California Assembly Bill AB2292 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: AB 2292AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 14, 2016 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 4, 2016 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Gordon (Coauthor: Assembly Member Ting) FEBRUARY 18, 2016 An act to amend Section 39711 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to environmental justice. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 2292, as amended, Gordon. California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006: disadvantaged communities. The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 designates the State Air Resources Board as the state agency charged with monitoring and regulating sources of emissions of greenhouse gases. The act authorizes the state board to include the use of market-based compliance mechanisms. Existing law requires all moneys, except for fines and penalties, collected by the state board  from the auction or sale of allowances  as part of a market-based compliance mechanism to be deposited in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund and to be available upon appropriation. Existing law  requires the California Environmental Protection Agency to identify disadvantaged communities, also known as the California Communities Environmental Health Screening, and  requires the Department of Finance, in consultation with the state board and any other relevant state agency, to develop, as specified, a 3-year investment plan for the moneys deposited in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.  Existing law requires the California Environmental Protection Agency to identify disadvantaged communities, also known as the California Communities Environmental Health Screening Tool, for investment opportunities related to the plan.  This bill would require the agency, no later than July 1, 2017, to update the California Communities Environmental Health Screening  Tool  to include specified  factors   factors, using the best-available data,  when identifying disadvantaged communities for investment opportunities related to the 3-year investment plan. 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. Section 39711 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read: 39711. (a) (1) The California Environmental Protection Agency shall identify disadvantaged communities for investment opportunities related to this chapter. These communities shall be identified based on geographic, socioeconomic, public health, and environmental hazard criteria, and may include, but are not limited to, either of the following: (A) Areas disproportionately affected by environmental pollution and other hazards that can lead to negative public health effects, exposure, or environmental degradation. (B) Areas with concentrations of people that are of low income, high unemployment, low levels of homeownership, high rent burden, sensitive populations, or low levels of educational attainment. (2) The California Environmental Protection Agency shall hold at least one public workshop prior to the identification of disadvantaged communities pursuant to this section. (3) The Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of the Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code) does not apply to the identification of disadvantaged communities pursuant to this section. (b) No later than July 1, 2017, the California Environmental Protection Agency shall update the identification of disadvantaged communities for investment opportunities related to this chapter, as established pursuant to subdivision (a), to include  factors   factors, using the best-available data,  that include, but need not be limited to, areas of the state that are disproportionately impacted by any of the following: (1) High poverty rates. (2) High rent burden and severe rent burden where households pay more than 50 percent of their household income in gross rent. (3) High cost of living.