The California Chamber of Commerce has submitted a ballot proposal to overhaul the state’s 55-year-old environmental review law. Titled the Building an Affordable California Act, the initiative would streamline and modernize the California Environmental Quality Act for essential projects like housing, water supply, clean energy, public safety and infrastructure.
CalChamber is calling for local and state agencies to adhere to firm timelines, with provisions setting a maximum of 365 days for application reviews, followed by a 60-day window for a public hearing and final decision if a hearing is requested. Judicial review would similarly be subject to new time limits.
CalChamber President and CEO Jennifer Barrera said the measure “recognizes prosperity isn’t the enemy of preservation.” Yet the proposal claims the existing permitting regime is “too slow, too bureaucratic and too costly.”
The initiative emphasizes that environmental protections will remain intact, asserting that it does not exempt projects from CEQA review but layers on clearer timelines and procedures. The text outlines that essential projects subject to the law would include affordable housing, energy systems, broadband infrastructure, and public health and safety facilities. It also incorporates the many policy actions outlined in Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Water Resilience Portfolio released in 2020.
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CalChamber intends to spearhead a coalition of business, housing, clean energy and infrastructure interests to qualify the measure for the November 2026 ballot.
Opponents like the environmental group Restore the Delta have criticized the measure’s broad definition of essential projects, warning it could dilute CEQA’s protections for environmental justice communities, tribal sovereignty and ecosystems. They argue the title’s focus on affordability misframes the initiative as benefiting residents rather than large developers and infrastructure interests.
“At a time when California residents are on the verge of losing their SNAP benefits and healthcare, framing this initiative as ‘affordable’ is frankly disrespectful,” said Morgen Snyder, director of policy and programs at Restore the Delta, in a statement. “While housing affordability is a real crisis, removing community voices and environmental safeguards for the sake of industry profits is a massive step in the wrong direction.”
The group has deployed CEQA and litigation to block or delay major water infrastructure projects like Newsom’s proposed Delta tunnel.
The initiative comes on the heels of significant legislative reforms earlier this year that carved out new CEQA exemptions for multifamily housing in urban zones.
