Prop 45: Environmental review
Modifies Environmental Review for Certain Projects
Initiative Statute. A state law that voters put on the ballot by signing petitions.
In plain English
Proposition 45 changes the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) for certain projects. These include housing, water, clean energy, health, schools, and transportation projects. Applicants may choose the new rules or current ones. The new rules set tighter time limits for reviews and permits. They limit public comment periods and let the applicant develop only one project alternative. They also set time limits for lawsuits and narrow what courts can consider. A court could halt only the part that did not follow CEQA. State and local governments would likely spend high tens of millions of dollars a year at first, possibly over $100 million. Fees would cover some of this. Longer-term effects are uncertain and could be positive or negative.
A YES VOTE MEANS
Certain public and private projects would be eligible for new project review and court challenge procedures. For example, new procedures would tighten time limits for environmental review and reduce the scope of what courts can consider when reviewing legal challenges.
A NO VOTE MEANS
Public and private projects would continue to use existing project review and court challenge procedures.
Official Spanish text from the California Official Voter Information Guide.
Source: official voter guideOfficial ballot label
The exact words on your ballot. Tap to read.
MODIFIES ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW FOR CERTAIN PROJECTS. INITIATIVE STATUTE. Amends California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) to expedite environmental review for certain projects (including most housing, transportation, water, and health projects) by setting deadlines to complete environmental review and resolve lawsuits challenging project approvals. Fiscal Impact: Initial costs for state and local governments, likely in the high tens of millions of dollars-potentially exceeding $100 million-annually, partly covered by fees. Uncertain, potentially more significant positive or negative longer-term fiscal effects.
Source: LA County Registrar, measures on the ballot
Official text in English. Read the official Spanish voter guide.
Official arguments
Written by supporters and opponents and printed in the official state voter guide, word for word. Arguments printed on this page are the opinions of the authors and have not been checked for accuracy by any official agency.
Official text in English. Read the official Spanish voter guide (PDF).
Argument for
By supportersSigned by Ann-Louise Kuhns, Jennifer Capitolo, and Jenna Abbott. Tap to read.
LENGTHY DELAYS AND RED TAPE ARE BLOCKING ESSENTIAL PROJECTS & DRIVING UP OUR COST OF LIVING.
Families cannot afford to live in California because we are failing to deliver the basics. California's outdated system for approving essential housing, water, clean energy, roads, schools, hospitals, and wildfire prevention projects is too slow, too bureaucratic, and too costly - driving up the cost of living for everyone.
Endless delays, red tape, and frivolous lawsuits make life more expensive and block the projects Californians need - driving up costs for housing, electricity, and water; wasting taxpayer dollars; worsening wildfire risk; increasing traffic; overcrowding schools; and delaying hospital and infrastructure upgrades.
PROP. 45 LOWERS OUR HIGH COST OF LIVING BY MAKING IT FASTER & LESS EXPENSIVE TO BUILD ESSENTIAL PROJECTS.
Prop. 45 streamlines approvals by setting enforceable timelines for project approvals; requires courts and government agencies to base decisions on the laws and regulations in place when the project application is submitted; and creates a faster, more predictable process for legal challenges while reducing frivolous lawsuits.
PROP. 45 STREAMLINES CALIFORNIA'S MOST-PRESSING ESSENTIAL PROJECTS, INCLUDING:
• Water quality and supply projects • Hospitals and healthcare facilities • Housing, including homes and apartments • Wildfire prevention • Schools and classrooms • Roads, bridges and transit • Clean energy and electric grid reliability infrastructure
PROP. 45 WILL:
- REDUCE THE COST OF HOUSING. Permitting delays add more than $75,000 to the cost of a new home. Prop. 45 will help lower rents and mortgages and save families tens of thousands of dollars on a home purchase.
- LOWER ELECTRICITY COSTS. Delays in building clean energy and electric grid infrastructure drive up electricity costs for working families. Prop. 45 helps lower electricity costs.
- PROTECT TAXPAYERS. Lengthy delays drive massive cost overruns on public projects - roads, schools, hospitals, water systems, and wildfire prevention - costing taxpayers billions more. Prop. 45 cuts costly delays, reduces costs, and helps keep projects on time and on budget.
- CREATE GOOD-PAYING JOBS AND STRENGTHEN OUR ECONOMY. Prop. 45 will create tens of thousands of good-paying jobs and billions in economic activity.
PROP. 45 MAINTAINS CALIFORNIA'S STRONGEST-IN-THE-NATION ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTIONS.
