Overview
- Early vote tallies from the Nov. 3 election showed the No campaign with roughly 54.3% of counted ballots on Tuesday night while final results continued to be counted.
- Proposition 45 would amend the California Environmental Quality Act by defining certain projects as “essential” and imposing a 365-business-day limit on agency reviews plus a 270-calendar-day deadline for courts to resolve CEQA lawsuits.
- Supporters spent about $41 million to promote the measure with major backing from the Building a Better California PAC and utilities while opponents raised roughly $30 million led by environmental, labor, and philanthropic donors.
- The campaign split typical pro-housing coalitions because some developers and officials backed faster approvals while environmental and community groups warned the changes could encourage sprawl, weaken pollution and health safeguards, and reduce chances for public comment.
- With vote counts still incomplete, the result will shape whether California pursues stricter statewide CEQA timelines or relies on recent legislative reforms and local planning to speed housing and infrastructure approvals, a debate framed by conflicting cost estimates from Blue Sky Consulting and the Legislative Analyst’s Office.