Assembly BillPassed first housePublic Resources
AB 839: California Environmental Quality Act: expedited judicial review: sustainable aviation fuel projects.
What AB 839 does, verified August 15, 2026
This bill aims to provide streamlining benefits to sustainable aviation fuel projects in California. It authorizes the governor to certify up to 3 projects meeting certain requirements as infrastructure projects, thereby reducing the environmental review process. The certification would allow for concurrent preparation of the record of proceedings and resolution of challenges within 270 days. The bill would also expand the duties of lead agencies as they relate to infrastructure projects and sustainable aviation fuel projects. The California Constitution requires reimbursement for certain state-mandated local programs, but this bill specifies that no reimbursement is required for this act.
Bill journey
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✓In CommitteeComplete
✓First Chamber FloorComplete
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5GovernorPending
6ChapteredPending
Last action: In committee: Held under submission. (2026-08-13)Alert me
Author and sponsors
Full contact details, staff, and committees with Connect, $16/moUnlockRecent actions23 total · showing 5
| Aug. 13, 2026 | In committee: Held under submission. |
| Aug. 03, 2026 | In committee: Referred to APPR. suspense file. |
| Jul. 01, 2026 | From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 13. Noes 0.) (June 30). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. |
| Jun. 17, 2026 | From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on JUD. (Ayes 5. Noes 1.) (June 17). Re-referred to Com. on JUD. |
| May. 28, 2026 | In committee: Hearing postponed by committee. |
Latest bill textAmended version, May 26, 2026 · 2,657 words
| Amended IN Senate May 26, 2026 |
| Amended IN Senate June 24, 2025 |
| Amended IN Assembly April 11, 2025 |
| Amended IN Assembly March 24, 2025 |
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Bill
No. 839
| Introduced by Assembly Member Blanca Rubio (Coauthor: Assembly Member Pacheco) |
February 19, 2025 |
An act to amend Sections 21189.81, 21189.82, and 21189.83 of the Public Resources Code, relating to environmental quality.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 839, as amended, Blanca Rubio. California Environmental Quality Act: expedited judicial review: sustainable aviation fuel projects.
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 authorizes the Governor to certify projects meeting certain requirements as infrastructure projects and provide those certified projects with certain streamlining benefits, including requiring the lead agency to prepare the record of proceedings concurrently with the environmental review process and requiring the resolution of an action or proceeding challenging the certification of an EIR for certified projects or the granting of any project approvals, to the extent feasible, within 270 days of the filing of the record of proceedings with the court, as specified. Existing law requires the lead agency, within 10 days of the certification of an infrastructure project, to provide a public notice of the certification, as provided. If a lead agency fails to approve a project certified as an infrastructure project before January 1, 2033, existing law specifies that the certification is no longer valid.
This bill would authorize the Governor to certify up to 3 sustainable aviation fuel projects, as defined, meeting certain requirements, as infrastructure projects, thereby providing the above streamlining benefits to those projects. By expanding the duties of a lead agency as they relate to infrastructure projects and to sustainable aviation fuel projects, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:(a) Climate change is causing historic droughts, devastating wildfires, torrential storms, extreme heat, the deaths of millions of trees, billions of dollars in property damage, and threats to human health and food supplies.
(b) Over several decades, California policymakers have worked to reduce mobile and stationary emissions to address air quality and climate change, including investments in cleaner transportation for mobile ground transportation, public transit, and trucking.
(c) Between the years 2000 to 2022, inclusive, greenhouse gas emissions fell by 20 percent, and much of the reduction in emissions came from the transportation sector and the increased use of renewable fuels, which will remain a key strategy until electric technology and infrastructure are firmly in place.
(d) United States commercial aviation contributes about 2 percent of the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions. The commercial aviation industry in the United States has pledged to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, and likewise, through the International Civil Aviation Organization, commercial airlines have agreed on a global scale to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
(e) To achieve these goals, the greatest solution available is sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), which reduces lifecycle greenhouse gases by up to 80 percent or more, depending on the feedstock and production pathway, and reduces particulate matter emissions by 50 percent. The aviation industry has invested heavily in SAF technology research and development and production, and through offtake agreements for SAF available in the market. SAF producers in the United States have also invested heavily in the production of SAF, roughly doubling capacity each year since 2021.
(f) Battery technology has not advanced far enough for original equipment manufacturers to be able to produce a safe and proven electric aircraft for long-haul flights, and it is anticipated to be several decades away before one could be federally approved and commercially available. SAF will power the reduction of emissions for the aviation industry in the coming decades and until there is full fleet turnover. Focusing on investing in the state’s aviation infrastructure and in-state sustainable aviation fuel production capacity can meaningfully reduce greenhouse gas and criteria pollutant emissions from aviation.