California should not have to choose between protecting the environment and building the essential projects we need. Under Prop. 45, projects must comply with all of California strong environmental laws protecting our air, water, wildlife, and health. Prop. 45 does not exempt a single project from environmental review.
PROP. 45 PROTECTS COMMUNITY INPUT AND LOCAL DECISION MAKING.
Under Prop. 45, cities and counties retain full authority to approve or deny projects, and residents keep a meaningful voice in decisions affecting their communities.
AFFORDABLE HOUSING ADVOCATES, HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS, EDUCATORS, WATER PROVIDERS, CLEAN ENERGY LEADERS AND CIVIL RIGHTS LEADERS SUPPORT PROP. 45.
Prop. 45 is supported by a broad coalition of organizations, including:
• American Clean Power - California • California League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) • NAACP California/Hawaii State Conference • California Taxpayers Association • Environmental Policy Innovation Center
YES ON PROP. 45 TO BUILD A MORE AFFORDABLE CALIFORNIA.
Every year of delay means Californians wait longer and pay more for the essential projects we need. It's time to cut red tape, protect our environment and build the projects California needs to make life more affordable.
VOTE YES ON PROP. 45.
YESonProp45.com
Ann-Louise Kuhns, President
California Children's Hospital Association
Jennifer Capitolo, Executive Director
California Water Association
Jenna Abbott, Executive Director
California Council on Affordable Housing
Reply to the argument for
By opponentsSigned by Chris Tarver, Vanessa Forsythe, and Martha Arguello. Tap to read.
PROPOSITION 45 WON'T LOWER YOUR COSTS.
It doesn't require a single project to lower your rent, your mortgage, or your utility bills. 45's corporate funders profit while you bear the cost of their pollution.
PROP. 45 DOESN'T DELIVER AN AFFORDABLE CALIFORNIA. IT LIMITS ENVIRONMENTAL AND PUBLIC REVIEW AND RISKS PUBLIC HEALTH.
Prop. 45 could have been about building what California needs. It isn't. Funded by gas and electric utilities and corporate PACs, Prop. 45 cuts their costs, not yours. Prop. 45 flips California law to protect their projects, harming public health and our air and water.
PROP. 45 PUTS YOUR HEALTH AT RISK AND STICKS YOU WITH THE BILL. Weaker environmental review means more pollution near homes and schools, more asthma and more emergency-room visits. When polluters don't clean up, taxpayers and ratepayers pay more to cover the costs.
PROP. 45 TAKES AWAY PUBLIC INPUT. It limits the environmental review of new projects and your right to provide input and be heard. 45 even gives developers new rights to challenge cities and counties, while making it more difficult for project opponents to successfully challenge an agency's decision.
Prop. 45 rewrites the rules that govern how California protects its citizens from the harm caused by major developments. Prop. 45 weakens environmental safeguards and radically shifts power to corporate polluters.
Protect your air quality, your drinking water, your family's health, your tax dollars, and your right to be heard.
Join nurses, community and public health advocates.
VOTE NO ON PROP. 45.
www.NoProp45CA.com
Chris Tarver, R.N., President
American Nurses Association, CA
Vanessa Forsythe, RN
California Nurses for Environmental Health and Justice
Martha Arguello, Executive Director
Physicians for Social Responsibility, LA
Argument against
By opponentsSigned by Joe Lyou, Jennifer Clary, and Matt Abularach-Macias. Tap to read.
PROPOSITION 45 LIMITS ENVIRONMENTAL AND PUBLIC REVIEW OF PROJECTS BUILT IN YOUR COMMUNITY. VOTE NO ON PROP. 45 TO PROTECT WATER, AIR QUALITY AND PUBLIC HEALTH.
Proposition 45 limits both the environmental review of major new development projects and the public's right to be heard. Prop. 45 lets projects move forward with far less scrutiny of their harms to air, water and public health.
PROP. 45 WEAKENS CRITICAL PROTECTIONS FOR AIR AND WATER QUALITY BY GUTTING THE CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT (CEQA).
CEQA is California's most important air and water quality protection law. It requires public agencies to identify, publicly disclose, and consider reducing harm to air, water, and wildlife before approving projects. Prop. 45 eliminates many of CEQA's existing protections - letting developers fast-track the polluting projects you don't want next door, with fewer protections for the water you drink and air you breathe.
PROP. 45 CUTS THE PUBLIC OUT OF DECISIONS THAT AFFECT YOUR FAMILY.
