Environmentalists and labor unions are raising concerns that state lawmakers will use the final weeks of this year’s legislative session to make sweeping changes to California’s landmark environmental law.
On Monday, a coalition of 10 groups sent lawmakers a letter warning them about a proposal being “circulated in the Capitol Building” to alter the California Environmental Quality Act, including a key provision that would exempt projects that comply with local planning and zoning codes.
“That would effectively be the end of CEQA as we know it,” said Dave Pettit, a senior attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council, one of the groups that signed the letter.
Though the origin of the proposal is unclear, some lawmakers say changes to CEQA are in the works.
Revising the law has long been a top priority for the GOP and business groups -– and they see leverage with Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez (D-Los Angeles) in the waning days of this year’s session.
