ICYMI: 28 Major Newspapers Back Prop 45 to Lower Costs and Fix California’s Broken Permitting Process
October 28, 2026
Contact: Amelia Matier
Newspapers statewide call Prop 45 “long overdue,” “sensible and fair-minded” and a “rare victory for common sense” to cut costly delays driving up the price of housing, energy and other everyday essentials
Sacramento, CA — With Election Day just one week away, 26 newspapers have endorsed YES on Prop 45, the Building an Affordable California Act, adding to growing statewide support for commonsense reforms to cut costly permitting delays, lower costs, and make it easier to build the housing and essential infrastructure Californians desperately need.
From San Diego and Los Angeles to the Bay Area, Sacramento and the Central Valley, the endorsements span California’s largest and most influential newspapers. Their message is clear: California’s broken permitting process is driving up costs, delaying essential projects and making life less affordable for working families. Prop 45 offers a commonsense solution.
Here’s what leading editorial boards are saying about Prop 45:
- The Wall Street Journal: “…Prop. 45 would decrease the cost of building a new home by $75,000 on average. It would likewise reduce costs for critical infrastructure projects, saving taxpayers billions of dollars and potentially lowering utility bills.”
- The Sacramento Bee: “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.”
- San Diego Union-Tribune: “[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.”
- San Jose Mercury News: “Prop. 45 won’t transform the state’s regulatory maze overnight. But it would make California’s planning approval process fairer, less expensive and considerably more predictable.”
- The Bakersfield Californian: “For proof you only have to look at the years-long struggle to get a new, bigger Veterans Administration medical clinic built in Bakersfield. Despite Congress allocating money for the project, CEQA requirements have been abused to delay the project for years. Local veterans have been denied a much-needed facility.”
- Los Angeles Daily News: “[Prop. 45] tweaks the law in sensible and fair-minded ways that provide quicker approval timelines, reduce meritless lawsuits and limit open-ended demands by local agencies.”
- La Opinión: “La Opinión supports Proposition 45 and urges its readers to vote for it in the elections culminating on November 3.”
The endorsements add to a growing chorus of support for Prop 45 from more than 190 organizations representing affordable housing, civil rights, clean energy, water, health care, agriculture and small businesses statewide.
California’s affordability crisis is directly tied to how long it takes and how much it costs to build. Years of unnecessary delays drive up the cost of housing, electricity, water and other essentials, with those costs ultimately passed on to families, ratepayers and taxpayers. Experts estimate Prop 45 could cut project approval and permitting delays by 2 to 10+ years, reducing costs, accelerating critical infrastructure and improving quality of life for Californians.
Prop 45 streamlines approvals for housing, water infrastructure, clean energy, transportation, hospitals and health care facilities, schools, broadband and wildfire prevention. It establishes clear, enforceable timelines and greater accountability while maintaining California’s strong environmental, labor and tribal cultural resource protections and preserving local decision-making.
With ballots already in voters’ hands and Election Day approaching on November 3, here is a full list of the editorial boards urging voters to reject the costly status quo and vote YES on Prop 45 to build a more affordable California:
- The Wall Street Journal
- The San Diego Union-Tribune
- Orange County Register
- Los Angeles Daily News
- Riverside Press-Enterprise
- Long Beach Press-Telegram
- Torrance Daily Breeze
- San Bernardino Sun
- Pasadena Star-News
- Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
- San Gabriel Valley Tribune
- Whittier Daily News
- Redlands Daily Facts
- The Sacramento Bee
- Fresno Bee
- Modesto Bee
- Merced Sun-Star
- San Luis Obispo Tribune
- The San Jose Mercury News
- East Bay Times
- The Bakersfield Californian
- The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle
- The Desert Review
- La Opinión
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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 190+ organizations, including affordable housing advocates, civil rights leaders, clean energy builders, water providers, agricultural groups, and business organizations statewide.
Learn More: YESonProp45.com