BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                      



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                              UNFINISHED BUSINESS


          Bill No:  SB 1066
          Author:   Lieu (D), et al.
          Amended:  8/6/12
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE NATURAL RES. AND WATER COMMITTEE  :  6-2, 4/10/12
          AYES:  Pavley, Cannella, Kehoe, Padilla, Simitian, Wolk
          NOES:  La Malfa, Fuller
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Evans

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE  :  5-2, 5/24/12
          AYES:  Kehoe, Alquist, Lieu, Price, Steinberg
          NOES:  Walters, Dutton

           SENATE FLOOR  :  25-13, 5/30/12
          AYES:  Alquist, Calderon, Cannella, Corbett, De León, 
            DeSaulnier, Evans, Hancock, Hernandez, Kehoe, Leno, Lieu, 
            Liu, Lowenthal, Negrete McLeod, Padilla, Pavley, Price, 
            Rubio, Simitian, Steinberg, Vargas, Wolk, Wright, Yee
          NOES:  Anderson, Berryhill, Blakeslee, Correa, Dutton, 
            Emmerson, Fuller, Gaines, Harman, Huff, La Malfa, 
            Walters, Wyland
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Runner, Strickland

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  51-26, 8/22/12 - See last page for vote


           SUBJECT  :    Coastal resources:  climate change

           SOURCE  :     The Nature Conservancy


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           DIGEST  :    This bill authorizes the California Coastal 
          Conservancy (Conservancy) to address the impacts and 
          potential impacts of climate change on coastal resources 
          and to award grants to public agencies and nonprofit 
          organizations for this purpose.

           Assembly Amendments  are clarifying, and add Senator Pavley 
          as a coauthor.

           ANALYSIS  :    Existing law establishes the Conservancy, 
          which serves as a repository for coastal lands.  Existing 
          law authorizes the Conservancy to, among other things, 
          undertake projects and award grants for the purposes of 
          restoration of areas of the coastal zone that are adversely 
          affecting the coastal environment or are impeding orderly 
          development.

          This bill: 

          1. Authorizes the Conservancy to address the impacts and 
             potential impacts of climate change on coastal 
             resources.  The Conservancy may undertake coastal 
             projects including those that reduce greenhouse gas 
             emissions, address extreme weather events, sea level 
             rise, storm surge, beach and bluff erosion, salt water 
             intrusion, flooding, and other coastal hazards that 
             threaten coastal communities, infrastructure, and 
             natural resources. 

          2. Authorizes the Conservancy to award grants to public 
             agencies and nonprofit organizations for activities that 
             address the impacts and potential impacts of climate 
             change on coastal resources.  In awarding the grants, 
             the Conservancy is required to prioritize projects that 
             would maximize public benefits such as reducing 
             emissions of greenhouse gas, reducing hazards to harbors 
             and ports, preserving and enhancing coastal wetlands and 
             natural lands, conserving biodiversity, and providing 
             recreational opportunities.

           Background
           
          The Conservancy is a state agency that purchases, protects, 
          restores, and enhances coastal resources, and provides 

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          public access to the shore.  The Conservancy works in 
          partnership with local governments, other public agencies, 
          nonprofit organizations, and private landowners.  Since 
          their establishment in 1976, the Conservancy has undertaken 
          over 1800 projects along the California coast and San 
          Francisco bay.

          Existing law states that the Conservancy has responsibility 
          for implementing a program of agricultural protection, area 
          restoration, and resource enhancement in the coastal zone 
          within the guidelines established in the California Coastal 
          Act (Public Resources Code (PRC) Section 31054).  Existing 
          law also gives authority to the Conservancy to undertake 
          plans and feasibility studies, award grants to public 
          agencies and nonprofit organizations for these studies (PRC 
          Section 31111) and undertake educational projects and 
          programs for K-12 (PRC Section 31119).  

          Projects that the Conservancy currently undertakes are 
          primarily related to:  
           
          1. Protecting and improving the quality of coastal 
             wetlands, streams, watersheds, and near-shore ocean 
             waters;

          2. Helping people get to coast and bay shores by building 
             trails and stairways and by acquiring land and 
             easements.  The Conservancy also assists in the creation 
             of low-cost accommodations along the coast, including 
             campgrounds and hostels;

          3. Working with local communities to revitalize urban 
             waterfronts;

          4. Helping to solve complex land-use problems;

          5. Purchasing and holding environmentally valuable coastal 
             and bay lands;

          6. Protecting agricultural lands and supporting coastal 
             agriculture;

          7. Accepting donations and dedications of land and 
             easements for public access, wildlife habitat, 

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             agriculture, and open space.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  Yes   
          Local:  No

          According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee: 

          1. Negligible direct state costs. 

          2. Cost pressure, potentially in the millions of dollars, 
             to fund projects that address the effect and potential 
             effects of climate change on coastal resources (General 
             Fund, bond funds and special funds). 

          3. Potential revenue, possibly in the millions of dollars, 
             from federal awards and private sources, to address the 
             effects and potential effects of climate change on 
             coastal resources.

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  5/22/12) (per Senate Natural 
          Resources and Water Committee analysis - prior version of 
          the bill)

          The Nature Conservancy (source)
          Audubon California
          Bay Area Open Space Council
          California Association of Port Authorities
          California Coastkeeper Alliance
          Cities of Culver City, Laguna Beach and Long Beach
          East Bay Municipal Utility District
          Environmental Defense Fund
          Heal the Bay
          Marin County
          Monterey Bay Aquarium
          Monterey County
          Mountains Restoration Trust
          Natural Resources Defense Council
          Ocean Conservancy
          Ojai Valley Land Conservancy
          Point Reyes Bird Observatory
          San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association  
          Save the Bay
          Sonoma Land Trust
          Surfrider Foundation

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          Ventura County
          Ventura County Supervisor Steve Bennett
          Water Replenishment District of Southern California


           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT  :    According to the author's office, 
          the consequences of climate change, such as extreme weather 
          events and sea level rise, disproportionately impact 80% of 
          California's population that live and work within 30 miles 
          of the coast.  Coastal infrastructure, beaches, estuaries, 
          coastal wetlands, and other unique coastal habitats that 
          drive the coastal economy are all at risk.  California's 
          coastal resources contribute over $40 billion annually to 
          state and local funds.  The consequences of climate change 
          could ultimately cost the state tens of billions of dollars 
          if not addressed.  Existing law created the Conservancy to 
          protect and enhance coastal resources and urban waterfronts 
          through grants and other non-regulatory means.  However, 
          existing law does not expressly authorize the Conservancy 
          to help address the adverse effects of climate change on 
          coastal resources.  This bill corrects this ambiguity in 
          the law by authorizing the Conservancy to address climate 
          change and its impacts as part of its broader mission.


           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  51-26, 8/22/12
          AYES:  Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall, Block, 
            Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, 
            Butler, Campos, Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro, Davis, 
            Dickinson, Eng, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, 
            Galgiani, Gatto, Gordon, Hall, Hayashi, Hill, Huber, 
            Hueso, Huffman, Lara, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, 
            Mitchell, Monning, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez, 
            Portantino, Skinner, Solorio, Swanson, Torres, 
            Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez
          NOES:  Achadjian, Bill Berryhill, Conway, Cook, Donnelly, 
            Beth Gaines, Garrick, Gorell, Grove, Hagman, Halderman, 
            Harkey, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Logue, Mansoor, Miller, 
            Morrell, Nestande, Norby, Olsen, Silva, Smyth, Valadao, 
            Wagner
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Charles Calderon, Roger Hernández, 
            Nielsen



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          CTW:k  8/22/12   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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