The energy in the room at Gov. Kathy Hochul’s recent State of the State address was tangible. Leaders from all across the political spectrum and all across the state gathered in Albany to hear about the governor’s priorities for the year ahead.

I was pleased with several of the announcements made during her remarks, but one that stands out is her intent to review and reform the State Environmental Quality Review Act, or SEQRA, process. This law was enacted in the 1970s, during a time when one of our state’s key goals was to move away from coal-fired plants. While the legislation was well-intentioned and did set our state on a path towards a better, cleaner energy future, it has not been modernized over the past 50 years — and it desperately needs it.

Over the course of the last five decades, this environmental process has been weaponized by groups who seek to block housing development and business expansion, dragging the........

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