BILL ANALYSIS SB 1006 SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY Senator S. Joseph Simitian, Chairman 2009-2010 Regular Session BILL NO: SB 1006 AUTHOR: Pavley AMENDED: April 5, 2010 FISCAL: Yes HEARING DATE: April 19, 2010 URGENCY: No CONSULTANT: Amber Hartman SUBJECT : CLIMATE CHANGE: STRATEGIC GROWTH COUNCIL SUMMARY : Existing law : 1) Under the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (CGWSA): a) Requires the California Air Resources Board (ARB) to determine the 1990 statewide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions level and approve a statewide GHG emissions limit that is equivalent to that level, to be achieved by 2020, and sets various requirements to meet this requirement. (Health and Safety Code 38500 et seq.). b) Requires ARB to ensure that GHG emission reduction requirements and programs, to the extent feasible, direct public and private investment toward the most disadvantaged communities in the state and provide an opportunity for certain entities to participate in and benefit from statewide efforts to reduce GHG emissions. (38565). c) Requires ARB to adopt GHG emission limits and reduction measures by regulation on or before January 1, 2011, to become operative January 1, 2012. ARB must meet certain requirements in adopting the regulations (e.g., minimize costs; not disproportionately impact low-income communities; ensure reductions are real, permanent, quantifiable, verifiable, and enforceable). (38562). 2) Under the Safe Drinking Water, Water Quality and Supply, SB 1006 Page 2 Flood Control, River and Coastal Protection Bond Act of 2006 (Proposition 84): a) Authorizes approximately $5.4 billion in general obligation bonds for safe drinking water, water quality and water supply, flood control, natural resource protection, and park improvements, of which $90 million is specified for planning grants and incentives and $90 million for urban greening programs. b) Specifies that the planning grants and incentives include revolving loan programs and other methods to encourage the development of regional and local land use plans that are designed to promote water conservation, reduce automobile use and fuel consumption, encourage greater infill and compact development, protect natural resources and agricultural lands, and revitalize urban and community centers. 3) Under the Sustainable Communities and Climate Protection Act (SCCPA) of 2008 (SB 373 (Steinberg) Chapter 728, Statutes of 2008): a) Requires metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) to include sustainable communities strategies in their regional transportation plans for the purpose of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and complying with CGWSA. b) Establishes a process for aligning planning for housing, land use, transportation and greenhouse gas emissions for the 17 MPOs in the state. 4) Under the Strategic Growth Council and Climate change Reduction Law (Public Resources Code 75120 et seq.): a) Establishes the Strategic Growth Council (SGC) comprised of the Director of the Office of Planning and Research; the Secretary of the Resources Agency; the Secretary for Environmental Protection; the Secretary of Business, Transportation and Housing; the Secretary of California Health and Human Services; and one member of the public to be appointed by the Governor. (75121). SB 1006 Page 3 b) Requires the SGC to identify and review activities and funding of programs of member state agencies including improving air and water quality, meeting the CGWSA requirements and encouraging sustainable land use. (75125). The SGC must also review and comment on the state's five-year infrastructure plan (Government Code 13100 et seq.) and the State Environmental Goals and Policy Report. (65041). c) Authorizes the SGC to manage and award grants and loans for three programs, including an urban greening program (75129), from funds established by the Safe Drinking Water, Water Quality and Supply, Flood Control, River and Coastal Protection Bond Act of 2006. (Public Resources Code 75125(d)(7)). Financial assistance may be awarded to a city, county, or nonprofit organization for implementing an urban greening project with a certain percentage for revolving loans or grants. (75129). This bill , under the Strategic Growth Council and Climate Change Reduction Law, requires the SGC to: 1) Identify and review activities of member state agencies that will address climate change impacts. 2) Provide guidelines and information to local and regional agencies that will enable climate change adaptation strategies to protect ecosystem functions, use nonstructural approaches for community protection, and avoid emission of greenhouse gases and environmental degradation. 