California’s Capitol Annex Project Exempt From Environmental Regulations

Opponents say design changes did not involve the public and could prevent large numbers of protesters from gathering.

Opponents of a measure requiring nearly all California schoolchildren to be vaccinated gather on the west steps of the Capitol in Sacramento on June 25, 2015. Rich Pedroncelli/AP Photo

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a budget bill into law July 2 that includes exempting the in-progress state Capitol annex construction project from environmental reviews, effectively ending multiple lawsuits seeking to stop it.

Complainants have argued that the project, which began in 2023, didn’t follow the rules mandated by state law—established by the California Environmental Quality Act, better known as CEQA—and that design changes after the project’s public review period were illegal.