Brown signs LA stadium bill

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LOS ANGELES, Sept. 27 (UPI) -- California Gov. Jerry Brown Tuesday signed a bill that he said will smooth the way for construction of an NFL stadium in downtown Los Angeles.

The measure limits environmental lawsuits that can be brought against certain large construction projects undertaken to produce jobs in a tough economy.

Brown signed the bill in front of the West Wing of the Los Angeles Convention Center, which would be demolished as part of a $1.4 billion proposal to construct a new stadium and refurbish the adjacent convention hall, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Brown was flanked by Tim Leiweke, the chairman and chief executive of Anschutz Entertainment Group, which would develop the new facility.

The governor proclaimed the state's high unemployment requires "big ideas and big projects" to tackle it, the Times reported.

Environmentalists have denounced the bill as giving special treatment to one developer to skirt laws intended to protect Californians from unreasonable traffic, air pollution and other environmental problems.