Tomorrow morning, the Supreme Court will file its opinions in Sunflower Alliance v. California Department of Conservation and People v. Cofer. (Briefs here; oral argument videos here and here.)
The court limited the issues in Sunflower Alliance to: “(1) May an agency claim a categorical exemption from environmental review under [the California Environmental Quality Act] while also adopting conditions of approval relating to potential environmental effects? (2) Does the term ‘negligible’ in the California Environmental Quality Act’s Class 1 existing facilities exemption (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 14, § 15301) pertain to a negligible change in use or to a change that presents a negligible risk of environmental harm?” The court granted review in December 2024. More about the case here. Justice Victoria M. Chavez of the Second District, Division Two, is the pro tem.
In Cofer, the issue as summarized by court staff is: ““When a defendant is sentenced to concurrent terms on multiple cases jointly resolved at a single hearing, does Penal Code section 2900.5, subdivision (b) entitle the defendant to duplicative presentence custody credits for time spent in custody on one or more of the cases, but not others?” The court granted review in October 2024. More about the case here. Justice Danny Y. Chou of the First District, Division Five, is the pro tem.
These will be the first two of three opinions for cases argued in April. The third case — Doe v. Marysville Joint Unified School District — should be decided by July 2.
The Sunflower Alliance and Cofer opinions can be viewed tomorrow starting at 10:00 a.m.
