Overview
- Project backers asked lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sunday for last-minute statutory changes to speed approvals for the proposed 25,000-acre California Forever development in Solano County.
- They are proposing a 270-day environmental review timeline, the ability to rely on a 2008 environmental impact report for the shipyard site, and binding arbitration to resolve local tax-sharing disputes.
- The push intensified after Saronic Technologies chose Brownsville, Texas, for a new factory, which supporters say shows urgency to change rules that they argue deter major employers.
- A local coalition called Solano Forever has urged rejection of any rushed changes, citing risks to water supplies, sensitive marshlands, local control and the absence of voter approval after a related 2024 ballot measure was withdrawn.
- Backers have hired former lawmakers Bob Hertzberg and Darrell Steinberg to lobby for the plan and are eyeing a budget trailer bill to enact changes quickly, a route that would limit standard public hearings and take effect upon the governor’s signature.