California's Prop 45 Could Fast-Track Data Center Development

California voters are weighing Proposition 45, a ballot measure intended to accelerate the development of "essential" infrastructure, such as housing and clean energy. However, legal experts and environmental advocates warn the measure could create a loophole for data center developers to avoid public scrutiny, according to reporting from The Verge.

Under Prop 45, eligible projects would see significantly shortened timelines for environmental assessments. Specifically, state agencies would face a 365-day deadline to complete environmental impact reports, and legal challenges would be required to settle within 270 days. The measure would also limit public comment to 45 days and restrict tribal consultations to only those federally recognized.

Further changes to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) standards would shift the burden of mitigation onto developers, who would provide a single alternative project plan rather than collaborating with agencies on multiple options. Additionally, state regulators would be barred from making repeated requests for information after the initial application process. Even if a court finds a regulatory agency failed to comply with CEQA, Prop 45 would prevent judges from halting a project entirely, allowing only specific problematic parts to be paused.

Critics, including Fernando Gaytan, a senior attorney at Earthjustice, argue that data center developers could "shoehorn" their projects into the definition of essential infrastructure. In a column for the Daily Journal, attorney Matthew McKerley and UC Davis School of Law professor emeritus Richard Frank suggest that the "broadband internet access" designation in the proposition could encompass data centers. They further note that companies currently developing data centers have invested hundreds of thousands of dollars into the campaign supporting Prop 45.