Opinion
A yes vote on Proposition 45 is a vote for jobs and innovation, and the Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle supports it.
On Nov. 3, California voters will decide Proposition 45, which the Attorney General titled “Modifies Environmental Review for Certain Projects.” It gives certain essential projects a faster, optional path through the state’s environmental review law, known as CEQA.
The projects covered are housing; water systems, except Delta conveyance; clean energy, except nuclear; hospitals, clinics and medical offices; fire, police and sheriff stations; wildfire prevention; broadband; schools; and transportation, except high-speed rail. A builder can choose the new path or stay under current law.
On the new path, agencies and courts face firm deadlines for reviews, permits and lawsuits. The measure limits how many alternatives an agency has to study and caps public comment periods. If a court finds a problem, it can stop only the part of the project that is out of compliance while the agency fixes it, instead of halting the whole project. That description comes from the state’s official voter guide.
“Proposition 45 doesn’t eliminate a single environmental standard,” said Christopher South, co-owner of the Chronicle. “It ends the years of duplicative review and serial litigation that have made our state the hardest place in America to build anything.”
Long delays cost jobs. Contractors can’t hire for a project that is stuck in review, and companies that need a building on a set schedule will look at other states instead. Prop 45 gives these projects a deadline without dropping the environmental rules they still have to meet.
Opponents will say any change to CEQA opens the door to building anything anywhere. The ballot language says otherwise. The faster path covers only the listed categories, it is optional, and nuclear plants, Delta conveyance and high-speed rail are left out. Agencies still review projects, and people can still sue. The difference is that those steps have to finish on time.
“Every project that gets blocked in California gets built somewhere else,” South said. “Proposition 45 lets this state lead on the technology that will define the next twenty years instead of watching it happen from the sidelines.”
Vote yes on Proposition 45 on Nov. 3.
Source: California Secretary of State, Official Voter Information Guide, Proposition 45 title, summary and analysis: vig.cdn.sos.ca.gov/2026/general/pdf/prop45-title-summ-analysis.pdf
Media Contact:
Christopher South
[email protected]
