POV: California's Environmental Impact Law

Los Angeles - KTTV Vice President and General Manager Kevin Hale has a followup to his commentary on the California environmental impact law.

You can watch the full video of the editorial in the media player... and share your comments on the topic below the editorial transcript.

Full Editorial Text:

California's environmental impact law, known as CEQA., requires all new business projects to undertake extensive environmental impact reports. These reports often take years, hindering business startups and forcing some businesses to go out of state.

My recent POV about CEQA garnered a huge response from our viewers. Some agreed with me that the 1970 law has had a negative impact on business development, while others chastised me for not caring about the environment.

One viewer wrote: “I would rather be unemployed then work for a company that is not eco-friendly.”

This email from James reads: “You honestly think that jobs will be created by killing the environment?”

While I appreciate both their responses, I never advocated killing environmental regulations and doing away with CEQA.

I am only asking that our state government begins to fast-track CEQA., rather than tie companies up for years with environmental impact reports, union haggling and lawsuits.

I’m asking we quickly devise a way to turn years into months, so we can stop losing businesses here in our state.

Southern California lost out on a number of huge construction projects, including one that battled CEQA for years, before giving up and moving its project to Arizona.

Just take a look at what is happening in Hollywood. More than 6,000 jobs have been lost or postponed due to CEQA lawsuits. These lawsuits often take years to conclude and some owners simply throw up their hands and say forget it.

Some of the lawsuits are reasoned, but many are project killers.

It’s time to put the economy first by ending frivolous lawsuits and speeding up CEQA -- not just for the 100 million dollar jobs but also for the little guy.

Another viewer email came from Greg who summed up his frustration like this: “California and Los Angeles over-regulates and taxes small businesses beyond any realistic capacity to turn a legal profit.”

If Jerry Brown really wants to stand for something, quit dancing around this issue and fast-track CEQA.

And if these things don't happen, then this is one law that I think needs to be repealed.

Thanks for listening. 

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The views expressed are not necessarily those of the station or its employees.