ICYMI: San Diego Union Tribune Editorial Board Endorses Prop 45, Calls Its Passage a “Rare Victory for Common Sense”
September 16, 2026
Editorial board says Prop 45 would make California’s approval process “fairer, less
expensive and considerably more predictable” while preserving California’s
nation-leading environmental protections, local authority, and public participation
Sacramento, CA — The San Diego Union-Tribune Editorial Board is urging Californians to vote YES
on Prop 45, calling the Building an Affordable California Act a “modest CEQA reform” that would
make California’s project approval process “fairer, less expensive and considerably more
predictable.”
In a forceful endorsement, the Union-Tribune argues that CEQA has been abused for decades to
block or stall needed projects and points to research documenting the law’s role in California’s
housing shortage and driving up housing costs for millions of Californians. The editorial board also
takes direct aim at claims that Prop 45 would gut California’s environmental protections, noting that
“local governments would still have considerable authority in the approval process” and “activists
wouldn’t be muzzled.”
Prop 45 cuts red tape and costly delays so we can build essential projects faster and more
affordably — including housing, clean energy, water, health care, schools, roads and wildfire
prevention. It sets clear, enforceable timelines and greater accountability so California can build
faster and more affordably while maintaining strong environmental, labor, and tribal cultural
resource protections and preserving local decision-making. Experts estimate Prop 45 could cut
costly delays by 2 to 10+ years — lowering costs, getting critical projects built sooner, and
improving quality of life for Californians.
The Union-Tribune concludes that Prop 45 represents a meaningful step toward making it easier
and less expensive to build the essential projects Californians need: “In a state riddled with
dysfunction, that would be a rare victory for common sense. Yes on 45.”
Key Excerpts:
- “The California Environmental Quality Act has been used in such an abusive way for more
than 50 years that then-Gov. Jerry Brown’s 2012 description of CEQA reform as “the Lord’s
work” has gone from being seen as a good one-liner from an unusually witty politician to
a profound observation about life in the Golden State.”
- “There is a reason the Legislature has had to pass so many CEQA exemptions: Many
major, valuable projects would never have been built without this protection.”
- “The 1970 state law makes it too easy for third parties to block or stall proposals that they
don’t like or want to be paid to support.”
- “This led directly to a 2017 analysis that documents CEQA’s central role in the state’s
decades-old shortage of housing, massively driving up the cost of all types of shelter and
impoverishing millions of residents.”
- “[Proposition 45] would make California’s planning approval process fairer, less expensive
and considerably more predictable. In a state riddled with dysfunction, that would be a
rare victory for common sense.”
[Read The Full Editorial Here]
The Union-Tribune joins 13 other Southern California newspapers in recognizing that California’s
skyrocketing cost of living stems directly from its failure to deliver basic infrastructure efficiently.
BACKGROUND: Prop 45, the Building an Affordable California Act, modernizes California’s project
approval and permitting process for essential projects — including housing, water infrastructure,
clean energy, transportation infrastructure, hospitals and health care facilities, schools, broadband,
and wildfire prevention projects — by establishing clear timelines, improving accountability, and
reducing unnecessary delays, while preserving strong environmental, labor, and tribal cultural
resource protections. Prop 45 is supported by a broad and growing coalition of 160+ organizations,
including affordable housing advocates, civil rights leaders, clean energy builders, water providers,
agricultural groups, and business organizations statewide.
Learn More: YESonProp45.com