Assembly committee advances targeted CEQA exemption to speed Southern California veterans cemetery

SACRAMENTO — The Assembly Committee on Military and Veterans Affairs on Thursday voted to pass AB 571 and refer it to the Committee on Appropriations. The bill, authored by Assemblymember Sharon Quirk Silva, would provide an urgency clause and a narrow exemption to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) to streamline planning and permitting for the proposed Southern California Veterans Cemetery at Gibson Canyon in the city of Anaheim.

Quirk Silva, the bill’s author, told the committee the measure is the culmination of more than a decade of work to bring a veterans cemetery to Orange County. “This is actually the fourth piece of legislation in this package to bring this cemetery to Orange County,” she said, adding the project has “broad bipartisan support.”

The bill’s backers said the site already has local approvals and environmental review that support the project. Steve Spriggs, a U.S. Army Vietnam veteran and board member of the Veterans Alliance of Orange County, said the Gibson Canyon site has “already undergone thorough environmental review with [an environmental impact report] certified in 02/2005 and updated again in 2024 by the Anaheim City Council.” He urged support, saying Orange County remains the largest California county without a dedicated veterans cemetery.

Amy Jenkins, speaking for the Orange County Board of Supervisors, told the committee the county has deeded 200 acres to the project and “invested $20,000,000 towards this effort.” Testimony indicated approximately $50,000,000 in combined state and county and federal funding is available for early phases of construction.

Quirk Silva said AB 571 would allow the County of Orange, the Orange County Cemetery District and the California Department of Veterans Affairs to coordinate infrastructure, share costs and move the project forward. She described the bill as “about a tribute to the veterans” and asked the committee for an aye vote.

The committee recorded an 8-0 vote to pass and refer AB 571 to the Appropriations Committee. Members who spoke in support included Assemblymember Davies and others who praised the bill’s decade-long development and urged prompt action.

While supporters described prior environmental review and local approvals, opponents did not present testimony at the hearing. Committee members and witnesses noted a pending legal challenge to the project; Spriggs said a single legal challenge “now threatens to delay this project even further.” The bill creates a narrow statutory process to prevent further permitting delays but does not itself resolve any outstanding litigation.

The committee’s action advances AB 571 to appropriations, where fiscal and implementation questions will be evaluated.