California’s top land use attorneys agree: Prop 45 would speed data center construction
California's Proposition 45, a statewide ballot initiative, is expected to fast-track data center construction by weakening state environmental protections, according to land use attorneys. Critics argue the initiative deliberately omits data centers from its list of excluded controversial projects, suggesting an intent to include them under the measure's relaxed regulations. The "Yes on 45" campaign has received substantial funding from companies actively involved in data center development across the state.
California's proposed Proposition 45, a ballot initiative backed by the California Chamber of Commerce, is poised to accelerate data center construction statewide by weakening existing environmental protections. Land use attorneys Richard Frank of UC Davis School of Law and Matthew McKerley, a CEQA specialist, confirmed this in The Daily Journal, arguing that despite public claims, the measure's deliberate omission of data centers from a list of excluded controversial projects indicates an intent to include them under its fast-track provisions.
The "No on 45" campaign highlights that the initiative's drafters explicitly carved out projects like high-speed rail, nuclear generation, and prisons, but not data centers. This silence, according to legal interpretation, signifies a deliberate decision to subject data centers to Prop 45's relaxed regulatory framework, potentially undermining environmental safeguards currently protecting communities from the impacts of such developments.
Further raising concerns, the "Yes on 45" campaign has reportedly received $2 million from companies actively involved in data center development. These include Prologis, which is building two San Jose data center campuses; California Resources Corporation, co-developing a 275 MW data center on its Elk Hills oil field; and PG&E, collaborating on data centers within San Jose housing developments. Critics argue this funding underscores the true beneficiaries of the proposed measure.