California Assembly Bill AB1482 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: AB 1482AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 5, 2015 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 20, 2015 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Gordon  (   Coauthors:   Assembly Members   Bloom,   Rendon,   and Mark Stone   )  FEBRUARY 27, 2015 An act to amend Section 75125 of, and to add Part 3.7 (commencing with Section 71150) to Division 34 of, the Public Resources Code, relating to climate change. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 1482, as amended, Gordon. Climate adaptation. Existing law establishes the Natural Resources Agency, comprised of departments, boards, conservancies, and commissions responsible for the restoration, protection, and management of the state's natural and cultural resources. Existing law establishes the Strategic Growth Council in state government and assigns to the council certain duties, including providing, funding, and distributing data and information to local governments and regional agencies that will assist in the development and planning of sustainable communities. This bill would require the agency, in coordination with the council, to address the impacts of climate change and climate adaptation by reviewing and coordinating existing grants and programs to maximize specified objectives, including, among others, establishing policy, guidelines, and guidance at the state level to inform planning decisions and ensuring that state investments consider climate change impacts, as well as promote the use of natural systems, whenever feasible, when developing physical infrastructure to address adaptation. This bill also would expand the duties of the council to include overseeing and coordinating state agency actions to adapt to climate change and identifying and pursuing opportunities for state agencies to collaborate with federal or local agencies in their climate adaptation efforts. Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (a) California's climate is changing, posing an escalated threat to public health, the environment, and public and private property in the state. The increasing frequency of extreme weather events, rising sea levels, and changes in hydrology, including diminishing snowpack, among other climate change impacts, will touch every part of residents' lives in the next century and beyond. Planning appropriately for these impacts will help us be better prepared for the future. (b) The impacts of climate change, including longer droughts, extended floods, prolonged fire seasons with larger and more intense fires, heat waves, and sea level rise, are already creating challenges for public health and safety and causing destructive property damage. (c) Climate changes pose a threat not just to the lives and health of residents but to the financial health of our state and local governments. (d) According to the Natural Resources Agency's report, "Safeguarding California: Reducing Climate Risk," state-of-the-art modeling shows that a single extreme winter storm in California could cost on the order of $725,000,000,000, including total direct property losses of nearly $400,000,000,000 and devastating impacts to residents, the economy, and natural resources. (e) Adapting to climate change in addition to reducing the impacts of climate change on California's natural resources and infrastructure is essential to protecting the state's environment and economy over time and will require coordination across all state departments and agencies. (f) Given the potential impacts and the long-term nature of effective planning, California needs to take action now. SEC. 2. Part 3.7 (commencing with Section 71150) is added to Division 34 of the Public Resources Code, to read: PART 3.7. Climate Change and Climate Adaptation 71150. For purposes of this part, the following terms have the following meanings: (a) "Agency" means the Natural Resources Agency. (b) "Council" means the Strategic Growth Council. 71152. It is the intent of the Legislature to prioritize the state's response to the  unavoidable  impacts resulting from climate change by ensuring all state departments and agencies prepare for and are ready to respond to the impacts of climate change, such as extreme weather events, the urban heat island effect, habitat loss, wildfire, sea-level rise, and drought. It also is the intent of the Legislature that the agency consider developing policies to address the impacts of climate change and climate adaptation with a focus on people, places, and water and that actions taken to address climate adaptation should be consistent with the Safeguarding California Plan. 71154. To address the impacts of climate change and climate adaptation, the agency, in coordination with the council, shall review and coordinate existing grants and programs to maximize the following objectives: (a) Educating the public about the consequences of climate change, such as sea-level rise, extreme weather events, the urban heat island effect, habitat loss, wildfire, and drought. (b) Ensuring there is a continued repository for scientific data on climate change and climate adaptation in the state in order to facilitate educated state and local policy decisions. (c) Establishing policy, guidelines, and guidance at the state level to inform planning decisions and ensure that state investments consider climate change impacts, as well as promote the use of natural systems, whenever feasible, when developing physical infrastructure to address adaptation. (d) Encouraging regional collaborative planning efforts to address regional climate change impacts and adaptation strategies. (e) Promoting a water supply, delivery, and capture system that is coordinated and can withstand a multiyear drought scenario. Establishing both drought preparation programs, which will help create sustainable water systems in the future, and immediate drought response programs, which will reduce water demand or increase supply within one to five years of any declared drought. (f) Building resilient communities by developing urban greening projects that reduce air pollution and heat reflection in urban areas and create livable, sustainable communities in urban cores to promote infill development and reduce vehicle miles traveled. (g) Protecting and enhancing habitat and species strongholds that are critical to the preservation of species that are at risk from the consequences of climate change. 