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California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed two bills on Monday which scaled back the state’s environmental restrictions to allow for more homebuilding and combat the ongoing housing shortage.
The new housing legislation effectively weakens the California Environmental Quality Act, known as CEQA, allowing for some housing projects to sidestep the landmark law which critics said allowed neighbors to block building projects in their community they did not like.
The law, passed in 1970 and signed into law by then-Governor Ronald Reagan, has attracted criticism in recent years and has been blamed for contributing to the Golden State’s housing shortage. CEQA, according to critics, has been abused by groups with no track record of environmental activism to block or delay projects that would actually have a positive impact on the state.
Despite recent backlash against the law, many lawmakers were conflicted about passing the two bills, especially among Democrats. Newsom blocked a standstill in the state Senate by threatening to reject the state budget unless it included the new housing reform.
On Monday the Democratic governor, who is rumored to be considering a 2028 presidential run, called the two bills the “most consequential housing reform that we’ve seen in modern history in the state of California.”
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