Today, you have a voice in what's built near you and your family. Prop. 45 reduces public agency requirements to consider public comments on proposed projects - comments that often expose potential contamination of air and water, and damage to our coast, rivers, and wildlife. If Prop. 45 passes, decisions about what gets built near your home, your children's school, and your water supply would be made with less information and less public input. Prop. 45 reduces your ability to protect your family and community from harm.
We need CEQA's protections more than ever since federal protections have been weakened.
THEY POLLUTE. YOU PAY.
The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office warns Prop. 45 could approve projects that result in "unintended negative environmental impacts." When corporations aren't required to reduce their pollution, taxpayers get stuck paying to clean up cancer-causing chemicals from our drinking water and contaminated lands.
PROP. 45 WON'T LOWER YOUR COSTS.
Prop. 45 doesn't include any requirement to lower your housing costs or your utility bills. The corporations paying for Prop. 45 will profit while you keep paying.
WHO'S BEHIND PROP. 45?
Prop. 45 was written by the California Chamber of Commerce and financed by gas and electric utilities and corporate PACs. It gives the polluters and corporations funding Prop. 45 greater freedom to put whatever they want next to your home. Your family's health and environmental quality are more important than corporate profits.
JOIN A BROAD COALITION OF PUBLIC HEALTH, ENVIRONMENTAL, AND COMMUNITY GROUPS OPPOSING PROP. 45, INCLUDING:
• National Wildlife Federation • California Communities Against Toxics • California Environmental Voters • California Environmental Justice Alliance • California Nurses for Environmental Health & Justice • Clean Water Action • Coalition for Clean Air • Physicians for Social Responsibility - Los Angeles
Whether you're a Democrat, a Republican, or an independent, vote NO on Prop. 45 to protect your air and water, your tax dollars, and your right to be heard.
VOTE NO on Prop. 45.
www.NoProp45CA.com.
Joe Lyou, President
Coalition for Clean Air
Jennifer Clary, California Director
Clean Water Action
Matt Abularach-Macias, Political Director
California Environmental Voters
Reply to the argument against
By supportersSigned by Ann-Louise Kuhns, Ruben Grijalva, and Robert Rivinius. Tap to read.
PROP. 45 IS THE CHANGE WE NEED TO BUILD A MORE AFFORDABLE CALIFORNIA.
The status quo is failing California. Families cannot afford to live here because we're failing to deliver the basics. Endless delays, lawsuits and red tape are driving up the cost of essentials - housing, water, electricity, schools, roads, healthcare and wildfire protection.
We have a choice: accept the failing status quo - or fix it. PROP. 45 FIXES OUR BROKEN PROJECT APPROVAL SYSTEM by eliminating unnecessary delays for essential projects - lowering our cost of living and improving our quality of life.
PROP. 45's OPPONENTS ARE MISLEADING VOTERS TO PROTECT THE BROKEN STATUS QUO.
The same opponents fighting Prop. 45 have spent decades using these same scare tactics to block even modest reforms. They're fighting to preserve the broken status quo that's making California unaffordable and lowering our quality of life.
WE DON'T HAVE TO CHOOSE BETWEEN PROTECTING THE ENVIRONMENT AND BUILDING ESSENTIAL PROJECTS.
- FACT: Prop. 45 maintains every federal, state and local environmental law protecting our air, water, wildlife, and public health, including the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act.
- FACT: Prop. 45 does not eliminate a single environmental law or exempt a single project from environmental review.
- FACT: Communities keep their voice. Residents maintain their right to provide public comments, oppose projects, and sue to stop projects.
- FACT: Prop. 45 only applies to essential projects: water, hospitals, housing, schools, roads, transit, clean energy, and wildfire prevention.
THE CHOICE IS SIMPLE: accept the broken status quo - or fix it.
VOTE YES ON PROP. 45 TO BUILD A MORE AFFORDABLE CALIFORNIA.
Ann-Louise Kuhns, President
California Children's Hospital Association
Ruben Grijalva, Former California State Fire Marshal
CAL FIRE
Robert Rivinius, President
Family Business Association of California
Where groups stand
Every group on our list, by category. Each position links to the group's own published guide.
Label definitions Quotes are each group's own words, copied exactly.
Political parties
10 groups
State and county parties are separate groups and can take different positions.
