SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Diya TV) — In a major shift for California, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed two bills into law Monday evening that overhaul the state’s landmark environmental law to speed up housing and infrastructure projects.
The new laws — Assembly Bill 130 and Senate Bill 131 — will limit the scope of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), a 55-year-old law that has long regulated land-use decisions in the state. Supporters say the reforms will make it easier to build much-needed housing. But critics warn they could weaken protections for the environment and vulnerable communities.
California faces a severe housing crisis. Homes are scarce, prices are high, and many residents struggle to find affordable places to live. Newsom said the new laws will remove key obstacles to construction and reduce costs.
“Today’s bill is a game changer, which will be felt for generations to come,” Newsom said during a press conference. He added that the state must act boldly to tackle its growing affordability crisis. The governor tied the bills to his approval of California’s proposed $320-billion budget.
Without their passage, he had threatened to block the entire spending plan — a rare move that showed the urgency behind the legislation. AB 130 exempts most urban infill housing projects from CEQA review. This means new homes in already-developed areas will not need lengthy environmental assessments. Supporters say this change will speed up construction timelines and lower project costs.
SB 131 goes even further. It removes CEQA requirements for a wide range of projects, including parts of California’s high-speed rail, wildfire mitigation efforts, water infrastructure, and electric vehicle production. Lawmakers hope these changes will clear a path for large-scale development across the state. Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, who authored SB 131, said the reforms will cut through red tape and help solve California’s housing and climate challenges.
“These bills get major process hurdles out of the way, allowing us to finally start addressing these shortages and securing an affordable California,” Wiener said.
Despite the praise from housing advocates and some lawmakers, environmental groups pushed back hard. More than 100 organizations wrote to the governor urging him to reject the bills. They said the changes represent a dangerous rollback of protections for California’s environment and public health. “This bill is the worst anti-environmental bill in California in recent memory,” the letter said.
Opponents say the laws could open the door to unchecked development in sensitive areas. They are especially worried about exemptions for advanced manufacturing facilities like semiconductor and nuclear plants. These types of projects often handle hazardous materials and have been linked to groundwater contamination.
Asha Sharma of the Leadership Council for Justice & Accountability warned that these changes could lead to public health disasters.
“It’s not a question of if, it’s a question of when,” she said in a statement.
Environmental advocates also raised concerns about transparency. The new laws allow some internal agency communications to be excluded from public records. Critics say this could reduce accountability and make it harder for the public to track environmental risks.
Frances Tinney of the Center for Biological Diversity said the lack of protection for endangered species could put hundreds of thousands of acres at risk. Other advocates stressed the potential harm to low-income communities and people of color, who often bear the brunt of environmental damage.
Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, D-Oakland, who led AB 130, said the changes are necessary to prevent CEQA from being “weaponized against housing.” She called the bill a long-overdue reform to help working-class families. Corey Smith, executive director of the Housing Action Coalition, agreed. He said the bills modernize CEQA to support affordable and sustainable housing.
Still, many environmental groups say the fight isn’t over. They are now pushing for “clean-up legislation” to fix what they see as flaws in the bills. As the debate continues, one thing is clear: California’s battle between housing and environmental protection is far from finished.
