Welcome to Construction & Claims, a periodic digest of the headlines, statutory and regulatory changes and court cases involving construction news, claims, bid protests, contract administration and payment-related disputes. 

Gov. Gavin Newsom Signs New Infrastructure Proposals

California Governor Gavin Newsom unveiled legislation to speed up construction of power lines, water works, bridges and other big infrastructure projects.

Newsom stated California is poised to invest as much as $180 billion in new infrastructure over the next decade, as the State overhauls its water and transportation systems and shifts to clean energy. Permitting delays, many of them tied to environmental studies and voluminous paperwork, threaten that drive, he said.

Newsom proposed 11 pieces of legislation that would, among other things, limit judicial review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) to nine months for some types of infrastructure projects. He also signed an executive order creating a multi-agency “infrastructure strike team” to help projects navigate permitting and state approvals.

Administration officials state the legislative package and executive order will:

• Cut project timelines by more than three years
• Save businesses and state and local governments hundreds of millions of dollars
• Reduce paperwork by hundreds of thousands pages

State tuned for more information on this proposal.