Fulfilling his promise during the presentation of the May revision of his fiscal year (FY) 2023-24 budget, Gov. Gavin Newsom unveiled his proposals to reform the permitting and project review process in California. On May 19, one week later, he signed an Executive Order (EO) while touring the site of a future solar farm in Stanislaus County. His staff also submitted 11 specific proposals (trailer bills) to the Legislature for review and approval.

The governor’s package is intended to streamline and to improve the overall permitting process. The primary goal is to accelerate construction. The governor’s proposals include methods to offer a streamlined process for project delivery to reduce project timeframes and costs. They would make various changes to California law to accelerate permitting for certain projects in order to reduce delays and project costs.

This includes addressing California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) processes such as cumbersome procedures around document retention and review.

With $180 billion for projects — roads, bridges, clean energy and infrastructure — Newsom does not want to repeat the situation where one project generates more than 290,000 pages of environmental documentation. He wants to reduce the time from planning to building, as the state did for two recent sports stadiums in Sacramento and Inglewood.

“We’re addressing the issue of the time with these 11 bills and Executive Order,” he told the people gathered at the site. “We recognize the urgency of the moment we’re living in. That urgency is not just climate change, but around trust. That urgency is delivering on what we promote and promise.”

The day before Newsom’s announcement, Infrastructure Advisor to California Antonio Villaraigosa and California Forward (CA FWD) issued a report urging permitting reform.

“We have a remarkable opportunity to improve California’s infrastructure planning and delivery — and to make sure infrastructure projects are built better, faster and with greater transparency,” said Micah Weinberg, CEO of CA FWD. “We look forward to working with the administration to bring community voices forward as the planning for this historic investment gets underway.”

Another important step would be to expedite the time needed for judicial review of projects. Legal challenges often tie up projects even after they’ve successfully gone through environmental review. These proposals would authorize expedited judicial review of challenges to certain water, transportation, clean energy, and semiconductor or microelectronic projects under CEQA. The proposal does not change the environmental and government transparency benefits of CEQA, according to the press release.

Some other areas included in the 10 proposals are the state’s Endangered Species Act and the Delta Reform Act.

“By streamlining permitting, cutting red tape and allowing state agencies to use new types of contracts (e.g., job orders), these proposals will maximize taxpayer dollars and accelerate timelines of projects throughout the state, while ensuring appropriate environmental review and community engagement,” according to the proposal.

The governor’s press release estimates these proposals could cut project timelines by more than three years, save businesses and state and local governments hundreds of millions of dollars and reduce paperwork by hundreds of thousands of pages.

Or as Newsom described his initiative, “It’s simple, saving time, saving money and addressing bureaucratic malaise. There are ways to do things better and more efficiently.”

Examples of the projects the governor hopes to accelerate include: solar, wind and battery storage projects; transit and regional rail construction, clean transportation, including maintenance and bridge projects; water storage projects funded by Proposition 1; the Delta Conveyance Project; semiconductor fabrication plants; and wildlife crossings along the I-15 corridor.

On May 19, Newsom signed an executive order creating a strike team to accelerate clean infrastructure projects across the state by implementing an all-of-government strategy for planning and development.

EO N-8-23 establishes the senior counselor on infrastructure, who will oversee the infrastructure strike team. Its purpose is to work across state agencies to maximize federal and state funding opportunities for California innovation and infrastructure projects. The strike team’s composition includes most agency heads, such as Finance, Business and Economic Development, Tribal Affairs, Transportation, Natural Resources, Environmental Protection and more.

Among its assignments the EO specifies, the strike team is to identify projects “on which to focus streamlining efforts, particularly those presenting significant challenges but also significant opportunities for infrastructure and job creation, and hold departments and agencies accountable to deliver results in an expedited and effective fashion.”

Engendering coordination among federal, state, tribal and local government on project review, permitting and approvals is another strike team role. Over time, it will also share challenges and best practices across agencies, and identify opportunities for improvement.

“The only way to achieve California’s world-leading climate goals is to build, build, build — faster. This proposal is the most ambitious effort to cut red tape and streamline regulations in half a century,” Newsom said in his press release.

At the news conference, he was more direct: “The question is, are we going to screw it up by being consumed by paralysis and process.”

While Senate Republicans complemented the governor, the Legislature did not commit to enacting the proposals as trailer bills with the FY 2023-24 appropriations legislation.

“California Senate Republicans have been advocating for CEQA reform for years. We are thrilled that Governor Newsom is finally taking action and we support his commitment to help build more housing and infrastructure projects. We remain eager to collaborate with the governor and our colleagues across the aisle in a bipartisan manner to fix California with solutions that address our state’s myriad issues ranging from homelessness to housing to water infrastructure,” said Republican Leader Brian Jones (R-San Diego).

In advance of the Legislature considering Newsom’s package of trailer bills, more than 70 environmental groups sent a May 22 letter expressing their opposition to this tactic.

“These proposed trailer bills are likely to have a significant impact on environmental, energy, water, and good government policies. It is highly inappropriate to move such sweeping policy changes through the trailer bill process because the budget process will not provide for the necessary analysis and review by the public and policy and legal experts. It is important to note that there is less than one month — even if we work every day — to draft, review, debate and pass these trailer bills.

“The trailer bill process does not provide for inclusive and measured policy hearings, open and public consideration of amendments, or the ability of public discussion. Indeed, the trailer bill process is the quintessential ‘behind closed doors’ process that cuts out any meaningful public engagement or transparency except for chosen stakeholders.”

Signers included Audubon California, Defenders of the Wildlife, Environmental Defense Fund, National Resources Defense Council and 70 others.

Three days later, the Senate Budget Committee on Natural Resources voted unanimously 3-0 to take more time to review these proposals.

Committee Chair Sen. Josh Becker (D-San Mateo) said, “The overwhelming agreement is that we need to build clean faster and cut green tape … Although today we are rejecting the governor’s trailer bill proposals based on process, as seven days is insufficient to vet the hundreds of pages of policy nuance in these proposals.”

It is still possible that budget negotiations during the next week would result in some of these proposals being enacted soon. If not, Newsom could propose them as part of the regular legislative process for hearings and approval.

Before the Senate Committee took action, Newsom had already drawn the line, “[this is whether] we’re committed, or just interested in these. They’re essential.”

On the same day as Newsom’s announcement, the Sierra Club of California responded, “We acknowledge the Governor’s desire to promote clean infrastructure, but this proposal needs a lot of work. Newsom must invite the environmental community to the table, and better incorporate community engagement into major legislative proposals such as this. His attempt to rush legislative language through the opaque trailer bill process in under a month is worrying at best.”

But Laura Deehan, state director for Environment California, joined Newsom and Villaraigosa at the news conference and expressed support for the proposals. “California is number one in the country when it comes to solar power … We need more clean energy, about five times as much clean energy each year. The environmental community will work with you to help.”

But Cal Matters columnist Dan Walters opined, “However, [Newsom] has not been particularly successful in delivering on his promises of bold, transformative action — such as single-payer health care for all Californians or constructing 3.5 million new housing units.”