Legal Insurrection has been following California Governor Gavin Newsom as he laughingly reframes himself as a “centrist” in his bid to become Clinton 2.0 and secure the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination.
Some mile-markers on this path include:
Now this Blue State maverick is sacrificing one of the iconic state environmental rules on the altar of his presidential ambitions. In a move that is likely stunning the climate cultists and eco-activists in the state and across the country, Newsom rolled back key parts of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), a law that has been formidable for anyone trying to build a house since the 1970s.
For more than half a century, the law, the California Environmental Quality Act, has allowed environmentalists to slow suburban growth as well as given neighbors and disaffected parties a powerful tool to stop projects they found objectionable.Gov. Gavin Newsom signed two bills, which were written by Democrats but had rare bipartisan support in California’s divided State Capitol, that will allow many development projects to avoid rigorous environmental review and, potentially, the delaying and cost-inflating lawsuits that have discouraged construction in the state.Democrats have long been reluctant to weaken the law, known as CEQA, which they considered an environmental bedrock in a state that has prided itself on reducing pollution and protecting waterways. And environmentalists took them to task for the vote.But the majority party also recognized that California’s bureaucratic hurdles had made it almost impossible to build enough housing for nearly 40 million residents, resulting in soaring costs and persistent homelessness.
The new laws, conveniently submerged within the state’s $321 billion budget, mean most urban housing and infrastructure projects can now skip those marathon environmental reviews, potentially shaving years off construction timelines, and theoretically reducing the costs associated with new building construction.
As part of his 2025-26 budget, the governor gave his stamp of approval to two bills — A.B. 130 and S.B. 131 — his office described as “the most significant overhaul of California’s housing and environmental review laws in decades.”“Today’s bill is a game changer, which will be felt for generations to come,” Newsom said in a statement.The two “budget trailer bills” — measures that essentially serve as revisions to the state budget — include a streamlining package that remove certain development barriers, update review procedures for critical housing and infrastructure and create new tools for accelerating production.
As a delightful bonus, the eco-activists are extremely unhappy their move to make life miserable for humanity is being hindered.
Lawmakers passed the transformative measure despite opposition from environmental groups, elevating concerns over affordability in a state known as the birthplace of the modern environmental movement.Jakob Evans, a senior policy strategist for Sierra Club California, said in a statement that “these half-baked bills written behind closed doors will have destructive consequences for environmental justice communities and endangered species across California.”
Under these 2025 CEQA reforms, housing projects are exempt from jumping through the environmental impact hoops if they are all-residential or primarily residential mixed-use developments on urban infill sites up to 20 acres and are outside sensitive environmental areas. Projects must meet minimum density requirements and comply with prevailing wage and skilled workforce standards, but union labor involvement is not specifically required. Local agencies must approve qualifying projects ministerially within 60 days, and there are limited grounds for denial or delay.
And while all of this sounds like a positive development for the state, too often Californians have to address the unintended consequences of Sacramento’s policy manipulations. California pundit Jon Fleischman highlighted a significant area of concern.
Section 25 of the legislation exempts housing projects from environmental review while imposing minimum wage requirements and prevailing wage rates on developments that were never subject to these costly mandates—a costly mandate in a bill that purports to make it easier to build housing.Most small-scale residential construction projects are not currently covered by prevailing wage requirements, making this a seismic shift in California’s construction landscape. For San Francisco projects exceeding 50 units, the legislation establishes labor standards that must be enforced by joint labor-management committees—entities dominated by union representation. Section 26 further rigs the system by manipulating prevailing wage calculations to exclude non-union data, guaranteeing that union-negotiated rates become the mandatory standard.While SB 131’s CEQA exemptions appear less explicit in their union favoritism, they trigger prevailing wage laws that funnel construction work directly into union hands. This represents the government picking winners and losers in the marketplace, not genuine policy reform designed to benefit California families.
So while climate cultists are upset, maybe in addition to helping reframe Newsom as a “centrist”, the package also helps his union cronies. Time will tell, as will the U-Haul data related to the number of outbound ex-Californians over the next few years.
As you see, the hair isn’t the only slick thing about Newsom.
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY