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The Data Center Coalition claims Proposition 45, a ballot measure that would create new rules for certain building projects under the California Environmental Quality Act, does not apply to data centers.
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The measure identifies a number of projects eligible for proposed reforms, including water systems, clean energy, health facilities and transportation. Opposition to the proposition has heightened in recent weeks due to uncertainty over its application to data centers, which are not specifically mentioned in its language.
Debate over Prop. 45
Prop. 45’s architects and supporters — which include the California Chamber of Commerce, utility companies and affordable housing groups — say the measure would streamline CEQA’s approval process for new buildings by establishing tighter deadlines for environmental review.
The proposition would impose a deadline of 365 business days on government agencies to approve or reject a project’s environmental impact report. It would also require that any legal challenges brought by project opponents be resolved within 270 days.
“With Prop. 45, cities and counties gain tools to deliver essential public infrastructure more efficiently, improve predictability, and reduce taxpayer costs associated with prolonged project delivery,” attorney Michael Conneran said in a statement on the Yes campaign’s website.
A growing coalition of environmental groups has opposed the measure, saying it would relax safeguards intended to minimize the ecological impacts of large-scale construction projects. These advocates are joined by the Democratic Party of California and some labor unions, including the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California.
Inclusion of data centers
Khara Boender, Data Coalition Center’s western government affairs director, said in a Wednesday statement to The Sacramento Bee that “the Data Center Coalition has reviewed Proposition 45 and concluded that data centers are not eligible for Prop. 45’s streamlining, nor are they a covered entity under any part of the measure.”
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However, advocates against Prop. 45 dispute that. According to attorney Matthew McKerley, who provided a statement to The Bee on behalf of the opposition campaign, data centers would be included under the measure’s category of “broadband internet access project[s].” Prop. 45 states that the category includes any project that is “incidental to” or that “enable[s]” retail internet services.
Despite excluding a number of specific projects, such as nuclear power plants, high-speed rail networks and certain categories of broadband internet facilities, McKerley said the text of Prop. 45 does not explicitly exclude data centers.
“Make no mistake: data centers are covered by Prop. 45, otherwise they would have been specifically excluded like the long list of other projects excluded from the 41-page initiative,” McKerley said. “Corporate data center builders are pouring hundreds of thousands into the Prop. 45 campaign, and they’re not doing it out of the goodness of their hearts.”
Voters are generally supportive of CEQA reforms, as many blame its existing regulations for prohibitive building costs and lengthy construction timelines. Recent polls showed that 73% of likely voters would vote “yes” on a proposal to modify the environmental review process for certain buildings. However, an even greater proportion — 77% — of Californians polled were opposed to the construction of a data center in their area.
“Prop. 45 removes one of the only tools frontline communities have to demand review before a new polluting project gets approved next door,” Sylvia Arredondo of Communities for a Better Environment said in a statement on the No campaign’s website. “Data centers are landing in industrial and working-class neighborhoods first, and this measure fast-tracks them with even less oversight.”
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