In October 2025, the California Chamber of Commerce filed the Building an Affordable California Act (BACA) voter initiative, a comprehensive reform to modernize California’s project approval process and remove longstanding barriers that have stalled the state’s most essential developments. Hanson Bridgett issued a legal alert about BACA here.

On November 24, 2025, after meeting with various stakeholders including public agencies, builders, and Native American Tribes, the Chamber filed an amended version of BACA, leaving in place the key provisions imposing enforceable timelines, objective standards, and clear, consistent rules for agency action, while expanding BACA’s applicability to educational projects, clarifying enhanced tribal consultation procedures, and making several additional clarifying changes outlined below.  

What Hasn’t Changed

The amended BACA maintains its broad-based approach to CEQA reform, unlike past reforms that provide relief through narrow CEQA exemptions or piecemeal streamlining. The initiative retains all key provisions to modernize the agency review process for specified essential projects, including:

• Enforceable deadlines for application completeness determinations, with applications deemed complete if deadlines are missed;
• Vesting and limitations on the standards that can be applied to an Agency’s review of a project;
• A process to limit CEQA alternatives to a single, applicant-proposed alternative;
• Strict, enforceable timelines on lead agency CEQA review;
• Enforceable project approval deadlines for all agencies, including responsible agencies reviewing a project for subsequent permits after a lead agency has approved the project;
• More favorable judicial review timelines and standards, including use of the substantial evidence standard and a requirement that any third-party legal challenge to an approval be based on objective standards;
• Maintenance of all existing state and federal environmental protections, worker protections, and the AB-52 tribal consultation process.

These categories represent the types of projects most critical to statewide housing, infrastructure, and climate goals.

For a more detailed discussion of these provisions, please Hanson Bridgett’s previous legal alert about BACA here.

Key Amendments to BACA

Addition of Educational Facilities to Essential Project List

BACA has been amended to include the acquisition, construction, expansion, remodeling, renovation, improvement, furnishing, or equipping of an educational facility as an essential project.  BACA continues to apply to the following essential projects:

• Housing, including senior care facilities, student housing, commercial-to-residential conversions, transitional housing, emergency shelters, farmworker housing, and thoughtful master planned communities
• Hospitals, clinics and other medical facilities
• Police stations, fire stations, and other public safety projects
• Clean energy projects, including wind, solar, geothermal, and hydrogen fueling projects
• Water reservoirs, pipelines, and other infrastructure
• Bridges, roads, EV charging systems, and transportation infrastructure
• Wildfire risk reduction projects, such as fuel breaks and vegetation management

Preservation of Vested Rights for Vested Tentative Maps

BACA allows applicants who submitted a project application before the effective date of BACA to withdraw the project application and refile it to take advantage of the initiative’s provisions. The original BACA language provided that any re-submitted applications would retain vested rights or benefits afforded to the project under the Housing Accountability Act, the Builder’s Remedy, or the Housing Crisis Act (SB 330). The amended BACA expands this protection to any vesting or benefits afforded to the initial application under any law, including the Subdivision Map Act.

Provisions for Phased or Complex Projects

The amended BACA includes a new provision to ensure that all phases of an essential project maintain the benefits of BACA streamlining. Under this new provision, if the entirety of a project qualifies as an essential project, that project may be implemented in phases, and each phase is subject to the procedures set forth under BACA even if that specific phase would not independently qualify.

For example, a qualifying mixed-use residential project may include non-residential phases without losing BACA’s protections. The processing of the non-residential phase qualifies for BACA’s streamlined procedures even if, on its own, it would not qualify.

Conversely, BACA allows qualifying portions of a larger project to proceed under BACA even if the overall project does not. If a specific phase within a broader plan meets the essential project criteria, that phase qualifies for BACA processing. For instance, if a large specific plan project was not primarily residential and would not qualify for BACA protections, but one of its phases was entirely residential, that phase would still qualify for BACA processing.

Initial Screening for Tribal Resources

BACA now includes a detailed procedure requiring Tribes, agencies, and applicants to engage in an early, initial screening regarding tribal resources. Under this initial screening process, the applicant first provides preliminary project information and the reviewing agency conducts a records search for potential tribal cultural resources. The Tribes, agency, and applicant then engage in a meet and confer process regarding appropriate treatment and protection methods to address impacts on tribal cultural resources. The initial screening process brings these parties to the table earlier than existing law, and concludes when formal consultation under AB-52 begins, or 30 days after application completeness for project not subject to AB-52.

More Options for Applicants Regarding CEQA Timelines

Under the amended BACA, the CEQA review timelines applicable to lead agencies may be extended upon a written request from the applicant, allowing for flexibility on projects where an applicant would be best served by a longer review period.

If an agency does not process CEQA review in a timely manner, the original BACA required the agency to complete CEQA review within 60 days of written notice from the applicant. The amended BACA now allows the applicant a “self-help remedy,” whereby it can assemble available environmental review documentation, including any applicant-prepared environmental review document, as is allowed under subdivision (b) of Section 21082.1 or any other law.

The amended BACA also clarifies that an applicant may bring a legal challenge to an agency for failure to comply with CEQA timelines or the imposition of any unlawful condition of approval.

Firm Public Comment Deadlines

The amended BACA also addresses the use of late comment submissions that are often strategically used to delay essential projects.

The administrative record for agency approval decisions and judicial review includes: (1) public comments made during the CEQA comment period; (2) electronic and written comments after the close of the public comment period but received at least 48 hours before a noticed public hearing, provided these comments address issues that could not have been raised during the public comment period, or concern information that was not known and could not have been known during that time; and (3) oral testimony at a public hearing. Applicants or lead agencies may submit a response to any public comment at any time.

Furthermore, if a public hearing for an essential project is continued, it must be continued to a date certain. The public comment period closes upon approval of the continuance and cannot reopen at subsequent hearings.

These parameters help ensure that agencies receive timely, relevant information for decision-making while preserving meaningful opportunities for public input.

Expedited Timeframes for Consideration of a Project by Lead and Responsible Agencies

Under the amended BACA, a lead agency must make a determination to approve or disapprove an essential project at the same time it considers the project’s environmental review (whereas BACA originally allowed a 90-day window). Responsible agencies must make determinations within 90 days of application completeness or, if no application is required, within 90 days of the lead agency’s approval of a project.

One Time Extension of Judicial Deadlines

Under the amended BACA, a court is permitted, in its own discretion, to extend the otherwise applicable 270 day deadline to complete original and appellate court proceedings by up to 90 days. In total, the maximum possible length of original and appellate court proceedings is 360 days, unless a further extension is agreed to by the plaintiff, public agency, and project applicant.