California 2025-2026 Regular Session

California Assembly Bill AB399 Compare Versions

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11 CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE 20252026 REGULAR SESSION Assembly Bill No. 399Introduced by Assembly Member BoernerFebruary 04, 2025 An act to add Sections 30100.3 and 30237 to the Public Resources Code, relating to coastal resources. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGESTAB 399, as introduced, Boerner. Coastal resources: coastal development permits: blue carbon demonstration projects.Existing law, the California Coastal Act of 1976, among other things, requires anyone wishing to perform or undertake any development in the coastal zone, except as specified, in addition to obtaining any other permit required by law from any local government or from any state, regional, or local agency, to obtain a coastal development permit from the California Coastal Commission or local government, as provided.This bill would authorize the commission to authorize blue carbon demonstration projects, as defined, in order to demonstrate and quantify the carbon sequestration potential of these projects to help inform the states natural and working lands and climate resilience strategies. The bill would, among other things, authorize the commission to require an applicant with a nonresidential project that impacts coastal wetland, subtidal, intertidal, or marine habitats or ecosystems to build or contribute to a blue carbon demonstration project.Digest Key Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NO Bill TextThe people of the State of California do enact as follows:SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:(a) California has set the targets to reduce carbon emissions 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030 and 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050.(b) In 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Executive Order No. N-82-20, directing the Natural Resources Agency, in consultation with other state agencies, to develop a Natural and Working Lands Climate Smart Strategy that serves as a framework to advance the states carbon neutrality goal and build climate resilience.(c) Executive Order No. N-82-20 also set the goal to conserve at least 30 percent of state land and coastal waters by 2030 and a recent Natural Resources Agency report on implementation recognizes the need to restore degraded coastal habitats to capture carbon and mitigate climate change impacts.(d) Blue carbon, which is carbon held and stored in coastal vegetation, such as seagrasses and wetlands, holds great potential to help the state meet its climate goals. Recent studies have found that coastal wetlands in some instances capture carbon at a greater rate than tropical forests and store three to five times more carbon per equivalent area than these forests.(e) The State Air Resources Boards draft 2022 scoping plan update does not specifically include blue carbon in the states natural and working lands inventory due, in part, to the limited availability of data and methodologies to inventory the stored carbon.(f) Given the potential of blue carbon sequestration, blue carbon demonstration projects in California may help the state better understand how blue carbon could potentially contribute to the state achieving its carbon neutrality and climate resilience goals.SEC. 2. Section 30100.3 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:30100.3. Blue carbon demonstration project means the restoration of coastal wetland, subtidal, intertidal, or marine habitats or ecosystems, including, but not limited to, wetlands and seagrasses, that can take up and sequester carbon. A blue carbon demonstration project is limited to all of the following:(a) Ecologically appropriate locations where the habitat or ecosystem had historically occurred and subsequently become degraded or removed.(b) The restoration of the habitat or ecosystem to its historical state to provide ecosystem services and habitat values, to the extent feasible.(c) The use of diverse native species.SEC. 3. Section 30237 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:30237. (a) The commission may authorize blue carbon demonstration projects in order to demonstrate and quantify the carbon sequestration potential of these projects to help inform the states natural and working lands and climate resilience strategies.(b) The commission may require an applicant with a nonresidential project that impacts coastal wetland, subtidal, intertidal, or marine habitats or ecosystems to build or contribute to a blue carbon demonstration project.(c) The commission shall consult with the State Air Resources Board, the Department of Fish and Wildlife, the State Coastal Conservancy, the State Lands Commission, and other public entities, and seek consultation with the United States Army Corps of Engineers and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in developing the blue carbon demonstration project program.(d) Each blue carbon demonstration project shall be designed, monitored, and have sufficient data collected in order to demonstrate the carbon uptake and sequestration achieved. This shall include an evaluation of relevant factors affecting the permanence of the sequestration. The results shall be presented to the commission in a public hearing.
