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Senate committee advances SB 607 after heated debate over CEQA changes
Summary
The Senate Committee on Local Government advanced SB 607, a package of reforms the bill’s backers say will tighten CEQA’s focus and speed projects, while opponents say it weakens environmental protections for overburdened communities. The measure passed out of committee to Appropriations after partisan floor debate and sustained public testimony.
SACRAMENTO — The Senate Committee on Local Government voted to advance Senate Bill 607, a broad proposal to revise how California’s Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) is used and litigated, after a contentious hearing that split environmental groups, labor unions and housing advocates.
Supporters, including author Sen. Scott Wiener and local government and business witnesses, said the measure modernizes CEQA to prevent duplicative review and to reduce project-stalling lawsuits that they say block housing, infrastructure and clean-energy projects. John Kennedy of the Rural County Representatives of California said CEQA has become “a complex regulatory obligation with serious consequences” and that the bill “helps refocus CEQA on the overarching goals and reduces the misuse and delays for…
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