CA lawmakers seek to change CEQA (again)

Scheduling note: WhatMatters is taking Monday off to honor Cesar Chavez and will be back in your inboxes Tuesday.

A handful of legislators rallied near the state Capitol Thursday to promote what they’re calling an “extremely unsexy,” but important, bipartisan bill package intended to put California’s housing development into overdrive. 

But one bill stands out for its potential to turn a landmark state environmental law on its head.

As CalMatters’ Ben Christopher explains, a proposal by Assemblymember Buffy Wicks would exempt most urban housing developments from the California Environmental Quality Act. Known as CEQA, the law requires government agencies to review and disclose the environmental impact of any public project, including new housing developments.

If the bill by the Oakland Democrat becomes law, it would mean:

• No more environmental lawsuits over proposed apartment buildings;
• No more legislative debates over which projects should be exempted from CEQA;
• Environmental justice advocates, construction unions and anti-development neighborhood groups can’t use CEQA to delay development.

Wicks’ promotion of the measure follows a report released earlier this month that found that one of the reasons why it takes California so long to build housing, public transit and other projects is because various permitting processes are “time consuming, opaque, confusing, and favor process over outcomes.” Wicks serves as the chairperson for the select committee that led the report.

The bill will likely face strong opposition from staunch supporters of the 55-year-old law. Defenders argue the law helps block development that hurts vulnerable communities, and that CEQA lawsuits are relatively rare.

But Wicks says attitudes are shifting: In addition to California’s ongoing housing crisis, top Democratic leaders have emphasized the need to address the state’s affordability issues, and the deadly Los Angeles County wildfires have ramped up lawmakers’ urgency to rebuild.

• Wicks, at Thursday’s press event: “The people of California have been crystal clear. They want results and they’re going to hold us accountable to those results with their votes, or their feet moving to other states where it’s easier to build housing. … The days of protecting the status quo are over.”

Read more here.

Other legislative happenings: Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, a Salinas Democrat, said Thursday that he and 57 other Democratic Assemblymembers will stop using the social media site X, formerly known as Twitter.

A few Democratic state lawmakers had already left the platform, citing rampant misinformation, hate speech and changes to its algorithm. But Rivas described Thursday’s move as “the single largest departures of elected representatives from X.” He added that “democracy depends on impartial information” and that X “has no accountability.”

With current demand exceeding what they saw during the COVID-19 pandemic, California food banks are bracing for cuts from both the state and federal governments, reports CalMatters’ Jeanne Kuang.

About one in five Californians are experiencing food insecurity. As President Donald Trump and his administration carry out plans to reduce federal spending, the U.S. Department of Agriculture halted hundreds of millions of dollars in funds for food banks. The department also eliminated a grant program under the Biden administration that enabled food banks and tribal governments to buy food from local farmers. 

As a result, 330 truckloads of food initially bound for California food banks are now in limbo, and no one knows if or when they’ll be delivered.

Meanwhile, California is facing a limited $322 billion budget. While a spokesperson for the Department of Finance said it’s too early to determine whether the state can afford to cover the federal cuts, food banks have long warned that California faces a growing “hunger crisis.” Inflation is worsening the situation: Food prices last year rose by nearly 24% compared to 2020.

Read more here.

Speaking of federal budget cuts, CalMatters’ Kristen Hwang reports on the more than $1 billion California may lose in public health and mental health funding.

During the pandemic, the federal government granted billions of dollars to state health departments to aid emergency response. After the crisis subsided in 2023, Congress allowed states to keep the money for other public health investments. In California, the money went towards combating sexually transmitted infections, the emerging bird flu outbreak and the deadly flu season.

But under the Trump administration, the federal Department of Health and Human Services terminated $12 billion in grants to states for infectious disease response, mental health services and other public health challenges. 

In addition to the state public health money, the administration clawed back $103 million worth of other health-related grants to California counties, and another $169 million in health funding for California universities. The U.S. Department of Government Efficiency also reported that five grants, totaling more than $700 million, were terminated at the California Department of Health Care Services. 

Read more here.

The U.S. Department of Education said Thursday it is launching an investigation into whether a recent California law prohibiting schools to require staff to notify parents if a student identifies as LGBTQ violates federal law. Find out what California officials had to say from CalMatters’ Carolyn Jones.