CA Legislators Approve Bill to Ease Review Process for Sacramento Arena

The California Assembly and Senate easily approved Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg’s Senate Bill 743, which eases the judicial process for Sacramento’s new downtown arena for its NBA Kings team. All that is left is Governor Jerry Brown’s signature.

SB 743 has a few components. First, it expedites environmental lawsuits against the proposed arena through the court system. Next, it also limits the ability to halt construction and strengthens the city’s potential use of eminent domain.

“Sacramento Kings President Chris Granger applauded the bill, calling the downtown arena project ‘a once-in-a-generation project for the Kings and Sacramento.’”

SB 743 follows past legislative attempts to ease review and compliance to California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) for specific large construction projects. In 2009, the State approved a bill to exempt a proposed NFL stadium in Los Angeles from CEQA compliance.