Transportation
The CEQA Exemption that Ate LA
A bold attempt to get a huge exemption from state’s marquee environmental law
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) is a state law that requires full analysis, public disclosure, and where feasible, mitigation of environmental impacts from state and local government projects, including permits for private development. I’ve written before about the problematic nature of exempting specific projects from CEQA. In general, my concern is that once you …
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CONTINUE READINGDid The California Supreme Court “Rip A Huge Hole” In Prop 13 & 218?
New decision could lower voter threshold for local government taxes by voter initiative
UPDATE: This post has been modified from its original version to reflect some ambiguity in the court’s decision that I missed on first read. California local governments have long been stymied in efforts to raise taxes for basic infrastructure and services by California’s constitution. Two voter-approved constitutional amendments, Prop 13 and Prop 218, require that …
Continue reading “Did The California Supreme Court “Rip A Huge Hole” In Prop 13 & 218?”
CONTINUE READINGNew Study: California Climate Policies Bringing Over $9 Billion And 41,000 Jobs To Southern California’s Inland Empire
Report commissioned by Next 10 and written by Berkeley Law’s CLEE and UC Berkeley’s labor center
With the legislature just passing a landmark extension of cap-and-trade through 2030 by a supermajority vote, attention now turns to implementing the state’s major climate programs to achieve the ambitious climate goals for that year and beyond. Critics frequently argue that efforts to fight climate change hurt the economy and cost jobs. Yet as I …
CONTINUE READINGCalifornia Supreme Court Issues Split Decision in CEQA Preemption Case
Justices Find CEQA’s Application to Public Railroad Projects Not Fully Preempted
The California Supreme Court has ruled in an important case that the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) is not fully preempted when it comes to publicly-owned railroad projects in the Golden State. Friends of the Eel River v. North Coast Railroad Authority. In that decision, the justices forged a middle ground between the more extreme …
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CONTINUE READINGCap-And-Trade Extension A Lifeline For High Speed Rail
Auction proceeds will continue to fund the train and other transit, housing and energy programs
As Cara posted, the California Legislature scored a super-majority victory last night to extend the state’s signature cap-and-trade program through 2030. It was a rare bipartisan vote, although it leaned mostly on Democrats. Lost in the politics is what this means for high speed rail. The system has a fixed and dwindling amount of federal …
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CONTINUE READINGCalifornia Supreme Court Upholds Regional Planning Agency’s Greenhouse Gas CEQA Analysis, and Sets Out Principles to Ensure Better Analysis in the Future
Decision Will Help Ensure Development and Transportation Planning in California Supports GHG Reduction Efforts
In May, Rick Frank posted his reflections on the oral argument in the California Supreme Court on Cleveland National Forest Association v. San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG), and predicted that SANDAG would win the case. His prediction has proved correct with the release of the Court’s opinion last week – but SANDAG’s narrow win provides a …
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