Part 1
Understanding Proposition 45: What It Will Mean for California’s Environmental Protections?
This November, California voters will decide whether to fundamentally change how many major projects are reviewed before they are built. Proposition 45, also known as the Building an Affordable California Act (BACA), would significantly reshape California’s environmental review process for a wide range of projects. While supporters emphasize faster construction and lower costs, the measure raises important questions about environmental oversight, public participation, and local decision-making that extend far beyond housing.
What is CEQA?
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) is California’s primary environmental review law. Before many public and private projects are approved, CEQA requires agencies to evaluate potential environmental impacts, consider reasonable alternatives, identify ways to reduce environmental harm, and provide opportunities for public participation. Because it provides the framework through which many environmental issues are identified and addressed, CEQA underpins much of California’s broader environmental protection framework.
Think of CEQA as the foundation of a house. Many of California’s environmental laws are the walls and roof. Even if those laws remain standing, weakening the foundation can affect how well the entire system functions.
In practice, this process often leads to projects being redesigned to incorporate improved mitigation measures or to reduce environmental impacts before construction begins. Environmental review can identify ways to protect streams and wildlife habitat, reduce flooding risks, improve traffic safety, preserve groundwater resources, or lessen impacts on nearby neighborhoods, just to name a few. While not every project changes because of CEQA, the process allows agencies and the public to engage with projects, identify problems, and consider improvements before decisions become final.
CEQA is often misunderstood as a law that stops projects or makes projects prohibitively expensive because the legal process has occasionally been misused to delay development. In practice, though, it is primarily a disclosure and decision-making law. It requires agencies to understand environmental consequences before making decisions, allows the public an opportunity to identify overlooked impacts, and frequently results in better-designed projects with stronger environmental protections. Most projects ultimately move forward, just with modifications that reduce harm to local communities and natural resources.
What is Proposition 45?
If approved by voters, Prop. 45 would substantially change the current CEQA process for a broad category of “essential projects.” While much of the public discussion has focused on needed housing, the initiative’s definition extends far beyond residential development to include broad categories such as transportation, water infrastructure, clean energy, broadband internet, public safety, education, and numerous other project types. Under BACA, these projects would become eligible for an expedited review process with shorter public review timelines, reduced alternative analysis requirements, a more limited administrative record, and reduced opportunities under which courts can overturn approved projects or require additional environmental review.
Supporters argue these changes are needed to reduce delays, lower costs, and accelerate construction projects. However, California has already enacted several CEQA streamlining measures in 2025, particularly for housing development. Organizations like the Planning and Conservation League have called out some of these inconsistencies, arguing that Prop. 45 instead fundamentally changes how environmental impacts are identified, disclosed, and addressed across a broad range of project types. Watch our Instagram account, other social media platforms, and this newsletter for additional details.
Public Participation Would Be Reduced
One of CEQA’s defining features is that it allows the public opportunities to participate in environmental decision-making. Any member of the public, though it is usually a person or entity with personal or professional interest (think residents, Tribal governments, scientists, resource agencies, and community organizations), can review environmental documents, submit comments, and recommend changes before projects are approved. These public comments often identify local conditions, historical knowledge, cumulative impacts, or other environmental concerns that technical studies may overlook because they lack local knowledge and lived experience. This collaborative process can lead to project modifications, additional mitigation measures, or more informed decision-making before construction begins.
In contrast, Prop. 45’s compressed timelines and limited review process would make meaningful public participation more difficult for communities by reducing the time available to review lengthy technical documents, coordinate expert comments, collaborate with agency staff, and identify environmental concerns before decisions are finalized. Rather than encouraging early problem solving, the accelerated process would likely reduce opportunities to identify environmental concerns while meaningful changes are still possible.
Faster Approvals Mean Less Environmental Review
Faster approvals are not inherently a problem, but when environmental reviews are compressed or narrowed, it hampers the ability to identify potential impacts, evaluate reasonable alternatives, and incorporate mitigation measures before construction begins. As a result, agencies, scientists, and local communities would likely have fewer opportunities to identify issues affecting water quality, fish habitat, groundwater resources, or surrounding communities. Because many environmental impacts develop gradually or cumulatively, limiting environmental review increases the risk that important issues will not be fully identified or addressed before a project moves forward.
One of the biggest questions surrounding BACA is how its broad definition of “essential projects” could apply to emerging industries that require significant land, energy, and water resources, particularly large AI data centers and distribution warehouses. As these developments continue to expand across California, they raise important questions about water demand, energy consumption, air quality, cumulative impacts on environmental justice communities, and whether expedited environmental review would provide sufficient opportunities for agencies and the public to identify and address concerns before projects are approved.
In Part Two, we’ll explore why data centers have become a focal point in the Proposition 45 debate and what their growth and expedited review under BACA could mean for California’s rivers, water resources, and local communities.
Prop. 45 represents one of the most significant proposed changes to California’s environmental review process in decades. Regardless of where you stand, understanding how the measure could affect environmental oversight, local decision-making, and public participation is essential before casting your vote this November.
