June 17, 2026 - Sacramento, Calif. – California Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber, Ph.D., announced that an initiative became eligible for the November 3, 2026, General Election ballot on June 16, 2026.  

In order to become eligible for the ballot, the initiative needed 546,651 valid petition signatures, which is equal to five percent of the total votes cast for governor in the November 2022 General Election.  

A measure can become eligible via random sampling of petition signatures if the sampling projects that the number of valid signatures is greater than 110 percent of the required number. The initiative needed at least 601,317 projected valid signatures to become eligible by random sampling, and it has exceeded that threshold today.  

On June 25, 2026, the Secretary of State will certify the initiative as qualified for the November 3, 2026, General Election ballot, unless it is withdrawn by the proponent prior to certification pursuant to Elections Code section 9604(b).  

The Attorney General's official title and summary of the measure is as follows:  

MODIFIES ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW FOR CERTAIN PROJECTS. INITIATIVE STATUTE. Amends California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) to expedite environmental review of specified project categories (including most housing, transportation, water, health, and clean energy projects). For these types of projects, this measure:  

• -sets deadlines for public agencies to complete environmental review and take required actions for project;  
• -allows expedited review of project’s environmental impacts, limiting public agencies’ current obligation to consider a range of feasible project alternatives to reduce environmental impacts; and  
• -limits court review of project approvals by establishing deadlines for filing and resolving lawsuits and limiting evidence court may consider and relief it can order.  

Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local governments: State and local government implementation costs in the tens of millions of dollars annually for the first several years. Over the long term, the annual net fiscal effects are uncertain, but state and local governments likely would experience net savings due to reduced administrative and legal workload. Net fiscal effects on state trial courts ranging from annual savings of up to the tens of millions of dollars to annual costs of up to the low tens of millions of dollars. (25-0023A1.) 

The Secretary of State’s tracking number for this measure is 2000 and the Attorney General's tracking number is 25-0023A1. 

The proponent of the measure is Kurt R. Oneto. The address for the proponent is Nielsen Merksamer LLP, 1415 L Street, Suite 1200, Sacramento, CA 95814. The proponent may also be contacted at (916) 446-6752 and koneto@nmgovlaw.com. 

For more information about how an initiative qualifies for the ballot in California, visit https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/ballot-measures/how-qualify-initiative/. 

Source: CA. SoS