Pub. Resources Code § 21084
CEQA: General Provisions, Exemptions and Review

Pub. Resources Code § 21084

Categorical exemptionsDIVISION 13. ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY › CHAPTER 2.6. General

Amendments not yet in effect. SB 887 (Ch. 439, Stats. 2026) amends this section, effective January 1, 2027. The text below is the current Code text (current law). Follow the bill link to read its changes. Not legal advice.

Key provisions · Claude summary, not statute text

The Guidelines list categorically exempt project classes, subject to four statutory exclusions.

  • Exempt classes list. The Guidelines must list classes of projects found not to have a significant effect, and the Secretary must make that finding. (a)
  • Greenhouse gas emissions. A project’s greenhouse gas emissions alone do not make an exemption inapplicable if it complies with applicable regulations implementing plans consistent with Guidelines § 15183.5. (b)
  • Scenic highway exclusion. A project that may damage scenic resources within an official state scenic highway cannot use a categorical exemption, except for improvements that mitigate a project with an approved negative declaration or certified EIR. (c)
  • Hazardous site exclusion. A project located on a site on a Government Code § 65962.5 list cannot use a categorical exemption. (d)
  • Historical resources exclusion. A project that may cause a substantial adverse change in the significance of a historical resource cannot use a categorical exemption. (e)

Paraphrased from the statute text; each point cites its subdivision. Check the text before relying on it.

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§ 210845 subdivisions

Source. California Code text from the Legislature's bulk download (the same data as leginfo), reproduced character for character (spacing normalized). Current page on leginfo ↗

History. (Amended by Stats. 2013, Ch. 76, Sec. 175. (AB 383) Effective January 1, 2014.)

Cites, in this navigator. Pub. Resources Code § 21083, Pub. Resources Code § 21084.1

Cited by, in this navigator. Pub. Resources Code § 21080, Pub. Resources Code § 21083.2, Pub. Resources Code § 21086

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Other sections cited. 2 sections outside this navigator are underlined in the text; hover one for its leginfo link; the References tab lists them all.

Statute text comes from the California Legislative Information page saved for this section; spacing and line breaks are normalized and every other character is reproduced as published. Check leginfo for any amendment made after the page was saved. Not legal advice.