Senator Lou Correa

(February 26, 2010) The California Chamber of Commerce is supporting bipartisan legislation sponsored by the Governor that would spur job creation by protecting environmentally sound projects from unnecessary lawsuits.

The bill would give a limited number of environmentally sound development projects protection from California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) lawsuits only after those projects have met CEQA’s stringent environmental requirements.

Authored by Senator Lou Correa (D-Santa Ana) and Senator Dave Cogdill (R-Modesto), SBX8 42 allows a select number of projects that have met their CEQA requirements to break ground sooner, which will create badly needed jobs and spur economic growth.

Senator Dave Cogdill

Supporters of SBX8 42 appearing before the Senate Environmental Quality Committee on February 24 included representatives of labor, engineers, contractors, builders, property owners and manufacturers.

CalChamber Policy Advocate Robert Callahan commented to the committee that SBX8 42 “offers us that great potential for job creation by focusing on projects that not only stand to significantly benefit the economy, but that are environmentally sound according to CEQA.

CalChamber Policy Advocate Robert Callahan reviews with Senator Lou Correa (D-Santa Ana) legislation to protect a limited number of environmentally sound development projects from lawsuit delays.

“This bill is not suggesting that we toss aside the CEQA at all. In fact, we’re not even asking that this body give precedence to the economy over the environment.

“Rather, we’re asking that the state’s most stringent and respected environmental law adjust its rigidity just slightly, and in a thoughtful way, for a limited number of carefully vetted projects in acknowledgment of the state’s precarious economic situation.”

SBX8 42 ended up being held in the committee without a vote.

CalChamber President and CEO Allan Zaremberg commented, “This bill would create a much-needed process to ensure that CEQA is complied with while also creating the certainty investors need to develop more jobs in California.

“It is unfortunate that the majority party was unwilling to support the bill so that a vote could have been taken to move the bill out of committee, even though there seemed to be an appreciation that endless CEQA litigation is a barrier to investment in jobs in California.

“We are going to continue to push this agenda forward. We all seem to agree that more jobs is the answer. It is time for our legislators to support bipartisan efforts that will actually create them.” 

Lawsuit Delays

The legislation addresses the problem of important economic development projects being held up due to unnecessary and costly lawsuits filed under the guise of CEQA.

Housing projects, shopping centers, infrastructure projects and more, often are challenged by opponents who simply dislike the project for non-environmental reasons and use CEQA litigation to frustrate, delay or even kill the project.

Ultimately, the economy suffers, jobs are lost and the public and private sectors spend millions of dollars defending themselves in court instead of creating jobs.

Protection

SBX8 42 offers protection from CEQA litigation to a limited number of projects that already have been certified as meeting the environmental standards of CEQA.

This bill does not provide an exemption from the CEQA process. Rather, the benefit of litigation protection is provided to a project only if:

• it has completed a full environmental review under CEQA and had that review certified;
• public hearings have been held in the region;
• it has been identified and approved by the Secretary of the Business Transportation and Housing Agency as having significant economic potential.

Selection Criteria

Projects are to be selected based on the following criteria:

• The number and quality of jobs that will be created by the project.
• The amount of capital investment made by the project.
• A balance between projects sponsored by public and private entities.

The proposal will require the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency to select 25 projects each year for five years to protect from unwarranted litigation. The bill will sunset in 2016.

Staff Contact: Robert Callahan