Legislation to bypass state environmental law falls apart

So much for an effort by business and labor interests to do an end around on the California Environmental Quality Act. The proposal, which had been gaining ground in the last few days of the legislative session, would have limited the reach of California's signature environmental law by allowing certain projects to be insulated from litigation. But Senate leader Darrell Steinberg said the law was too important to consider so quickly. From Capitol Alert:

"I'm relieved," said Sierra Club California director Kathryn Phillips, who called the bill "one of the worst attacks on environmental protections that we've seen in the 40-year life of this law." Sen. Michael Rubio, who had been seeking co-authors for the bill as recently as Wednesday, said this morning - just hours before the announcement - that the legislation remained viable. Later, standing beside Steinberg, the Central Valley Democrat said, "We always have to read the dynamics of the building."