California Governor Gavin Newsom on Monday signed Assembly Bill 130 and Senate Bill 131, sweeping measures that roll back major portions of the California Environmental Quality Act. The bills cleared the Legislature late 30 June and took effect immediately with the governor’s signature early 1 July, marking the most substantial rewrite of the 55-year-old law since its inception. The new statutes exempt most urban infill housing—generally projects of up to 50 units—and at least eight other categories, including farm-worker dwellings, broadband installations, wildfire-mitigation work, water infrastructure, public parks and selected advanced-manufacturing facilities, from CEQA’s detailed environmental impact reviews. They also limit the scope of lawsuits that can be filed under the statute and shorten judicial timelines, changes supporters say will shave months or years from project approvals and curb litigation costs. Newsom tied passage of the bills to implementation of the state’s $321.1 billion budget, arguing that California’s severe housing shortage and escalating construction costs demanded extraordinary action. Calling the package “the most consequential housing reform in modern California history,” he said the state must “build more homes faster” to ensure affordability and spur economic growth. Housing advocates and business groups celebrated the overhaul, predicting it will unlock thousands of units and accelerate infrastructure spending. More than 100 environmental and community organizations opposed the legislation, warning the broad exemptions could erode air- and water-quality safeguards and reduce public oversight. Lawmakers have signalled they may consider follow-up ‘clean-up’ bills later in the session, but the core CEQA rollbacks are now law.