Sacramento, Calif. – Today, the California Manufacturers & Technology Association (CMTA) elevated its opposition to SB 954 (Blakespear), designating it a “Breaker Bill” due to its negative impacts on California’s manufacturing sector and economy.
The decision comes after months of engagement on the legislation, which would roll back a CEQA exemption passed last year that streamlines the approval of advanced manufacturing projects and strengthens the state’s competitiveness. SB 954, authored by Senator Catherine Blakespear, would impose complex approval requirements and unattainable conditions on all advanced manufacturing projects, ultimately eliminating access to CEQA streamlining entirely.
California leads the nation in manufacturing, and maintaining that leadership depends on policies that encourage investment and provide project certainty.
“This is not a decision we take lightly,” said Lance Hastings, President & CEO of CMTA. “We made repeated efforts to engage in good faith and identify solutions that would preserve the important CEQA exemption while addressing concerns raised by the author and her colleagues in the Legislature. Unfortunately, those efforts have not led to meaningful progress, and CMTA must elevate the measure to a Breaker Bill.”
CMTA classifies “Breaker Bills” as legislative proposals that would significantly harm California’s manufacturing competitiveness by raising costs, imposing regulatory burdens, and creating legal uncertainty for investment and expansion.
Despite the association’s sustained efforts since the beginning of the year, discussions with the author’s office have not produced amendments that make SB 954 workable for the industry. As a result, CMTA does not see a viable path to align SB 954 with California’s manufacturing policy goals.
SB 954 would affect not only large manufacturing facilities but also supply chain operations and investments in existing facilities, including modernization projects to improve efficiency and support California’s environmental and energy goals.
By making it nearly impossible for advanced manufacturing projects to use the CEQA exemption, the bill risks raising project costs, lengthening permitting timelines, and discouraging investment in California at a time when the state is competing globally for industry growth.
CMTA urges lawmakers to reject SB 954 and protect California’s leadership in advanced manufacturing and industrial innovation.
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About CMTA
The California Manufacturers & Technology Association (CMTA) has advocated for pro-growth laws and regulations before the California legislature and administrative agencies since 1918. The total output from manufacturing in California is $382 billion per year, roughly 10 percent of the total economic output of the state. Manufacturers employ 1.2 million Californians paying wages more than $25,000 higher than other non-farm employers in the state. For more information, visit CMTA’s website.