100+ Organizations Join Coalition Backing the Building an Affordable California Act

For Immediate Release
Contact: John Myers
[email protected] | [email protected]

Rapidly growing coalition of civil rights leaders, healthcare providers, affordable housing advocates, clean energy builders, water providers, agricultural groups, and small business organizations unites behind effort to cut red tape, lower costs, and build essential projects faster

(May 6, 2026) Sacramento, CA-Support continues to surge for the Building an Affordable California Act (Affordable CA), with more than 100 organizations from across California now backing the statewide ballot measure to lower costs by cutting red tape and building essential housing and infrastructure faster.

The rapidly growing coalition reflects a broad and increasingly diverse cross-section of Californians- including civil rights leaders, healthcare providers, affordable housing advocates, clean energy leaders, water suppliers, agricultural leaders, and small business organizations united behind a common goal: making California more affordable and delivering the essential projects communities need.

"This growing coalition sends a clear message: Californians are ready to build the essential infrastructure we need to lower our cost of living and improve our quality of life," said Jennifer Barrera, President and CEO of the California Chamber of Commerce. "Californians depend on essential projects every day. Affordable CA will help us deliver those projects faster, more affordably, and with the accountability communities deserve."

Affordable CA modernizes California's outdated project approval process by establishing clear timelines, improving accountability, and reducing unnecessary delays-cutting, in some cases, as much as 10 years off project timelines to help build essential projects faster and lower costs for consumers and taxpayers.

"California's affordability crisis hits historically underserved neighborhoods hardest, driving up housing costs, delaying investment, and putting essential services further out of reach," said Rick Callender, President of the NAACP California/Hawaii State Conference. "Affordable CA will help break down barriers that keep communities waiting and deliver the infrastructure that our state needs faster and more affordably."

"California's housing affordability crisis is being made worse by seemingly never-ending delays," said Jenna Abbott, Executive Director of the California Council for Affordable Housing. "When affordable housing takes years to approve, costs rise, financing becomes harder to secure, and fewer homes get built. Affordable CA will help create a clearer, faster path to delivering the affordable housing Californians urgently need."

"Californians expect and deserve to receive hospital care in modern, safe facilities and delays in construction projects mean longer wait times, reduced access to care and, ultimately, higher healthcare costs for all," said Carmela Coyle, President and CEO of the California Hospital Association. "Affordable CA will help reduce unnecessary construction delays so that hospitals and medical offices can expand capacity, improve patient access, and deliver care more affordably."

Affordable CA maintains California's strong environmental protections and opportunities for public input. It does not exempt projects from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Instead, it modernizes the approval process by establishing clear timelines, improving accountability, and reducing unnecessary delays to ensure essential projects move forward faster.

"The Building an Affordable California Act is a major opportunity for California to accelerate clean energy, strengthen grid reliability, and lower costs for families," said Alex Jackson, Executive Director of American Clean Power - California. "We're proud to join such a broad coalition united around building a cleaner, more affordable, and more prosperous California."

Last week, supporters submitted nearly 1 million signatures to qualify Affordable CA for the November 2026 ballot-nearly double the number required-marking a major milestone and underscoring growing statewide momentum behind the measure.

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BACKGROUND: The Building an Affordable California Act modernizes California's project approval and permitting process for essential projects-including housing, water infrastructure, clean energy, transportation infrastructure, hospitals and health care facilities, schools and educational facilities, broadband, and wildfire prevention and resilience projects-by establishing clear timelines, improving accountability, and reducing unnecessary delays, while preserving strong environmental, labor, and tribal cultural resource protections.

Learn More: BuildAffordableCA.com

Ad paid for by Committee to Build an Affordable California, Sponsored by the California Chamber of Commerce. Ad Committee's Top Funders:
Building a Better California
Edison International & Affiliated Entities
California Building Industry Association
Funding details at www.fppc.ca.gov