bulk coal facilities. Previously, any EIR for a project exceeding 5 million short tons per year that was 10 or more years old would require a new report.

Added a new savings clause (subdivision g) stating the section does not require new EIRs for non-coal buildings/infrastructure, does not invalidate previously certified EIRs for such projects, and does not prevent agencies from relying on or tiering from prior EIRs for non-coal components.

Added a new provision (f)(2)(B) requiring that where a local air pollution control district or air quality management district has adopted a numeric individual project threshold for PM2.5 or PM10 increases, those thresholds must be used to determine significance of impacts.

Added an exclusion to the definition of 'large-volume bulk coal facility' so that buildings, uses, or infrastructure at the same site (or within the same specific plan/redevelopment area, or covered by the same EIR) are not considered part of the facility if they do not handle, store, transport, or export coal.

Broadened the legislative findings to cover not just passing coal-carrying trains but also staging of full and empty coal train cars and coal storage and handling at an export terminal as sources of PM2.5, and added a finding that EPA identified PM2.5 as the greatest health risk among particulate matter pollutants.

Removed the standalone provision in subdivision (a) that required any public agency with discretionary approval over any portion of a new project exceeding 5 million short tons to prepare an EIR, consolidating the requirement into the lead-agency-focused language of subdivision (b).

Changed the EIR certification language from a simple requirement that the report 'shall do both of the following' to an explicit prohibition: the EIR 'shall not be certified, and the project shall not be approved, unless' the specified air quality evaluations and mitigation measures are included.

New definitions added for 'large-volume bulk coal facility' (design capacity exceeding 5,000,000 short tons per year) and 'type of coal' (lignite, subbituminous, bituminous, or anthracite).

Scope narrowed: the requirement now applies to 'a new project' only, removing the prior language covering 'material expansion of an existing project.' However, a new provision treats facilities analyzed in inadequate prior EIRs as new projects, partially offsetting this narrowing.

The conditions triggering a subsequent EIR were expanded: a change in coal type now also triggers if the prior EIR did not explicitly address it, and a quantity increase now also triggers if the prior EIR did not explicitly disclose the quantity. The design capacity increase condition was clarified to apply when a project that did not previously meet the large-volume threshold crosses it.

A lead agency must prepare an EIR before issuing the initial discretionary approval for a large-volume bulk coal facility, and permits from air pollution control districts or air quality management districts authorizing construction or increased emissions are now explicitly classified as discretionary approvals not exempt from CEQA.

Mitigation standard raised significantly: changed from requiring the project proponent to 'demonstrate enforceable mitigation measures to reduce fine and coarse pollutants to within the threshold limit set by the lead agency' to requiring that the proponent 'fully mitigates PM2.5 and PM10 fugitive dust emissions.'

New EIR content requirements: the report must identify coal type(s) and potential volume, evaluate environmental impacts and mitigation for those specific types and volumes, and evaluate fugitive dust generation during construction and operations with mitigation sufficient to prevent a significant increase in ambient PM2.5 and PM10 beyond the facility's boundaries.

A lead agency, air pollution control district, or air quality management district is prohibited from relying on an existing EIR to issue a discretionary approval for a large-volume bulk coal facility. A subsequent EIR is required if the prior EIR did not explicitly address coal type or quantity.

If a previously certified EIR did not specifically analyze environmental impacts of coal handling, storage, and transportation, it loses informational value entirely and the facility must be treated as a new project independent of the prior analysis.

Retroactive application: the section applies to any discretionary approval for a large-volume bulk coal facility that is pending or made between June 4, 2026 and January 1, 2027.

A severability clause was added stating that if any provision is held invalid, the remaining provisions continue in effect.

The entire redistricting provision (Section 1 amending Elections Code Section 21454) was removed. This had conditioned the operation of AB 604's congressional district maps on another state adopting a new map after August 1, 2025 and before January 1, 2031 that was not required by a federal court order.

The project scope was narrowed. Previously the EIR requirement applied to 'any portion of a new project, or material expansion of an existing project' with a design capacity exceeding 5 million short tons per year. Now it applies only to 'a project with a design capacity exceeding 5,000,000 short tons per year,' removing coverage of partial projects and expansions that individually fall below the threshold.

The urgency clause was removed. The bill no longer takes effect immediately and no longer requires a two-thirds majority vote; it now requires only a simple majority and takes effect on the standard date.

A new trigger for a supplemental EIR was added: when there is an increase in design capacity such that total coal handled, stored, or exported exceeds 5 million short tons per year. This captures projects that start below the threshold and later expand past it.

