California Environmental Quality Act
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA /ˈsiː.kwə/) is a California statute passed in 1970 and signed in to law by then-governor Ronald Reagan, shortly after the United States federal government passed the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), to institute a statewide policy of environmental protection. CEQA does not directly regulate land uses, but instead requires state and local agencies within California to follow a protocol of analysis and public disclosure of environmental impacts of proposed projects and, in a departure from NEPA, adopt all feasible measures to mitigate those impacts. CEQA makes environmental protection a mandatory part of every California state and local (public) agency's decision making process.
| California Environmental Quality Act | |
|---|---|
| California State Legislature | |
| Full name | California Environmental Quality Act |
| Acronym | CEQA |
| Governor | Ronald Reagan |
| Section | CA Pub Res Code §21000 et seq. |
Status: Current legislation | |
| California law |
|---|
| Constitution |
|
| Codes |
| Note: There are 29 California codes. |
| Courts of record |
|
| Areas |
In 1972, the California Supreme Court broadened CEQA by interpreting a "public" project as any development that needed government approval.: 1 Since then, CEQA has become the basis for anyone with a grievance against a project to file lawsuits to slow projects by years or kill projects by imposing delays and litigation costs that make projects infeasible.
CEQA has been criticized for being abused (used for reasons other than environmental ones) to block, downsize, delay, or gain other concessions from new development. CEQA has even been used to block or delay projects that have positive environmental impacts, such as solar plants, wind turbines, bike lanes on pre-existing roads, and denser housing. One study found that 85% of CEQA lawsuits were filed by organizations with no record of environmental advocacy and 80% of CEQA lawsuits targeted infill development. CEQA has also been used by NIMBYs to block homeless shelters, student housing and affordable housing projects, by businesses to try to block competition, and by unions to force developers to use union workers.
All governors since 1983 (George Deukmejian, Pete Wilson, Gray Davis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Jerry Brown), as well as current governor Gavin Newsom, have stated that CEQA needs to be reformed.: 1