"Proposition 45 would ease development of a wide range of projects, including some fossil-fuel facilities and possibly AI data centers."
"Big Tech companies and California’s largest oil and gas well operator are spending millions to pass a ballot measure that would clear hurdles for industrial projects such as gas pipelines and possibly data centers.
Proposition 45 would alter the California Environmental Quality Act, known as CEQA, which requires often time-consuming reviews and public input for infrastructure and other construction projects. Those requirements would be clipped if voters pass the proposition in November, making projects harder to stop or delay.
The half-century-old environmental law has come under scrutiny for slowing housing construction, among other complaints. Last year, the state Legislature passed and Gov. Gavin Newsom signed bills exempting housing in developed urban and suburban areas from the law and giving “advanced manufacturing” businesses a pass.
It wasn’t enough to speed along needed housing, clean energy and other projects, say the proposition’s backers. California needs Proposition 45 to further “cut bureaucratic red tape and unnecessary delays,” as the measure’s text puts it, and make the state more affordable."