22
33 CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE 20252026 REGULAR SESSION Assembly Bill No. 399Introduced by Assembly Member BoernerFebruary 04, 2025 An act to add Sections 30100.3 and 30237 to the Public Resources Code, relating to coastal resources. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGESTAB 399, as introduced, Boerner. Coastal resources: coastal development permits: blue carbon demonstration projects.Existing law, the California Coastal Act of 1976, among other things, requires anyone wishing to perform or undertake any development in the coastal zone, except as specified, in addition to obtaining any other permit required by law from any local government or from any state, regional, or local agency, to obtain a coastal development permit from the California Coastal Commission or local government, as provided.This bill would authorize the commission to authorize blue carbon demonstration projects, as defined, in order to demonstrate and quantify the carbon sequestration potential of these projects to help inform the states natural and working lands and climate resilience strategies. The bill would, among other things, authorize the commission to require an applicant with a nonresidential project that impacts coastal wetland, subtidal, intertidal, or marine habitats or ecosystems to build or contribute to a blue carbon demonstration project.Digest Key Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NO
44
55
66
77
88
99 CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE 20252026 REGULAR SESSION
1010
1111 Assembly Bill
1212
1313 No. 399
1414
1515 Introduced by Assembly Member BoernerFebruary 04, 2025
1616
1717 Introduced by Assembly Member Boerner
1818 February 04, 2025
1919
2020 An act to add Sections 30100.3 and 30237 to the Public Resources Code, relating to coastal resources.
2121
2222 LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
2323
2424 ## LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
2525
2626 AB 399, as introduced, Boerner. Coastal resources: coastal development permits: blue carbon demonstration projects.
2727
2828 Existing law, the California Coastal Act of 1976, among other things, requires anyone wishing to perform or undertake any development in the coastal zone, except as specified, in addition to obtaining any other permit required by law from any local government or from any state, regional, or local agency, to obtain a coastal development permit from the California Coastal Commission or local government, as provided.This bill would authorize the commission to authorize blue carbon demonstration projects, as defined, in order to demonstrate and quantify the carbon sequestration potential of these projects to help inform the states natural and working lands and climate resilience strategies. The bill would, among other things, authorize the commission to require an applicant with a nonresidential project that impacts coastal wetland, subtidal, intertidal, or marine habitats or ecosystems to build or contribute to a blue carbon demonstration project.
2929
3030 Existing law, the California Coastal Act of 1976, among other things, requires anyone wishing to perform or undertake any development in the coastal zone, except as specified, in addition to obtaining any other permit required by law from any local government or from any state, regional, or local agency, to obtain a coastal development permit from the California Coastal Commission or local government, as provided.
3131
3232 This bill would authorize the commission to authorize blue carbon demonstration projects, as defined, in order to demonstrate and quantify the carbon sequestration potential of these projects to help inform the states natural and working lands and climate resilience strategies. The bill would, among other things, authorize the commission to require an applicant with a nonresidential project that impacts coastal wetland, subtidal, intertidal, or marine habitats or ecosystems to build or contribute to a blue carbon demonstration project.
3333
3434 ## Digest Key
3535
3636 ## Bill Text
3737
3838 The people of the State of California do enact as follows:SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:(a) California has set the targets to reduce carbon emissions 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030 and 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050.(b) In 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Executive Order No. N-82-20, directing the Natural Resources Agency, in consultation with other state agencies, to develop a Natural and Working Lands Climate Smart Strategy that serves as a framework to advance the states carbon neutrality goal and build climate resilience.(c) Executive Order No. N-82-20 also set the goal to conserve at least 30 percent of state land and coastal waters by 2030 and a recent Natural Resources Agency report on implementation recognizes the need to restore degraded coastal habitats to capture carbon and mitigate climate change impacts.(d) Blue carbon, which is carbon held and stored in coastal vegetation, such as seagrasses and wetlands, holds great potential to help the state meet its climate goals. Recent studies have found that coastal wetlands in some instances capture carbon at a greater rate than tropical forests and store three to five times more carbon per equivalent area than these forests.(e) The State Air Resources Boards draft 2022 scoping plan update does not specifically include blue carbon in the states natural and working lands inventory due, in part, to the limited availability of data and methodologies to inventory the stored carbon.(f) Given the potential of blue carbon sequestration, blue carbon demonstration projects in California may help the state better understand how blue carbon could potentially contribute to the state achieving its carbon neutrality and climate resilience goals.SEC. 2. Section 30100.3 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:30100.3. Blue carbon demonstration project means the restoration of coastal wetland, subtidal, intertidal, or marine habitats or ecosystems, including, but not limited to, wetlands and seagrasses, that can take up and sequester carbon. A blue carbon demonstration project is limited to all of the following:(a) Ecologically appropriate locations where the habitat or ecosystem had historically occurred and subsequently become degraded or removed.(b) The restoration of the habitat or ecosystem to its historical state to provide ecosystem services and habitat values, to the extent feasible.(c) The use of diverse native species.SEC. 3. Section 30237 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:30237. (a) The commission may authorize blue carbon demonstration projects in order to demonstrate and quantify the carbon sequestration potential of these projects to help inform the states natural and working lands and climate resilience strategies.(b) The commission may require an applicant with a nonresidential project that impacts coastal wetland, subtidal, intertidal, or marine habitats or ecosystems to build or contribute to a blue carbon demonstration project.(c) The commission shall consult with the State Air Resources Board, the Department of Fish and Wildlife, the State Coastal Conservancy, the State Lands Commission, and other public entities, and seek consultation with the United States Army Corps of Engineers and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in developing the blue carbon demonstration project program.(d) Each blue carbon demonstration project shall be designed, monitored, and have sufficient data collected in order to demonstrate the carbon uptake and sequestration achieved. This shall include an evaluation of relevant factors affecting the permanence of the sequestration. The results shall be presented to the commission in a public hearing.
