Getting your
Trinity Audioplayer ready...California Forever’s hopes of bringing shipbuilding and maritime manufacturing to Collinsville will again take center stage Tuesday as the Solano County Board of Supervisors considers whether to take a position on proposed state legislation designed to facilitate development in the area.
The text of the proposed legislation, known as the Solano Maritime and Manufacturing Act, was released late Monday, giving the county and the public a first look at a measure that would make significant changes to how the Collinsville Special Study Area could be developed.
The board is scheduled to discuss the proposed legislation as the final item on its agenda Tuesday, with the discussion not scheduled to begin until 2 p.m. The public will have an opportunity to comment before the board deliberates. Several opponents of California Forever have taken to social media to encourage the community to turn out and share input.
The legislation would apply specifically to the approximately 1,350 acres currently designated for water-dependent industrial uses in the Collinsville Special Study Area. It would require the Board of Supervisors, within 270 days of a written request from the landowner, to amend the county’s general plan, zoning and other local codes to adjust the location and shape of that industrial area and authorize maritime and manufacturing uses. The total acreage designated for water-dependent industrial use could not be increased.
The bill defines maritime and manufacturing uses broadly to include shipbuilding and the manufacture, fabrication, assembly and maintenance of ships and ship components; maritime operations such as docks and bays; and advanced manufacturing, research, logistics and other activities that directly support shipbuilding or the maritime and naval defense industrial base. It also allows certain supportive uses, including workforce training and public services, within the area.
The legislation says stand-alone data centers, utility-scale solar energy storage facilities or stand-alone battery energy storage facilities would not constitute a maritime and manufacturing use for the site however, those types of facilities “may be located within the water dependent industrial area only when accessory and subordinate to, and necessary to serve, maritime and manufacturing uses.”
The proposed legislation also would significantly change the environmental review process for projects in the area. It states that the environmental review contained in Solano County’s 2008 General Plan final environmental impact report would be deemed sufficient for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA, for covered maritime and manufacturing projects and related county and agency actions.
At the same time, the legislation would preserve some of the county’s authority over individual projects. The bill explicitly says it would not require the county to approve or conditionally approve a maritime or manufacturing project, and it would preserve the county’s police powers to protect public health, safety and welfare. The county also could require project applicants to provide plans for and fund infrastructure such as energy, water, wastewater and transportation and could require development agreements to ensure the county does not incur unfunded costs associated with development.
The legislation would impose other conditions on projects, including requirements related to high-wage and highly skilled jobs, prevailing and living wages, California employment and apprenticeship training. It also would require tribal consultation before the county could issue a use permit authorizing construction of a covered project.
The proposed law also seeks to speed up permitting by establishing deadlines for other public agencies reviewing covered projects. Ministerial permits (permits that must be issued when an application meets specific, objective requirements) would have to be acted upon within 90 days, while discretionary approvals or permits would have to receive final action within 180 days after an application is deemed complete, with a possible 30-day extension by mutual agreement. Disputes between agencies or between an applicant and a responsible agency could be referred to a special master, who would be required to issue a binding determination within 45 days of appointment.
The legislation also would allow the governor to certify a Solano maritime and manufacturing project for the state’s infrastructure-project streamlining program. Among other requirements, applicants would have to agree to pay certain costs associated with legal challenges and preparation of the administrative record.
The Collinsville Special Study Area has long been identified in the Solano County General Plan as a potential site for water-dependent industrial development, the staff report notes. Renewed interest in developing the area for shipbuilding and maritime manufacturing came before the Board of Supervisors in April 2025 with California Forever’s proposal.
At that time, supervisors encouraged project proponents to work directly with the county on the land-use, environmental, infrastructure and permitting requirements that would have to be addressed before a project could move forward.
The county noted that Collinsville currently lacks substantial infrastructure and that any future development would be subject to discretionary review, environmental considerations, public input and coordination with state and regional permitting agencies.
The legislation is the latest development in a series of discussions involving California Forever, state officials and the county.
In September 2025, supervisors considered proposed state legislation intended to expedite a then-pending national shipbuilding site-selection opportunity. The proposal emerged late in the legislative session. At the time, the board voted unanimously, 5-0, to continue discussions with California Forever regarding project details, remain engaged with state partners on legislation consistent with county principles, and receive additional information regarding legislative discussions, infrastructure and environmental analyses, and potential entitlement pathways.
That legislation ultimately did not advance during the 2025 legislative session, staff noted.
Discussions resumed later in 2025 and continued throughout 2026. In May, county staff was presented with a concept that would have linked potential shipbuilding legislation to the proposed Suisun Expansion Plan. The county said it was not provided with written legislative language or a formal proposal related to that concept.
In August, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office contacted the county about a different legislative approach focused specifically on shipbuilding and maritime advanced manufacturing. Members of the board’s shipbuilding ad hoc committee and county staff subsequently met with state representatives to discuss a potential legislative framework, staff said.
The newly released legislation describes the Collinsville site as one of the largest vacant sites on the West Coast suitable for heavy maritime industrial uses and cites the need to expand U.S. shipbuilding capacity as a matter of national security.
The measure also would appropriate $250,000 from the state’s General Fund to Solano County for work related to the act. The legislation would remain in effect until the Board of Supervisors adopts an updated general plan outside the process established by the act.
The timing of Tuesday’s discussion is driven in large part by the state legislative calendar. With the deadline for introducing legislation approaching, county staff said there is limited time for Solano County to influence the content of the bill before it moves through the Legislature.
For that reason, the County Administrator’s Office and Department of Resource Management are recommending that the board provide direction on the county’s legislative position rather than defer the matter.
For residents who have been following the debate surrounding California Forever and development in Solano County, Tuesday’s meeting will provide an opportunity to weigh in and opponents have already been voicing their concerns online, with calls for residents to show up and be heard.
The proposed legislation requires a two-thirds vote in the Legislature and is classified as an appropriation and fiscal committee bill, according to the Legislative Counsel’s Digest.