No law annoys California developers more than the California Environmental Quality Act, and they figure to win at least some changes to its strict 42-year-old rules next year. They almost sneaked through a major softening of the state’s premier environmental law last September in the waning moments of the last legislative session but were forced to back off in the face of heavy objections to softening the law without any public hearings at all. CEQA requires sponsors of any building project or other development that will have a significant effect on the environment to write an environmental impact report assessing …