The Building an Affordable California Act modernizes California鈥檚 approval process for critical clean energy projects that are needed to meet rising energy demand and the state鈥檚 climate goals.聽
The ballot initiative streamlines the 55-year-old California Environmental Quality Act, shaving an estimated three to seven years from development timelines without sacrificing environmental protections.聽
For clean energy, the initiative:
- Sets enforceable timelines for public agencies to complete environmental reviews and issue decisions under the law, addressing delays that eat up years today.
- Sets timelines for judicial review, helping prevent common abuses of CEQA lawsuits to slow projects.
- Eliminates requirements for project developers to evaluate an unlimited number of alternatives to any proposed project, requiring analysis instead of just one alternative and a 鈥渘o project鈥� scenario.
- Creates objective standards of review, providing that project challenges must be based on written standards such as local ordinances, environmental laws or zoning standards.
The reforms in the initiative, which has qualified to appear on the November ballot, will cut down on bureaucratic delays and help ensure California鈥檚 landmark environmental law stays true to its original purpose.
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