The Overview

If you live or drive in one of California's rural counties, a new state law could affect how quickly the next road project in your area moves from the drawing board to construction. The new law changes how transportation projects in nonmetropolitan counties are reviewed for vehicle-miles-traveled impacts, a traffic measure under the state's environmental review law. ​

California's AB 2059, the California Environmental Quality Act: transportation impacts: vehicle miles traveled: mitigation, was signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Sept. 27. Assemblymember Lori Wilson, the bill's author, said the measure aimed to reduce delays in rural transportation projects. The law takes effect Jan. 1, 2025, with the state's guidance on mitigation measures due by Dec. 31, 2030.

What the Law Does

Under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), lead agencies must prepare an environmental impact report or a negative declaration for projects that may significantly affect the environment, and the Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation must recommend metrics, including vehicle miles traveled, for measuring transportation impacts. That review process can add time and cost to road projects, particularly in rural areas where traffic patterns differ from urban centers.

The law requires the California Department of Transportation, in consultation with specified entities, to develop guidance on vehicle-miles-traveled mitigation measures for transportation projects in nonmetropolitan counties by Dec. 31, 2030, and to publish that guidance on its website and add it as an addendum to the Transportation Analysis Framework and the Transportation Analysis under CEQA.

It also creates a presumption: a transportation project is presumed to have a less-than-significant transportation impact under the vehicle-miles-traveled metric if at least 70 percent of the project lies within one or more nonmetropolitan counties, provided the lead agency issued a notice of preparation for the environmental impact report on or before Dec. 31, 2031. That presumption means rural road projects can clear a key environmental hurdle without a full traffic-impact analysis, potentially cutting months from the review timeline.

Because the law imposes additional duties on lead agencies in analyzing transportation impacts, it constitutes a state-mandated local program, though the law provides that no state reimbursement is required.

Legislative Status

Asm. Lori Wilson (D) is a Democratic Assembly member, with principal coauthor Asm. Robert Rivas (D) and coauthors Asm. Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D), Asm. Juan Carrillo (D), and Asm. Joshua Hoover (R). The Assembly passed the bill 72 to 0 on May 18, after earlier committee votes of 14 to 0 on April 20 and 15 to 0 on May 13. The Senate passed it 39 to 0 on Aug. 31, and the Assembly concurred in Senate amendments 76 to 0 the same day. Every recorded vote was unanimous.

The Orange County Business Council initially supported the bill if amended, calling for broader statewide applicability, but later removed its position after amendments narrowed the bill's scope.

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