American Independent Party
No position
American Independent Party Their guide, checked Oct 15, 2026California Democratic Party
No
Their words: "Proposition 45: Oppose"
California Democratic Party Source, checked Oct 15, 2026California Republican Party
Yes
Their words: "Prop 45: support"
California Republican Party Source, checked Oct 15, 2026Green Party of California
No
Their words: "NO on Prop 45: Land Use Admin. Powers"
Green Party of California Source, checked Oct 15, 2026Green Party of LA County
No position
Green Party of LA County Their guide, checked Oct 15, 2026LA County Democratic Party
No
Their words: "STATEWIDE Prop 45 Expedited Environmental Review Process for Certain Projects Initiative NO"
LA County Democratic Party Source, checked Oct 15, 2026LA Hispanic Republican Club
No position
LA Hispanic Republican Club Where we looked, checked Oct 18, 2026Libertarian Party of California
Neutral
Their words: "Environmental Review Changes No Position"
Libertarian Party of California Source, checked Oct 15, 2026Peace and Freedom Party
No
Their words: "Vote NO on Proposition 45"
Peace and Freedom Party Source, checked Oct 18, 2026Republican Party of LA County
Yes
Their tool lists: Prop 45: YES
Republican Party of LA County Source, checked Oct 15, 2026
News outlets
5 groups
These are the only news outlets we found with published endorsements for this election. Suggest another.
Knock LA
No
Their words: "State Measure 45: No"
Knock LA Source, checked Oct 18, 2026La Opinión
Yes
Their words: "La Opinión apoya la Proposición 45 y urge a sus lectores a votar por ella en las elecciones que culminan el 3 de noviembre."
La Opinión Source, checked Oct 18, 2026Los Angeles Daily News
Yes
Their words: "Proposition 45: Yes"
Los Angeles Daily News Source, checked Oct 15, 2026Los Angeles Sentinel
No
Their words: "Prop 45 | NO"
Los Angeles Sentinel Source, checked Oct 18, 2026Los Angeles Times
No position
Los Angeles Times Where we looked: LA Times editorials page, checked Oct 18, 2026
Labor
9 groups
California Labor Federation
No
Their words: "Prop 45: Limits CEQA Environmental Review and Public Input Recommend: OPPOSE"
California Labor Federation Source, checked Oct 15, 2026California Teachers Association
No position
California Teachers Association Their guide, checked Oct 15, 2026LA County Federation of Labor
No
Their words: "Prop 45: Limits CEQA Environmental Review and Public Input - No"
LA County Federation of Labor Source, checked Oct 15, 2026LA County Firefighters Local 1014
No position
LA County Firefighters Local 1014 Their guide, checked Oct 18, 2026LA/OC Building and Construction Trades Council
No
Their words: "2026 NOVEMBER GENERAL ELECTION ENDORSEMENTS | PROP. 45 Guts CEQA OPPOSE"
LA/OC Building and Construction Trades Council Source, checked Oct 18, 2026Los Angeles Police Protective League
No position
Los Angeles Police Protective League Where we looked, checked Oct 18, 2026SEIU Local 721
No
Their words: "45 Modifies Environmental Review for Certain Projects OPPOSE"
SEIU Local 721 Source, checked Oct 18, 2026UNITE HERE Local 11
No
Their words: "Proposition 45: Limits CEQA Environmental Review and Public Input | Recommend: NO"
UNITE HERE Local 11 Source, checked Oct 18, 2026United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA)
No
Their words: "NO | Prop 45 | Gut environmental reviews"
United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) Source, checked Oct 18, 2026
Business
3 groups
BizFed (LA County Business Federation)
No position
BizFed (LA County Business Federation) Where we looked, checked Oct 18, 2026CalChamber
Yes
Their words: "Proposition 45: Modifies Environmental Review for Certain Projects (YES)"
CalChamber Source, checked Oct 15, 2026LA Area Chamber of Commerce
Yes
Their words: "Changes to Environmental Review Process for Certain Projects Initiative | Amends CEQA to expedite environmental review on special infrastructure projects. | SUPPORT"
LA Area Chamber of Commerce Source, checked Oct 18, 2026
Civic and good government
1 group
League of Women Voters of California
No
Their words: "But the process overhaul of CEQA proposed by Prop 45 goes too far."
League of Women Voters of California Source, checked Oct 15, 2026
Issue and advocacy groups
3 groups
Abundant Housing LA
Neutral
Their words: "PROPOSITION 45 | MODIFIES ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW | Staff recommendation: Neutral"
Abundant Housing LA Source, checked Oct 18, 2026LA Forward
No
Their words: "Proposition 45 - Environmental reviewOppose | LA Forward urges you to vote NO."
LA Forward Source, checked Oct 18, 2026Sierra Club Angeles Chapter
No
Their words: "Proposition 45 - California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Reform | Oppose"
Sierra Club Angeles Chapter Source, checked Oct 18, 2026
Official links
About the summary
Summary drafted with AI from the official analysis and checked against it by automated review. Read the official analysis