SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CN) — California lawmakers voted in favor of Governor Gavin Newsom’s infrastructure streamlining package, which promises to accelerate clean energy and infrastructure projects while tackling climate change.
Wednesday's passage comes after a tense process that left lawmakers at odds with the governor over how to address worsening climate change effects while cleaning up how building projects are reviewed and approved.
Newsom introduced the bill package in May, touting it as his strategy to streamline project approval, maximize California’s federal infrastructure dollars and expedite projects to meet economic and climate goals. He said that the state must speed up construction, clear delayed construction procurement processes and expedite judicial review for projects that have already passed environmental reviews.
The package includes measures to move projects through delivery timelines faster, including streamlining "red tape" around lengthy bureaucratic processes. Newsom also included establishing a Green Bank Financing Program within the state’s Climate Catalyst Fund, a way for state agencies to leverage federal dollars for climate projects that benefit low-income and disadvantaged communities.
The governor also signed an executive order creating a strike team focused on ensuring that statewide processes for planning and development are taking place smoothly.
The package next heads to the governor’s desk for final signature.
“California is one step closer to building the projects that will power our homes with clean energy, ensure safe drinking water, and modernize our transportation system,” Newsom said in a statement Wednesday.
“Thanks to our partners in the Legislature, we’re about to embark on a clean construction boom that maximizes the unprecedented funding available from the Biden-Harris Administration. I look forward to signing these bills to build California’s clean future, faster.”
The governor's legislation builds on efforts to reform the California Environmental Quality Act and other prior actions lawmakers have taken to streamline state laws and maximize housing production. About 20 CEQA reform bills recently became law in the state.
Hundreds of solar, wind and battery storage projects could be streamlined thanks to this package, including Proposition 1 water storage projects. But Newsom’s efforts to cut pollution and curtail dependence on fossil fuels also puts him at odds with environmentalists.
Some environmental groups, allied with Democrats in the Legislature, opposed the infrastructure package, saying it did not include enough protections for fragile ecosystems, nor for the threatened species and low-income and tribal communities that live in them. Tribal and environmental leaders rallied at the Capitol Wednesday to urge the governor to change the state’s water rights system and adopt rules to keep more water in the rivers and protect threatened fish species.
The governor's office says that California has a target to cut its emissions 40% by 2030, meaning it must cut emissions by 4% each year — not by 1% each year in the past decade, according to the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office.
Newsom also announced Wednesday that he approved $352 million for "transit-oriented, climate-friendly" housing, targeted in historically underserved communities.
The Southern California Association of Governments is receiving $237.41 million, designed to kickstart developing new affordable housing which the state says will be built under new environmental standards.
The Sacramento Area Council of Governments gets $31.83 million to fund new green infill projects, and Bay Area Rapid Transit is using $3.5 million to start building homes on land it owns.
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