The mitigation standard in subdivision (c) was changed from requiring 'enforceable mitigation measures to reduce fine and coarse pollutants to within the threshold limit set by the lead agency' to requiring the project proponent to 'fully mitigate PM2.5 and PM10 fugitive dust emissions.' This is a stricter, more specific standard that requires complete elimination of these emissions rather than reduction to an agency-determined level.

The trigger for a supplemental EIR based on quantity was narrowed from 'a significant change in the quantity' to 'a significant increase in the quantity,' meaning decreases in coal volume would no longer trigger a new EIR.

The type-of-coal trigger was expanded from 'a change in the type of coal' to 'a change in the type or rank of coal,' adding rank as a separate consideration.

New clarifying language was added stating that the supplemental EIR triggers are 'independent of the conditions for a subsequent environmental impact report set forth in Section 21166 and guidelines adopted pursuant to Section 21083,' making clear these are additional triggers on top of existing CEQA requirements.

The state-mandated local program designation was changed from 'no' to 'yes,' acknowledging that the bill imposes costs on local agencies that may require reimbursement under the California Constitution, though the bill still states no reimbursement is required because local agencies can levy fees.

The entire amendment to Health and Safety Code Section 1317.1 was deleted. This had defined 'emergency services and care' to explicitly include reproductive health services, including abortion, and made violations by health facilities and health care service plans a crime.

Legislative findings were added establishing that West Oakland has high cumulative air pollution exposure, is a first-year priority community under the Community Air Protection Program, has a 15-year life expectancy gap for African American children, and is affected by coal train PM2.5 emissions.

New Public Resources Code Section 21080.52 requires any public agency with discretionary approval over a new project or material expansion of an existing project with a design capacity exceeding 5,000,000 short tons per year of coal handling, storage, or export to prepare an environmental impact report.

A subsequent or supplemental EIR is required if there is a change in the type of coal handled, a significant change in quantity, or if the original EIR is 10 or more years old.

A lead agency cannot certify an EIR that identifies significant air quality impacts unless the project proponent demonstrates enforceable mitigation measures to reduce fine and coarse pollutants to within a threshold set by the lead agency.

The redistricting condition in Section 21454(a) was simplified: removed the reference to 'subdivision (b) of Section 4 of Article XXI of the California Constitution, as added by that constitutional amendment, becomes operative' and replaced with simply 'takes effect.'

The urgency statute justification removed language about protecting reproductive care access, retaining only the redistricting-related necessity statement.

The state-mandated local program designation changed from 'no' to 'yes' because the new CEQA provision creates duties for local agencies. The no-reimbursement justification also changed from 'creates a new crime' to 'local agency has authority to levy service charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program.'

A new section amending Section 21454 of the Elections Code (as proposed by AB 604) adds a second condition for when California's congressional district boundaries become operative: in addition to ACA 8 being approved, Texas, Florida, or another state must adopt a new congressional district map that takes effect after August 1, 2025 and before January 1, 2031, and that was not required by a federal court order. A specific carve-out applies to Ohio, where the map only counts if adopted under a particular provision of the Ohio Constitution.

Two additional authors (Members Bryan and Berman) were added to the bill, indicating broader legislative sponsorship for the expanded redistricting component.

The definition of 'emergency services and care' was restructured: reproductive health services including abortion are now folded into the main paragraph (1) as part of the care necessary to relieve an emergency medical condition, rather than standing as a separate standalone paragraph. This changes the legal framing from 'also means reproductive health services' to being part of the core definition tied to emergency conditions.

The state-mandated local program designation was changed from 'yes' to 'no,' meaning the bill no longer triggers the state's obligation to reimburse local agencies for costs imposed by the legislation.

The urgency section adds a new justification: that congressional redistricting plans need to be implemented as soon as possible and to ensure equal protection rights of all Californians, in addition to the existing reproductive care justification.

In Section 1317.1(a)(1), 'reproductive health services, including abortion' was added directly into the list of services (alongside 'care, treatment, and surgery') that a facility must provide to relieve or eliminate an emergency medical condition. Previously, reproductive health services were only defined as emergency services in a separate subdivision (a)(2).

The separate definition in (a)(2) stating that 'Emergency services and care also means reproductive health services, including abortion' was retained, so the term now appears both in the core operational definition and as a standalone definitional clause.

Fixed a numbering error: the psychiatric emergency provisions previously labeled '(2)' (duplicating the reproductive health definition number) are now correctly numbered '(3)'.

The amended text contains what appears to be a drafting error with 'surgery, surgery' duplicated in subdivision (a)(1).