California’s Prop 45: Vote No on Fast-Tracking Pollution & Habitat Destruction

The LeConte’s thrasher has always been elusive—its pale plumage blends into the desert landscapes it calls home. But the sand-colored songbird is growing even more difficult to spot. Its population has shrunk by more than 50% over the last 50 years, primarily due to habitat loss.

Most LeConte’s thrashers live in California, and one of the key tools we have to protect their dwindling habitat is the California Environmental Quality Act. An industry-backed initiative on the state’s ballot this year, Prop 45 would gut that state law—putting wildlife and people alike at risk in favor of corporate developers. As longstanding federal protections are being rolled back, Prop 45 threatens California’s strongest safeguard for our public health, air, land, and water.

What does Prop 45 do?

Prop 45, which California voters will consider in November, would create gaping loopholes in the state’s protections for clean air, water, and soil. Backed by data center developers, for-profit utilities, and the California Chamber of Commerce, the measure would make it easier and faster to build potentially polluting projects with less community input.

While proponents say the initiative aims to lower costs, the non-partisan Legislative Analyst’s Office estimates that implementing Prop 45 could saddle state and local governments with an additional $100 million or more in annual spending. It would also shift pollution- and healthcare-related expenses onto taxpayers, burdening the public with higher utility and healthcare bills while driving up long-term pollution clean-up costs.

What would Prop 45 mean for Californians?

Prop 45 prioritizes a speedy review process for corporate developers over people’s health.

As it stands now, the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires that harm to air, water, and wildlife be disclosed and reduced before projects are approved. It also gives people a chance to weigh in on certain developments that may bring pollution to their neighborhood.

Currently, CEQA can require developers to adjust their project plans in order to reduce or offset harmful impacts. If Prop 45 succeeds, that would no longer be the case for many projects. 

Under Prop 45, decisions about what gets built near homes, schools, and water supplies would be made with less information, less public input, and fewer ways for communities to protect themselves. This change will likely hit hardest in places already burdened by more than their fair share of pollution.

For families living near freeways, warehouses, and industrial sites, environmental review is often the only defense against more asthma, more cancer, more toxic runoff, and more pollution. 

What would Prop 45 mean for wildlife?

California has the highest biodiversity of any U.S. state. It also has more threatened or endangered wildlife than any other state, with approximately 30% of its wildlife species at risk of extinction. For San Joaquin kit foxes, arroyo toads, California condors, and hundreds of other species, stopping the passage of Prop 45 could be the difference between survival and extinction.

Prop 45 would make it far easier for corporations to ignore impacts on wildlife. In addition to dismantling the California Environmental Quality Act, Prop 45 could dramatically weaken other state environmental protections. If there is a conflict between Prop 45 and a state water quality law, a state air quality law, the California Endangered Species Act, the California Coastal Act or any other statute, the language in Prop 45 “wins.” 

Vote NO on Prop 45

This reckless initiative will roll back critical public health and environmental protections and is being bank-rolled by the industries that stand to profit from its passage. Prop 45 would fast-track some of California’s most polluting projects, including data centers and fossil fuel power plants, while raising costs for taxpayers and limiting public oversight. It would undo crucial safeguards California’s communities depend on—while the federal protections that might have formed a backup are quickly vanishing. 

We need to keep putting wildlife and people first, not prioritize polluting special interests. Rejecting Prop 45 means protecting homes and lives—from fragile habitat for wildlife like the LeConte’s thrasher to the neighborhoods where Californians live, work, and raise their families. NWF is proud to stand with over 450 local, state and national organizations and elected officials and urge Californians to vote NO on Prop 45.