(g) Decarbonizing aviation can create local jobs, local and state tax revenue, and economic growth at this critical time by using waste stream feedstocks available in the state in large quantities to produce sustainable aviation fuel. Technologically feasible feedstocks include woody biomass from forest fuels management, agricultural residues, postseparated municipal solid waste, fats, oils, and greases. Harvesting these feedstocks, constructing sustainable aviation fuel production facilities, operating sustainable aviation fuel plants, and transporting sustainable aviation fuel to airports in the state all offer new green job opportunities for state residents and a direct transfer of traditional oil and gas jobs as the sector transitions.
(h) In 2017, the State Air Resources Board adopted regulations authorizing SAF as an opt-in sustainable fuel for credits under the Low Carbon Fuel Standard, and in October 2024, the State Air Resources Board entered into an agreement with the national aviation industry through Airlines for America to identify appropriate incentives for SAF production and use in California. These incentives would draw SAF to California for offtake, as well as draw new production to California. The State Air Resources Board has established a goal of 200,000,000 gallons of SAF use by 2035. The state’s 2022 Scoping Plan calls for at least 80 percent of commercial aviation propulsion fuels for intrastate flights to consist of SAF by 2045, or approximately 3,500,000,000 gallons of SAF.
(i) In March 2025, the International Air Transport Association announced they will likely need to revisit the 2050 net-zero goals established by the association and by the International Civil Aviation Organization in 2022 because of the low volume of SAF production on an international scale.
(j) In order to meet the state’s goal of reaching 200,000,000 gallons of SAF by 2035 and net-zero emissions by 2045, it is critical to facilitate an SAF infrastructure to provide capacity for the production, disbursement, storage, and delivery of SAF. An expedited judicial review of complaints filed following certification of an SAF infrastructure project environmental impact report pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code) will maintain the integrity of the intended goals for CEQA while ensuring a level of certainty over the timeframe for judicial review of essential SAF infrastructure.
SEC. 2.
Section 21189.81 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:21189.81.
For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply:(a) “Applicant” means a public or private entity or its affiliates, or a person or entity that undertakes a public works project, that proposes a project and its successors, heirs, and assignees.
(b) “Disadvantaged community” means an area identified by the California Environmental Protection Agency pursuant to Section 39711 of the Health and Safety Code or an area identified as a disadvantaged unincorporated community pursuant to Section 65302.10 of the Government Code.
(c) “Electrical transmission facility project” means a project for the construction and operation of an electrical transmission facility that meets either of the following:
(1) An electrical transmission facility project identified by the Independent System Operator in its annual transmission planning process that meets either of the following criteria:
(A) The project will facilitate delivery of electricity from renewable energy resources or zero-carbon resources.
(B) The project will facilitate delivery of electricity from energy storage projects.
(2) An electrical transmission facility project identified by a local publicly owned electric utility that would satisfy a transmission expansion need approved by the governing body of the local publicly owned electric utility and that meets either of the following criteria:
(A) The project will facilitate delivery of electricity from renewable energy resources or zero-carbon resources.
(B) The project will facilitate delivery of electricity from energy storage projects.
(d) (1) “Energy infrastructure project” means any of the following:
(A) An eligible renewable energy resource, as defined in Section 399.12 of the Public Utilities Code, excluding resources that combust biomass fuels.
(B) New energy storage systems of 20 megawatts or more, that are capable of discharging for at least two hours, provided that a pumped hydro facility may qualify only if it is less than or equal to 500 megawatts and has been directly appropriated funding by the state before January 1, 2023.
(C) A project for which the applicant has certified that a capital investment of at least two hundred fifty million dollars ($250,000,000) made over a period of five years and the project is for either of the following:
(i) The manufacture, production, or assembly of an energy storage system or component manufacturing, wind system or component manufacturing, and solar photovoltaic energy system or component manufacturing.
(ii) The manufacture, production, or assembly of specialized products, components, or systems that are integral to renewable energy or energy storage technologies.
(D) An electrical transmission facility project, provided that nothing in this chapter affects the jurisdiction of the California Coastal Commission pursuant to Division 20 (commencing with Section 30000) to regulate such projects if located in the coastal zone.
(E) A hydrogen production facility and associated onsite storage and processing facilities that do not derive hydrogen from a fossil fuel feedstock and that receive funding from any of the following:
(i) The Hydrogen Program established pursuant to Section 25664.1.
(ii) Section 91530, as added by the Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparedness, and Clean Air Bond Act of 2024 (Section 2 of Chapter 83 of the Statutes of 2024 (Senate Bill 867)), if that act is approved by the voters at the November 5, 2024, statewide general election.
(iii) The Alliance for Renewable Clean Hydrogen Energy Systems (ARCHES) authorized by Article 15 (commencing with Section 12100.160) of Chapter 1.6 of Part 2 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, as awarded by the United States Department of Energy Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations.
