AB 8 x2: Backdoor budget bulldozer

Weakening environmental laws may not put one more penny in the state’s coffers, but the ongoing budget crisis has allowed opponents to demand these rollbacks as ransom for votes on the budget. Thus did the legislature approve AB 8 x2, which weakened brand-new rules to reduce diesel pollution from off-road heavy equipment, exempted specified transportation projects from CEQA, and created a statutory exemption to CEQA for the sale of surplus state lands. Passage of the bill was deemed necessary to garner enough Republican votes for the February budget agreement.