3939
4040 The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
4141
4242 ## The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
4343
4444 SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:(a) California has set the targets to reduce carbon emissions 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030 and 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050.(b) In 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Executive Order No. N-82-20, directing the Natural Resources Agency, in consultation with other state agencies, to develop a Natural and Working Lands Climate Smart Strategy that serves as a framework to advance the states carbon neutrality goal and build climate resilience.(c) Executive Order No. N-82-20 also set the goal to conserve at least 30 percent of state land and coastal waters by 2030 and a recent Natural Resources Agency report on implementation recognizes the need to restore degraded coastal habitats to capture carbon and mitigate climate change impacts.(d) Blue carbon, which is carbon held and stored in coastal vegetation, such as seagrasses and wetlands, holds great potential to help the state meet its climate goals. Recent studies have found that coastal wetlands in some instances capture carbon at a greater rate than tropical forests and store three to five times more carbon per equivalent area than these forests.(e) The State Air Resources Boards draft 2022 scoping plan update does not specifically include blue carbon in the states natural and working lands inventory due, in part, to the limited availability of data and methodologies to inventory the stored carbon.(f) Given the potential of blue carbon sequestration, blue carbon demonstration projects in California may help the state better understand how blue carbon could potentially contribute to the state achieving its carbon neutrality and climate resilience goals.
4545
4646 SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:(a) California has set the targets to reduce carbon emissions 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030 and 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050.(b) In 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Executive Order No. N-82-20, directing the Natural Resources Agency, in consultation with other state agencies, to develop a Natural and Working Lands Climate Smart Strategy that serves as a framework to advance the states carbon neutrality goal and build climate resilience.(c) Executive Order No. N-82-20 also set the goal to conserve at least 30 percent of state land and coastal waters by 2030 and a recent Natural Resources Agency report on implementation recognizes the need to restore degraded coastal habitats to capture carbon and mitigate climate change impacts.(d) Blue carbon, which is carbon held and stored in coastal vegetation, such as seagrasses and wetlands, holds great potential to help the state meet its climate goals. Recent studies have found that coastal wetlands in some instances capture carbon at a greater rate than tropical forests and store three to five times more carbon per equivalent area than these forests.(e) The State Air Resources Boards draft 2022 scoping plan update does not specifically include blue carbon in the states natural and working lands inventory due, in part, to the limited availability of data and methodologies to inventory the stored carbon.(f) Given the potential of blue carbon sequestration, blue carbon demonstration projects in California may help the state better understand how blue carbon could potentially contribute to the state achieving its carbon neutrality and climate resilience goals.
4747
4848 SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
4949
5050 ### SECTION 1.
5151
5252 (a) California has set the targets to reduce carbon emissions 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030 and 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050.
5353
5454 (b) In 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Executive Order No. N-82-20, directing the Natural Resources Agency, in consultation with other state agencies, to develop a Natural and Working Lands Climate Smart Strategy that serves as a framework to advance the states carbon neutrality goal and build climate resilience.
