Governor’s Infrastructure Plan: Legislature Finds Modest CEQA Reforms too Complex for a Vote this Year

June 16, 2023

Daily Journal

On May 19, 2023, Governor Gavin Newsom announced a new plan touted as the State’s “most ambitious permitting and project review reforms in a half century to build California’s clean energy future while creating thousands of good jobs.” The plan proposes to expedite up to $180 billion worth of infrastructure projects to create over 400,000 jobs in the State. The most significant of the plan’s legislative proposals would make changes to the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) and the State’s statutory framework for species protection, both of which can impede development projects. The Governor’s proposal includes expedited judicial review for select infrastructure projects and reforms to the administrative record process.

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