ALT Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Tim Walz waving to a crowd on a stage in a packed arena.

ALT Imagined map of a Ticket to Ride game of all the United States with lines showing high-speed rail projects, conventional rail projects (new and existing), and existing intercity passenger rail network.

ALT CEQA was passed in 1970, as environmentalism took off. It was carried in the Legislature by a Republican — Assemblymember (and later Gov.) Pete Wilson — and it was signed by a Republican — Gov. Ronald Reagan. The law doesn’t protect the environment directly. Rather, it requires cities and counties to analyze and minimize the likely environmental effect of new development. It also gives almost anybody standing to challenge that analysis and the mitigation effort in court, as long as the lawsuit is filed within 90 days of the local government’s “final” permitting decision.