(2) Any project to develop a facility within the meaning of subdivision (b) of Section 25545 shall meet the requirements of Sections 25545.3.3 and 25545.3.5, except that those requirements shall also apply to solar photovoltaic and terrestrial wind electrical generating powerplants with a generating capacity of between 20 and 50 megawatts and energy storage projects capable of storing between 80 and 200 megawatthours of electrical energy.
(e) “Infrastructure project” means a project that is certified pursuant to Sections 21189.82 and 21189.83 as any of the following:
(1) An energy infrastructure project.
(2) A semiconductor or microelectronic project.
(3) A sustainable aviation fuel project.
(4) A transportation-related project.
(5) A water-related project.
(f) “Semiconductor or microelectronic project” means a project that meets the requirements related to investment in new or expanded facilities and is awarded funds under the federal Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors Act of 2022 (Public Law 117-167), commonly known as the CHIPS Act of 2022, and the requirements of Section 21183.5.
(g) “Sustainable aviation fuel project” means a project for the new construction, conversion, or expansion of a facility to manufacture, process, store, distribute, or transport sustainable aviation fuel or feedstock used for the production of sustainable aviation fuel, or to manufacture electrochemical components used for the production of sustainable aviation fuel, that meets all of the following requirements:
(1) The project meets the requirements of Section 21183.5.
(2)The project does not use fossil fuels in its production process.
(3)
(2)
If the project involves the conversion or replacement of an existing Title V source, as defined in Section 39053.5 of the Health and Safety Code, the project will reduce emissions of air pollutants compared to the baseline environmental conditions in the vicinity of the project, as determined by the applicable air district.(4)
(3)
If the project does not involve the conversion or replacement of an existing Title V source, as defined in Section 39053.5 of the Health and Safety Code, the project will not cause a significant effect on the environment attributable to any air pollutant, as determined by the applicable air district.(h) “Sustainable aviation fuel” means hydrocarbon fuel that meets the ASTM International (ASTM) standard D7566 for aviation turbine fuel containing synthesized hydrocarbons and can be used as alternative jet fuel, as defined in Section 95481 of Title 17 of the California Code of Regulations, that meets the requirements of Subarticle 7 (commencing with Section 95480) of Article 4 of Subchapter 10 of Chapter 1 of Division 3 of Title 17 of the California Code of Regulations.
(i) (1) “Transportation-related project” means a transportation infrastructure project that advances one or more of, and does not conflict with, the following goals related to the Climate Action Plan for Transportation Infrastructure adopted by the Transportation Agency:
(A) Build toward an integrated, statewide rail and transit network.
(B) Invest in networks of safe and accessible bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure.
(C) Include investments in light-, medium-, and heavy-duty zero-emission vehicle infrastructure.
(D) Develop a zero-emission freight transportation system.
(E) Reduce public health and economic harms and maximize community benefits.
(F) Make safety improvements to reduce fatalities and severe injuries of all users towards zero.
(G) Assess and integrate assessments of physical climate risk.
(H) Promote projects that do not significantly increase passenger vehicle travel.
(I) Promote compact infill development while protecting residents and businesses from displacement.
(J) Protect natural and working lands.
(2) Transportation-related projects are public works for the purposes of Section 1720 of the Labor Code and shall comply with the applicable provisions of Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 1720) of Part 7 of Division 2 of the Labor Code.
(j) (1) “Water-related project” means any of the following:
(A) A project that is approved to implement a groundwater sustainability plan that the Department of Water Resources has determined is in compliance with Sections 10727.2 and 10727.4 of the Water Code or to implement an interim groundwater sustainability plan adopted pursuant to Section 10735.6 of the Water Code.
(B) (i) A water storage project funded by the California Water Commission pursuant to Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 79750) of Division 26.7 of the Water Code.
(ii) In addition to clause (i), the applicant shall demonstrate that the project will minimize the intake or diversion of water except during times of surplus water and prioritizes the discharge of water for ecological benefits or to mitigate an emergency, including, but not limited to, dam repair, levee repair, wetland restoration, marshland restoration, or habitat preservation, or other public benefits described in Section 79753 of the Water Code.
(C) Projects for the development of recycled water, as defined in Section 13050 of the Water Code.
(D) Contaminant and salt removal projects, including groundwater desalination and associated treatment, storage, conveyance, and distribution facilities. This shall not include seawater desalination.
(E) Projects exclusively for canal or other conveyance maintenance and repair.
(2) Water-related projects are public works for the purposes of Section 1720 of the Labor Code and shall comply with the applicable provisions of Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 1720) of Part 7 of Division 2 of the Labor Code.
(3) “Water-related project” does not include the design or construction of through-Delta conveyance facilities of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
Text of AB 839 as amended, from the official record. Connect Plus keeps every version and highlights what changed.Compare versions