---
type: "Bill"
title: "Environment: CEQA exemption: roadway improvement."
description: "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."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ca"
legislature: "California Legislature"
session: "20112012"
identifier: "AB 890"
citation: "California AB 890 (20112012)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Environment: CEQA exemption: roadway improvement."]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Olsen"]
version_count: 9
action_count: 34
vote_count: 8
first_action: "2011-02-17"
last_action: "2012-09-25"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/4a75db4c-5042-4808-84be-fc6e3ce712c1"
source_url: "http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201120120AB890"
source_hash: "58bfdce9d176d2d5b8821f6f935b4134d50ced0333c1188837a6306a46743003"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-ca"]
---

# California AB 890 (20112012) — Environment: CEQA exemption: roadway improvement.

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.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **02/17/11 - Introduced** (filed) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201120120AB890&version=20110AB89099INT)
2. **01/04/12 - Amended Assembly** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201120120AB890&version=20110AB89097AMD)
3. **01/13/12 - Amended Assembly** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201120120AB890&version=20110AB89096AMD)
4. **03/29/11 - Amended Assembly** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201120120AB890&version=20110AB89098AMD)
5. **08/07/12 - Amended Senate** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201120120AB890&version=20110AB89095AMD)
6. **08/24/12 - Amended Senate** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201120120AB890&version=20110AB89094AMD)
7. **09/25/12 - Chaptered** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201120120AB890&version=20110AB89092CHP)
8. **AB890** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201120120AB890)
9. **09/11/12 - Enrolled** (enrolled) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201120120AB890&version=20110AB89093ENR)

## Votes

- AB 890 OLSEN Concurrence in Senate Amendments — **73–0** (pass) · lower
- 3rd Reading AB890 Olsen By Berryhill — **33–2** (pass) · upper
- Do pass as amended and be re-referred to the Committee on Appropriations. — **6–0** (pass) · lower
- Do pass. — **13–3** (pass) · lower
- Do pass as amended. — **6–1** (pass) · upper
- Do pass as amended and be re-referred to the Committee on Appropriations. — **3–0** (fail) · lower
- Set first hearing. Failed passage. Reconsideration granted. — **9–0** (pass) · lower
- AB 890 OLSEN Assembly Third Reading — **54–9** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Olsen — primary (person)
- Berryhill — coauthor (person)
- Garrick — coauthor (person)
- Gorell — coauthor (person)
- Grove — coauthor (person)
- Harkey — coauthor (person)
- Harman — coauthor (person)
- Perea — author (person)
- Rubio — coauthor (person)
- Runner — coauthor (person)
- Silva — coauthor (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2011-02-17** Read first time. To print. `reading-1`
- **2011-02-18** From printer. May be heard in committee March 20.
- **2011-02-22** Measure version as introduced on February 17 corrected.
- **2011-03-14** Referred to Com. on NAT. RES. `referral-committee`
- **2011-03-29** From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on NAT. RES. Read second time and amended. `reading-2, amendment-introduction, reading-1, amendment-passage`
- **2011-03-30** Re-referred to Com. on NAT. RES. `referral-committee`
- **2011-05-02** In committee: Set first hearing. Failed passage. Reconsideration granted.
- **2012-01-04** From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on NAT. RES. Read second time and amended. `reading-2, amendment-introduction, reading-1, amendment-passage`
- **2012-01-04** Re-referred to Com. on NAT. RES. `referral-committee`
- **2012-01-12** From committee: Do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 6. Noes 0.) (January 9). `amendment-passage, committee-passage, committee-passage-favorable`
- **2012-01-13** Read second time and amended. `reading-2, reading-1, amendment-passage`
- **2012-01-17** Re-referred to Com. on APPR. `referral-committee`
- **2012-01-19** From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 13. Noes 3.) (January 19). `committee-passage, committee-passage-favorable`
- **2012-01-23** Read second time. Ordered to third reading. `reading-2, reading-1`
- **2012-01-26** Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 54. Noes 9. Page 3595.) `reading-3, reading-1, passage`
- **2012-01-26** In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. `reading-1`
- **2012-02-16** Referred to Com. on E.Q. `referral-committee`
- **2012-08-06** From committee: Do pass as amended. (Ayes 6. Noes 1.) (July 2). `amendment-passage, committee-passage, committee-passage-favorable`
- **2012-08-07** Read second time and amended. Ordered to third reading. `reading-2, reading-1, amendment-passage`
- **2012-08-08** Re-referred to Com. on APPR. pursuant to Joint Rule 10.5. `referral-committee`
- **2012-08-13** From committee: Be placed on second reading file pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8. `committee-passage`
- **2012-08-14** Read second time. Ordered to third reading. `reading-2, reading-1`
- **2012-08-16** Ordered to inactive file at the request of Senator Simitian.
- **2012-08-24** From inactive file.
- **2012-08-24** Ordered to second reading.
- **2012-08-24** Read second time and amended. Ordered to second reading. `reading-2, reading-1, amendment-passage`
- **2012-08-27** Read second time. Ordered to third reading. `reading-2, reading-1`
- **2012-08-29** Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 33. Noes 2. Page 4943.). `reading-3, reading-1, passage`
- **2012-08-29** In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending. May be considered on or after August 31 pursuant to Assembly Rule 77.
- **2012-08-30** Assembly Rule 77 suspended. (Page 6605.)
- **2012-08-30** Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 73. Noes 0. Page 6625.). `committee-passage-favorable, amendment-passage`
- **2012-09-13** Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 12:15 p.m.
- **2012-09-25** Approved by the Governor. `executive-signature`
- **2012-09-25** Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 528, Statutes of 2012.

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/4a75db4c-5042-4808-84be-fc6e3ce712c1`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official California legislature records).