Assemblyman Scott Wilk
On a 6-3 party-line vote, the Democrat-controlled Assembly Natural Resources Committee killed a bill by Assemblyman Scott Wilk that would have prohibited litigation over aspects of a development project that has meet all existing state, local and federal environment standards.
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) “was envisioned as a tool and now it is used as a weapon,” said Wilk, R-Santa Clarita. “AB 1398 would preserve the law’s original intent, environmental protection, while preventing special interest CEQA abuse that jeopardizes community renewal, job creation and the environment.”
The intention of CEQA when Governor Ronald Reagan signed the measure 40 years ago was for developers to factor in environment protection when building a project and there were few environmental laws at the time. CEQA abuse is real and stands in the way of important infrastructure projects, hampers efforts to create more affordable housing, improve amenities in urban areas and undermines California’s economic success without any additional environmental protections.
“It is time we as the legislature pass real CEQA reform,” Wilk said, “not just specific exemptions for rich, politically well-connected people who profit from building a NFL stadium or NBA arena. I want to see this extended to all projects, not just a few chosen ones.”
Wilk’s 38th Assembly District encompasses Simi Valley, the northwestern section of the San Fernando Valley and most of the Santa Clarita Valley.
Like this:
Like Loading...
Related
REAL NAMES ONLY: All posters must use their real individual or business name. This applies equally to Twitter account holders who use a nickname.
0 Comments
You can be the first one to leave a comment.