Senator Blakespear Introduces Legislation to Balance CEQA Reforms With Environmental and Worker Protections

Senator Catherine S. Blakespear introduced SB 954 on March 25, 2026, to restore environmental and worker protections that were stripped by last year's SB 131, which granted sweeping CEQA exemptions to advanced manufacturing facilities across California.

SB 131's exemptions cover heavy industrial uses — including chemical, plastic, and pesticide manufacturing — that historically faced environmental review because of their significant public health impacts on surrounding communities. A poll conducted after SB 131's passage found that 64% of Californians oppose exempting advanced manufacturing from environmental review.

SB 954 adds targeted environmental guardrails to the exemption framework. Specifically, the legislation would: restrict qualifying facilities to industrial zones; establish mandatory setbacks from homes and schools; strengthen protections for endangered species habitat; require worker protections and tribal consultation; and clarify the definition of "advanced manufacturing" to prevent misuse.

More than 30 state legislators backed the measure at introduction. Support came from a broad coalition of environmental, labor, and public health organizations.

Dr. Bonnie Hitchcock, a public health expert, said the stakes were clear: "These are the conditions that follow when industrial facilities emitting arsenic, cyanide, and radioactive materials are sited near homes and schools."

Polling shows strong public backing for environmental review statewide: 72% of California voters approve of CEQA overall, and 85% believe environmental review of projects near communities is extremely or very important.

Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability, which works with rural and frontline communities in California's Central Valley and Inland Empire, has endorsed SB 954 as a critical protection for low-income communities and communities of color disproportionately burdened by industrial siting decisions.

Source: Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability | https://leadershipcounsel.org/senator-blakespear-introduces-legislation-to-balance-ceqa-reforms-with-needed-environmental-and-worker-protections/