Office of Planning and Research Technical Advisory:  AB 52 and Tribal Cultural Resources in CEQA

The “OPR Technical Advisory:  AB 52 and Tribal Cultural Resources in CEQA” is one in a series of advisories authored  by the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (OPR) as a service to professional planners, land use officials and California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) practitioners. OPR creates and updates technical advisories as needed on current issues in environmental law and land use planning that broadly affect the practice of CEQA and land use planning in California.

The purpose of this technical advisory is to provide guidance to lead agencies regarding recent changes to CEQA requiring consultation with California Native American tribes and consideration of tribal cultural resources. It summarizes the reasons for the legislative changes, and explains the substantive and procedural requirements that go into effect on July 1, 2015. Finally, it summarizes relevant case law, and provides a list of additional resources.