5555
5656 (c) Executive Order No. N-82-20 also set the goal to conserve at least 30 percent of state land and coastal waters by 2030 and a recent Natural Resources Agency report on implementation recognizes the need to restore degraded coastal habitats to capture carbon and mitigate climate change impacts.
5757
5858 (d) Blue carbon, which is carbon held and stored in coastal vegetation, such as seagrasses and wetlands, holds great potential to help the state meet its climate goals. Recent studies have found that coastal wetlands in some instances capture carbon at a greater rate than tropical forests and store three to five times more carbon per equivalent area than these forests.
5959
6060 (e) The State Air Resources Boards draft 2022 scoping plan update does not specifically include blue carbon in the states natural and working lands inventory due, in part, to the limited availability of data and methodologies to inventory the stored carbon.
6161
6262 (f) Given the potential of blue carbon sequestration, blue carbon demonstration projects in California may help the state better understand how blue carbon could potentially contribute to the state achieving its carbon neutrality and climate resilience goals.
6363
6464 SEC. 2. Section 30100.3 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:30100.3. Blue carbon demonstration project means the restoration of coastal wetland, subtidal, intertidal, or marine habitats or ecosystems, including, but not limited to, wetlands and seagrasses, that can take up and sequester carbon. A blue carbon demonstration project is limited to all of the following:(a) Ecologically appropriate locations where the habitat or ecosystem had historically occurred and subsequently become degraded or removed.(b) The restoration of the habitat or ecosystem to its historical state to provide ecosystem services and habitat values, to the extent feasible.(c) The use of diverse native species.
6565
6666 SEC. 2. Section 30100.3 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:
6767
6868 ### SEC. 2.
6969
7070 30100.3. Blue carbon demonstration project means the restoration of coastal wetland, subtidal, intertidal, or marine habitats or ecosystems, including, but not limited to, wetlands and seagrasses, that can take up and sequester carbon. A blue carbon demonstration project is limited to all of the following:(a) Ecologically appropriate locations where the habitat or ecosystem had historically occurred and subsequently become degraded or removed.(b) The restoration of the habitat or ecosystem to its historical state to provide ecosystem services and habitat values, to the extent feasible.(c) The use of diverse native species.
7171
7272 30100.3. Blue carbon demonstration project means the restoration of coastal wetland, subtidal, intertidal, or marine habitats or ecosystems, including, but not limited to, wetlands and seagrasses, that can take up and sequester carbon. A blue carbon demonstration project is limited to all of the following:(a) Ecologically appropriate locations where the habitat or ecosystem had historically occurred and subsequently become degraded or removed.(b) The restoration of the habitat or ecosystem to its historical state to provide ecosystem services and habitat values, to the extent feasible.(c) The use of diverse native species.
7373
7474 30100.3. Blue carbon demonstration project means the restoration of coastal wetland, subtidal, intertidal, or marine habitats or ecosystems, including, but not limited to, wetlands and seagrasses, that can take up and sequester carbon. A blue carbon demonstration project is limited to all of the following:(a) Ecologically appropriate locations where the habitat or ecosystem had historically occurred and subsequently become degraded or removed.(b) The restoration of the habitat or ecosystem to its historical state to provide ecosystem services and habitat values, to the extent feasible.(c) The use of diverse native species.
7575
7676
7777
7878 30100.3. Blue carbon demonstration project means the restoration of coastal wetland, subtidal, intertidal, or marine habitats or ecosystems, including, but not limited to, wetlands and seagrasses, that can take up and sequester carbon. A blue carbon demonstration project is limited to all of the following:
7979
8080 (a) Ecologically appropriate locations where the habitat or ecosystem had historically occurred and subsequently become degraded or removed.
8181
8282 (b) The restoration of the habitat or ecosystem to its historical state to provide ecosystem services and habitat values, to the extent feasible.
8383
8484 (c) The use of diverse native species.