3) Expand the list of agencies under the urban greening program that can receive financial assistance to include council of governments, countywide authority, metropolitan planning organization, local government, special district, or joint powers authority if at least one of the parties to the joint powers authority qualifies as an eligible applicant. COMMENTS : 1) Purpose of Bill . According to the author, "Under this SB 1006 Page 4 bill, the SGC would create and distribute adaptation information to local governments and regional agencies. These entities can incorporate this information into their planning and project plans." 2) Addressing climate change . Climate change refers to long-term changes in temperature, precipitation, wind patterns and other parts of earth's climate system. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) defines climate change as "any change in climate over time, whether due to natural variability or as a result of human activity." For some time, scientific research increasingly attributes these climate changes to GHGs, especially those generated from use of fossil fuels. Scientists indicate that the earth is warming faster than any time in the previous 1,000 years, and the 10 warmest years of the last century occurred in the last 15 years. A rise in temperature accompanied by climate change affects how organisms live, adapt, and survive. Climate change adaptation strategies refer to human attempts to adapt to and ameliorate physical changes in our environment that result from climate changes such as rising sea levels. 3) MPOs as funding recipients . Expanding the list of available recipients of funding to include metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) indirectly expands the ability of the Council to affect the SCCPA. Given that there are 17 MPOs, this amended list authorizes funding to an organization with jurisdiction that covers a larger land area than those under current law. 4) Outstanding issues . a) Technical amendments are needed to achieve internal consistency between the words "financial assistance" (page 4, line 31), "grants" (page 4, line 37), "loans or grants" (page 6, line 3), and "grants" (page 6, line 10). The last three instances should all be replaced with the term "financial assistance" and the term should be defined in 75120 in a manner that is consistent with Proposition 84. SB 1006 Page 5 b) Technical amendments are needed on page 4, line 33 and page 6, line 7 "joint powers authority" should be stricken in both places because it is redundant with the phrase that follows it. c) Technical amendments are needed on page 4, line 31 after "a", insert "city, county, special district" and on page 4, line 33 strike "local government, special district", with similar changes included on page 6, lines 3 to 10. References to "countywide authority" also need to be stricken (page 4, line 32 and page 6, line 5). d) For clarification, on page 2, line 17 the words "conserve, protect, restore" should be inserted before the word "enhance" to conform with U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service guidelines. e) For clarification, the term "nonstructural" (page 2, line 18) should be either defined or stricken. While it is likely the author's intent is to discourage sea wall construction and reinforcement, it is conceivable the undefined word "nonstructural" might prevent the creation of an artificial wetland or park as an appropriate climate change adaptation strategy because it could be considered a "structural" effort. 5) Related legislation . Governor Schwarzenegger issued Executive Order S-3-05 June 1, 2005, to establish emission reduction targets for the state, require the Secretary for Environmental Protection to coordinate oversight efforts with certain other entities to meet the targets, and set various reporting requirements. AB 32 (Nunez/Pavley) Chapter 488, Statutes of 2006, requires the ARB to determine the 1990 statewide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions level and approve a statewide GHG emissions limit that is equivalent to that level, to be achieved by 2020 - and sets related requirements (see Summary above). AB 596 (Evans) of 2009 would have established the Community Planning Grant and Loan Fund and authorized the SGC to expend the revenues in the fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for certain purposes. (Died Assembly SB 1006 Page 6 Appropriations suspense file). SB 406 (DeSaulnier) of 2009 would have levied vehicle registration fees to pay for SCCPA. It also would have increased the communication between the Planning Advisory and Assistance Council (PAAC) and the SGC and added a new duty for SGC to consult with and coordinate its recommendations with PAAC. (Vetoed by the Governor). SB 1445 (DeSaulnier) requires the SGC to consult with and coordinate its recommendations with the PAAC within the Governor's Office of Planning and Research. (Approved by the Senate Local Government Committee April 7, 2010 (3-2); to be heard by the Senate Transportation and Housing Committee April 20, 2010). SOURCE : Audubon California, Defenders of Wildlife, The Nature Conservancy SUPPORT : Tree People, Watershed Conservation Authority OPPOSITION : None on file