Diverse Coalition Rallies at State Capitol to Oppose Prop 45, the Corporate Polluting Projects Prop

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — An enthusiastic crowd of diverse stakeholders gathered on the West Steps of the California State Capitol on August 5 to oppose Proposition 45, the November ballot measure coalition members are calling the Corporate Polluting Projects Prop. Speakers from environmental justice, public health, and conservation organizations warned that the measure would strip away decades of public oversight over harmful industrial projects and hand more power to corporate polluters.

"Prop 45 removes one of the only tools frontline communities have to demand review before a new polluting project gets approved next door," said Sylvia Arredondo of Communities for a Better Environment. "Data centers are landing in industrial and working-class neighborhoods first, and this measure fast-tracks them with even less oversight."

Public health advocates echoed those concerns. "This is a public health measure, not just an environmental one," said Paulina Nava of Physicians for Social Responsibility - Los Angeles. "Public review is often what catches health risks like toxic emissions and water contamination before a project breaks ground. As physicians, we don't get to ignore the data. Prop 45 asks every Californian to look the other way on these risks."

"CEQA is the law that helped clean up smog in Los Angeles and restore our coastlines and rivers over the last five decades," said Shannon Olvieri Hovis of California Environmental Voters. "This is deregulation with no off-ramp. Unlike a legislative fix, Prop 45 has no sunset provision and would be extremely hard to reverse or amend once it passes."

Coalition members outlined three key facts every voter should know:

• Prop 45 severely limits public input and government oversight of harmful projects, including data centers, gutting CEQA.

• Prop 45 swings power to corporate polluters and silences community voices.

• Prop 45 shifts costs to taxpayers, with no guarantees to bring costs down for everyday Californians.

The rally closed with all speakers leading the crowd in a chant of "No on 45!"

About Prop 45:

• Does nothing to lower your costs and contains no requirements to lower rents, housing costs, or utility bills.

• The independent and non-partisan Legislative Analyst Office confirmed that Prop 45 could raise costs to taxpayers by more than $100 million a year.

• Will silence community voices and gives you less say over what gets built near your home, your children's school, and your water supply.

• Allows developers to fast-track new data centers, landfill gas plants, CO₂ pipelines, and sprawl housing in high wildfire-risk areas, all with less public review and oversight.

No on Prop 45 is a massive and diverse coalition of 270+ organizations, including the American Nurses Association\California, Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments, Coalition for Clean Air, the California Environmental Justice Alliance, the California Democratic Party and the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California. The full list of 270+ endorsing organizations is available on the campaign website: NoProp45CA.com.

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