8585
8686 SEC. 3. Section 30237 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:30237. (a) The commission may authorize blue carbon demonstration projects in order to demonstrate and quantify the carbon sequestration potential of these projects to help inform the states natural and working lands and climate resilience strategies.(b) The commission may require an applicant with a nonresidential project that impacts coastal wetland, subtidal, intertidal, or marine habitats or ecosystems to build or contribute to a blue carbon demonstration project.(c) The commission shall consult with the State Air Resources Board, the Department of Fish and Wildlife, the State Coastal Conservancy, the State Lands Commission, and other public entities, and seek consultation with the United States Army Corps of Engineers and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in developing the blue carbon demonstration project program.(d) Each blue carbon demonstration project shall be designed, monitored, and have sufficient data collected in order to demonstrate the carbon uptake and sequestration achieved. This shall include an evaluation of relevant factors affecting the permanence of the sequestration. The results shall be presented to the commission in a public hearing.
8787
8888 SEC. 3. Section 30237 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:
8989
9090 ### SEC. 3.
9191
9292 30237. (a) The commission may authorize blue carbon demonstration projects in order to demonstrate and quantify the carbon sequestration potential of these projects to help inform the states natural and working lands and climate resilience strategies.(b) The commission may require an applicant with a nonresidential project that impacts coastal wetland, subtidal, intertidal, or marine habitats or ecosystems to build or contribute to a blue carbon demonstration project.(c) The commission shall consult with the State Air Resources Board, the Department of Fish and Wildlife, the State Coastal Conservancy, the State Lands Commission, and other public entities, and seek consultation with the United States Army Corps of Engineers and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in developing the blue carbon demonstration project program.(d) Each blue carbon demonstration project shall be designed, monitored, and have sufficient data collected in order to demonstrate the carbon uptake and sequestration achieved. This shall include an evaluation of relevant factors affecting the permanence of the sequestration. The results shall be presented to the commission in a public hearing.
9393
9494 30237. (a) The commission may authorize blue carbon demonstration projects in order to demonstrate and quantify the carbon sequestration potential of these projects to help inform the states natural and working lands and climate resilience strategies.(b) The commission may require an applicant with a nonresidential project that impacts coastal wetland, subtidal, intertidal, or marine habitats or ecosystems to build or contribute to a blue carbon demonstration project.(c) The commission shall consult with the State Air Resources Board, the Department of Fish and Wildlife, the State Coastal Conservancy, the State Lands Commission, and other public entities, and seek consultation with the United States Army Corps of Engineers and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in developing the blue carbon demonstration project program.(d) Each blue carbon demonstration project shall be designed, monitored, and have sufficient data collected in order to demonstrate the carbon uptake and sequestration achieved. This shall include an evaluation of relevant factors affecting the permanence of the sequestration. The results shall be presented to the commission in a public hearing.
9595
9696 30237. (a) The commission may authorize blue carbon demonstration projects in order to demonstrate and quantify the carbon sequestration potential of these projects to help inform the states natural and working lands and climate resilience strategies.(b) The commission may require an applicant with a nonresidential project that impacts coastal wetland, subtidal, intertidal, or marine habitats or ecosystems to build or contribute to a blue carbon demonstration project.(c) The commission shall consult with the State Air Resources Board, the Department of Fish and Wildlife, the State Coastal Conservancy, the State Lands Commission, and other public entities, and seek consultation with the United States Army Corps of Engineers and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in developing the blue carbon demonstration project program.(d) Each blue carbon demonstration project shall be designed, monitored, and have sufficient data collected in order to demonstrate the carbon uptake and sequestration achieved. This shall include an evaluation of relevant factors affecting the permanence of the sequestration. The results shall be presented to the commission in a public hearing.
9797
9898
9999
100100 30237. (a) The commission may authorize blue carbon demonstration projects in order to demonstrate and quantify the carbon sequestration potential of these projects to help inform the states natural and working lands and climate resilience strategies.
101101
102102 (b) The commission may require an applicant with a nonresidential project that impacts coastal wetland, subtidal, intertidal, or marine habitats or ecosystems to build or contribute to a blue carbon demonstration project.
103103
104104 (c) The commission shall consult with the State Air Resources Board, the Department of Fish and Wildlife, the State Coastal Conservancy, the State Lands Commission, and other public entities, and seek consultation with the United States Army Corps of Engineers and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in developing the blue carbon demonstration project program.
105105
106106 (d) Each blue carbon demonstration project shall be designed, monitored, and have sufficient data collected in order to demonstrate the carbon uptake and sequestration achieved. This shall include an evaluation of relevant factors affecting the permanence of the sequestration. The results shall be presented to the commission in a public hearing.