A Turning Point for CEQA Reform?

North Bay Leadership Council has long championed California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) reforms to protect our environment without allowing unnecessary bureaucracy to stand in the way of the projects our communities need most. Our position has been simple: we can protect California's environment while also making it easier to build the housing, transportation, clean energy, and infrastructure projects our communities desperately need.

Now, it appears California voters may be reaching the same conclusion.

A recent statewide poll found that 73% of likely voters support Proposition 45 a November ballot measure that would modernize CEQA by establishing clearer timelines for environmental review while preserving the law's core environmental protections.

When CEQA was enacted more than 50 years ago, it became a national model for environmental stewardship. But over time, the law has also become a tool for costly delays, uncertainty, and litigation that can stall housing developments, transportation improvements, wildfire resilience projects, water infrastructure, and even clean energy investments.

California has begun taking steps to streamline CEQA for specific projects through recent legislative reforms, recognizing that the status quo is making it harder to address many of the state's most pressing challenges. Proposition 45 asks voters whether that modernization should continue more broadly.

For the North Bay, this conversation is especially important. Our region needs more housing for workers, investments in transportation corridors like Highway 37, wildfire resilience projects, and climate adaptation infrastructure. These projects should receive rigorous environmental review, but they should also move forward in a timely and predictable manner.

The North Bay Leadership Council has long believed that environmental stewardship and economic prosperity go hand in hand. Modernizing CEQA is not about lowering environmental standards; it's about creating a process that delivers better outcomes for our communities, our economy, and our environment.