October 6, 2026
Editorial board representing The Sacramento Bee, Fresno Bee, Modesto Bee, Merced Sun-Star and San Luis Obispo Tribune says Prop 45 will help essential projects “move forward more quickly and at lower cost without weakening California’s environmental protections”
Sacramento, CA — McClatchy’s California editorial board is urging Californians to vote YES on Prop 45, the Building an Affordable California Act, to cut the costly delays holding up housing, water, clean energy and other essential projects. The board calls Prop 45 “long-needed reform,” pointing to CEQA provisions that add substantial costs to new homes, hospitals, water systems, roads, bridges and clean energy projects.
Prop 45 streamlines approvals for housing, water infrastructure, clean energy, transportation, hospitals and health care facilities, schools, broadband, 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 endorsement appears across McClatchy’s California newspapers, including The Sacramento Bee, Modesto Bee, Merced Sun-Star, Fresno Bee and San Luis Obispo Tribune. The board writes that CEQA has too often been “weaponized” by not-in-my-backyard interests to block needed housing, and points to litigation that can stop projects even after they have completed environmental review and won local approval. Prop 45, the board notes, streamlines the permitting process “without weakening the state’s environmental laws.”
The board concludes that faster, more affordable construction is the goal behind Prop 45, and that it is “long overdue.”
Key Excerpts:
- “CEQA, California’s most important land use law, has too often been weaponized by not-in-my-backyard interests to stop the construction of needed housing.”
- “Prop. 45 seeks to bring long-needed reform to CEQA provisions that can add substantial costs to new homes, hospitals, water systems, roads, bridges and clean energy projects.”
- “Projects often make it through CEQA only to be stopped at the back end by litigation.”
- “By imposing stricter deadlines on government agencies to complete environmental reviews, Proposition 45 would allow housing, transportation, water and health care projects to move forward more quickly and at lower cost without weakening California’s environmental protections.”
[Read the Full Editorial Here]
McClatchy’s California editorial board joins 14 other California newspapers in endorsing Prop 45, arguing that California’s affordability crisis is tied directly to how long and how much it costs to build essential projects. Years of unnecessary delays drive up the cost of housing, energy, water, transportation and other essentials, costs ultimately passed on to families, ratepayers and taxpayers.
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