71156. For the purposes of implementing the objectives of this part, the agency,  to the extent feasible and  in coordination with the council, shall identify and coordinate opportunities among its departments in expending moneys from all of the following: (a) The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, created pursuant to Section 16428.8 of the Government Code. (b) The Water Quality, Supply, and Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2014, approved by the voters as Proposition 1 at the November 4, 2014, statewide general election. (c) Other state funds. 71158. The agency, in coordination with the council, shall assess and coordinate across all state departments and agencies to  ensure that funding programs maximize   identify opportunities that increase  the ability for state and local infrastructure, people, and habitat and wildlife to  cope with the consequences   adapt to the impacts  of climate change. SEC. 3. Section 75125 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read: 75125. The council shall do all of the following: (a) Identify and review activities and funding programs of member state agencies that may be coordinated to improve air and water quality, improve natural resource protection, increase the availability of affordable housing, improve transportation, meet the goals of the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (Division 25.5 (commencing with Section 38500) of the Health and Safety Code), encourage sustainable land use planning, and revitalize urban and community centers in a sustainable manner. At a minimum, the council shall review and comment on the five-year infrastructure plan developed pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section 13100) of Chapter 2 of Part 3 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code and the State Environmental Goals and Policy Report developed pursuant to Section 65041 of the Government Code. (b) Recommend policies and investment strategies and priorities to the Governor, the Legislature, and to appropriate state agencies to encourage the development of sustainable communities, such as those communities that promote equity, strengthen the economy, protect the environment, and promote public health and safety, consistent with subdivisions (a) and (c) of Section 75065. (c) Provide, fund, and distribute data and information to local governments and regional agencies that will assist in developing and planning sustainable communities. (d) Manage and award grants and loans to support the planning and development of sustainable communities, pursuant to Sections 75127, 75128, and 75129. To implement this subdivision, the council may do all of the following: (1) Develop guidelines for awarding financial assistance, including criteria for eligibility and additional consideration. (2) Develop criteria for determining the amount of financial assistance to be awarded. The council shall award a revolving loan to an applicant for a planning project, unless the council determines that the applicant lacks the fiscal capacity to carry out the project without a grant. The council may establish criteria that would allow the applicant to illustrate an ongoing commitment of financial resources to ensure the completion of the proposed plan or project. (3) Provide for payments of interest on loans made pursuant to this article. The rate of interest shall not exceed the rate earned by the Pooled Money Investment Board. (4) Provide for the time period for repaying a loan made pursuant to this article. (5) Provide for the recovery of funds from an applicant that fails to complete the project for which financial assistance was awarded. The council shall direct the Controller to recover funds by any available means. (6) Provide technical assistance for application preparation. (7) Designate a state agency or department to administer technical and financial assistance programs for the disbursing of grants and loans to support the planning and development of sustainable communities, pursuant to Sections 75127, 75128, and 75129. (e) Provide an annual report to the Legislature that shall include, but need not be limited to, all of the following: (1) A list of applicants for financial assistance. (2) Identification of which applications were approved. (3) The amounts awarded for each approved application. (4) The remaining balance of available funds. (5) A report on the proposed or ongoing management of each funded project. (6) Any additional minimum requirements and priorities for a project or plan proposed in a grant or loan application developed and adopted by the council pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 75126. (f) Oversee and coordinate state agency actions to adapt to climate change. (g) Identify and pursue opportunities for state agencies to collaborate with federal or local agencies in their climate adaptation efforts.