Newsom signs laws to streamline California infrastructure, finalize budget

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) Monday signed into law a package of infrastructure bills that aim to cut the red tape associated with building new projects, while also ensuring environmental protection.

The package, which includes five wide-ranging bills, generally centers on streamlining permitting processes, speeding up judicial review to prevent undue delays from legal challenges and addressing cumbersome elements of the California Environmental Quality Act.

Monday’s signing also marks the end of a contentious few months in which Newsom and his Democratic colleagues have clashed over certain elements of his streamlining agenda — which also delayed the finalization of the state’s 2023-2024 budget to nearly the last minute.

“We’re celebrating partnership here today, we’re celebrating progress here today,” Newsom said at a Monday press conference, prior to the signing.

Alongside the infrastructure bills, Newsom also signed into law legislation known colloquially as “Budget Bill Jr.,”  which amends a version of the budget passed last month and “reflects the final budget agreement between the legislature and the administration,” according to state Sen. Nancy Skinner (D).

That final budget, Skinner explained, will maintain “a record level of reserves so that if we face a shortfall say next year or future years,” while protecting programs that serve those “who need the most.”

Newsom stressed the importance of “Democrats working with Democrats” on fiscal discipline while “addressing some of the most vexing and challenging issues of our time.”

“We once again recognized that we needed to reconcile the challenges and the vagaries of a progressive tax structure,” he said.

The governor and his colleagues had announced at the end of June that they had come to an agreement over the terms of the state’s $310.8 billion budget, which would aim to bridge a nearly $32 billion deficit without touching $37.8 billion in reserves.

The infrastructure bills signed into law alongside “Budget Bill Jr.” include provisions to streamline workforce equity, include community benefits in project labor agreements and expedite project-procurement processes for both California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and Department of Water Resources projects.

Also included in the bills are measures to construct wildlife crossings over Interstate-15, as well as require Caltrans to acquire property that can be preserved and restored to offset the environmental impacts of the state highway system.

Another piece of the package allows the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to permit projects that could affect protected species, assuming the plans meet certain requirements and do not cause the extinction of the species in question.

Skinner expressed confidence that this package “will help us accelerate California’s efforts and infrastructure projects to meet our climate and clean energy goals.”

State legislators approved the infrastructure package last week.

Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (D), chair of the Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee, described the package as “a testament to what is possible here in California — what is possible when we all work together.”

Acknowledging that the future will require “a massive shift and growth” in infrastructure deployment, Bauer-Kahan emphasized the importance of also ensuring that environmental justice communities do not bear the burden of this transition.

“This package cuts green tape to move projects faster,” Bauer-Kahan said, referring to the often-arduous environmental permitting processes.

California Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas (D) touted the bills for their success in striking “a crucial balance” while “spurring future growth and good paying jobs” and protecting the environment.

Going forward, Newsom emphasized how California is continuing “to make unprecedented investments,” while also slipping in a dig at Texas’s handling of the ongoing heat wave — adding that the state “can barely keep the lights on with old fossil fuel-burning plants.”

That situation, he added, serves to reinforce “the imperative to move aggressively and to address these issues head on.”