California Voters Reject Proposition 45 to Rewrite State Environmental Review Law
The Associated Press confirmed on the evening of November 7 that California voters rejected Proposition 45, the Chamber of Commerce-backed measure to rewrite the California Environmental Quality Act.
The AP made the call at 5:34 p.m. with about 76 percent of the expected vote counted. Unofficial statewide totals compiled overnight showed 5,533,894 votes against, or 55.7 percent, and 4,396,414 in favor, or 44.3 percent — a margin of roughly 1.1 million votes, with counting continuing.
Proposition 45, placed on the ballot by the California Chamber of Commerce, would have imposed a 365-day deadline for environmental reviews of designated housing, transportation, water and health projects and required courts to resolve related lawsuits within 270 days. The California Democratic Party backed a "no" vote and the state Republican Party supported the measure; Governor Gavin Newsom and Governor-elect Xavier Becerra took no position, and Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton also stayed silent.
Opposition ran stronger in San Francisco, where election officials reported Saturday that 184,338 voters, or 59.9 percent, voted no and 123,274, or 40.1 percent, voted yes, with about 15,000 local ballots left to count. With the measure defeated, the existing environmental review law stays in place, and both sides said the next round of the CEQA reform fight will move to the state Legislature.
(Source: The San Francisco Inquirer)
Source: The San Francisco Inquirer
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：加州议会大厦，位于 Sacramento（资料图）。Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The California State Capitol in Sacramento (file photo). Wikimedia Commons.
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