By Los Angeles County Politics (LACP)
A new political organization bankrolled by some of the wealthiest figures in Silicon Valley is gathering signatures for two November 2026 ballot measures that could significantly affect how housing, infrastructure, and development projects are approved across Los Angeles County’s 88 cities.
Building a Better California, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit incorporated on January 14 with an affiliated political action committee, disclosed $35 million in initial contributions late last month. Google co-founder Sergey Brin anchored the effort with a $20 million donation — his largest and most visible political contribution ever. Other donors include former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, PayPal’s Max Levchin, DoorDash CEO Tony Xu, Stripe CEO Patrick Collison, investors John Doerr and Michael Moritz, crypto founder Chris Larsen, and agricultural magnate Stewart Resnick.
“We support forward-looking policies aimed at making the state more livable and affordable — while protecting innovation and entrepreneurship, which help support a strong economy and good-paying jobs,” said a spokesperson for the organization.
The group’s PAC is backing two initiatives currently in circulation:
The first, the California Middle-Class Homeownership and Family Home Construction Act (25-0013), would authorize the California Housing Finance Agency to issue up to $25 billion in revenue bonds to provide second mortgage loans of up to 17% of a home’s purchase price to qualified buyers earning no more than 200% of the area median income.
The measure applies only to newly built homes and is championed by former state Senate Majority Leader and Assembly Speaker Bob Hertzberg. The campaign reported reaching the 25% signature threshold in November 2025.
The second, the Building an Affordable California Act (25-0023), would impose enforceable deadlines on the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA )review process for a broad category of “essential projects” including housing, clean energy, water infrastructure, hospitals, schools, transportation, and wildfire resilience.
Filed by the California Chamber of Commerce, the measure would require agencies to complete environmental review within fixed timelines, limit CEQA litigation to 270 days, including appeals, and streamline permitting across multiple agencies. The campaign announced it surpassed the 25% signature threshold on February 6, weeks ahead of schedule.
Neither measure has qualified for the ballot yet. Under California law, initiated state statutes require 546,651 valid signatures — equal to 5% of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election. Campaigns have 180 days from the date they receive title and summary from the Attorney General to collect signatures.
The Secretary of State’s suggested deadline for submitting signatures for random sample verification is April 17, with a hard deadline for full signature verification of June 25. Both campaigns appear well-funded and on track to qualify.
The spending comes against a charged political backdrop. Brin relocated his primary residence to the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe before a January 1 deadline tied to a proposed Billionaire Tax Act that would impose a one-time 5% levy on billionaires’ assets. Building a Better California says it has not taken a position on the wealth tax.
For LA County, both measures carry significant implications. The CEQA initiative could accelerate fire rebuilding, housing construction, and infrastructure projects mired in lengthy environmental review.
The homeownership measure could expand access to new housing in a county where median home prices far exceed the statewide figure. But environmental justice advocates who have relied on CEQA to challenge harmful development in overburdened neighborhoods may view the permitting overhaul as a threat to their most effective tool.
