California senators shoot down late CEQA changes, claiming promises unkept
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Senators blocked CEQA amendments, citing unmet protection commitments.
- Pulled bill failed to address concerns over exemptions for manufacturing projects.
- Discontent grew as lawmakers criticized rushed process and limited transparency.
Several state senators on Wednesday evening revolted against a last-minute effort to modify legislation that changed California’s landmark environmental law, saying that proposed amendments did not fulfill promises that were made earlier in the year.
The Legislature increased exemptions for projects under the California Environmental Quality Act this summer after Gov. Gavin Newsom had tied them to the fate of the state’s budget. The law, known as CEQA, is often criticized as a source of home-building delays in the state.
Several senators who approved those changes in June said they did so despite concerns that it did not go far enough to protect habitats or tribal groups and gave a pass to manufacturing projects that could harm nearby communities.
At the time, Senate President pro Tem Mike McGuire, D-Santa Rosa, promised legislators that negotiations would continue. The result of those talks, unveiled this week, wasn’t good enough for many senators.
“This bill doesn’t get there,” state Sen. Christopher Cabaldon, D-West Sacramento, said during a budget hearing Wednesday night.
State Sen. Laird, D-Santa Cruz, said it was “just hard to understand” why acceptable changes were not in place after months.
Annual legislative session nears end
The frustration comes just days before the end of this year’s legislative session. The deadline to pass bills was Friday, but legislators are planning to extend their work into Saturday to pass additional measures.
After several senators voiced their displeasure, state Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, the chair of the budget committee, pulled the measure, Senate Bill 158, before it could be voted on. The changes could still pass if the Assembly Budget Committee moves them forward. They would also need approval by a majority of senators.
During opening remarks Wiener, said that more robust changes were planned in the future, but that didn’t satisfy concerns.
Environmental groups for weeks had lobbied legislators to weaken the CEQA exemptions that were approved in the summer. They called for remove completely removing an exemption for certain manufacturing projects. But the bill unveiled this week did not do that.
The measure also included a controversial provision that would have removed a CEQA exemption for a narrow list of projects. The project had to be in a city with a population between 85,000 to 95,000, in a county from 440,000 to 455,000 and located next to a historic state landmark.
Jordan Grimes, a resilience manager for the Greenbelt Alliance, a Bay Area organization focused on responding to climate change, said on X that the bill seemed to be benefiting state Sen. Monique Limón, D-Goleta, who is currently set to become the next top leader in the Senate. There is a controversial apartment project near the Santa Barbara Mission, he said.
Limón’s office said the measure was not “designed to prevent a specific project from moving forward,” in a statement to the news site CalMatters.
Republicans also had concerns about the measure.
State Sen. Roger Niello, R-Fair Oaks, declined to vote on any of the 17 bills discussed during the hearing, saying he was frustrated by way they came about.
“The process this week is frankly developing to be the most frustrating I’ve ever experienced.”
This story was originally published September 11, 2025 at 12:10 PM.
