Prop 45 promises faster building of housing and clean energy, but critics say data centers could use it to dodge close review and weaken public input.
California voters will decide on Proposition 45, a ballot measure meant to speed up approval of "essential" projects. Environmental groups warn it could also let data center developers skip the close review that big projects usually get. Supporters say the measure would not cover data centers. The question turns on how one phrase is read.
The measure would loosen rules under the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA. That law makes state agencies study a project's effects on the environment and public health. It also requires them to collect and weigh public comment before approving anything.
Prop 45 lists nine types of essential projects, including housing, clean energy and "broadband Internet access." Fernando Gaytan, an attorney at Earthjustice, which opposes the measure, says data centers could be squeezed into that last category. Two legal experts make a similar point. They note that the measure does not explicitly bar data centers, and that companies building them have given hundreds of thousands of dollars to support it.
Attorney and lobbyist Kurt Oneto disagrees. He argues that data centers helping to support the internet does not make them broadband access projects. The Yes on Prop 45 campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Critics are most troubled by one change. Judges could not stop a whole project, even if they found an agency failed to follow CEQA. They could only pause the problem parts. Gaytan says it is hard to undo harm once building has started.
Supporters say the measure would ease the state's housing shortage and help build renewable energy for rising electricity demand. The NAACP California/Hawaii State Conference supports it. Its president, Rick Callender, said it is about accountability, not shortcuts.
If a data center is proposed near you, this vote could shrink the time you have to weigh in and limit how you can fight it in court. Whether data centers would qualify is disputed, and the material does not say how it would be settled.
Prop 45 would speed up approvals and limit court power, and whether data centers qualify is disputed, so read the broadband definition before you vote.
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