BILL NUMBER: SB 221	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Senator Rubio

                        FEBRUARY 11, 2013

   An act to amend Section 4799.09 of the Public Resources Code,
relating to forestry.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 221, as introduced, Rubio. Forestry: urban forests.
   Existing law, the California Urban Forestry Act of 1978,
authorizes the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to
implement a program in urban forestry to, among other things,
encourage better management and planting of trees in urban areas and
assist cities in innovative solutions to problems, including
greenhouse gas emissions, urban heat island effect, stormwater
management, lack of green space, and vandalism. The Director of
Forestry and Fire Protection, with advice from other appropriate
state agencies and interested parties, is authorized to make grants
to provide assistance of 25% to 90%, inclusive of costs for projects
meeting guidelines established by the State Board of Forestry and
Fire Protection, upon recommendation by the director.  The director
is authorized to waive the cost-sharing requirement for projects that
are in disadvantaged and severely disadvantaged communities. The act
defines "disadvantaged community" for its purposes as a community
with a median household income less than 80% of the statewide
average.
   This bill would instead define disadvantaged community as a
community that is disproportionately impacted by pollution and
adverse socioeconomic impacts.
   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 4799.09 of the Public Resources Code is amended
to read:
   4799.09.  As used in this chapter the following terms have the
following meanings:
   (a) "Disadvantaged community" means a community  with a
median household income less than 80 percent of the statewide average
  that is disproportionately impacted by pollution and
adverse socioeconomic impacts  .
   (b) "Severely disadvantaged community" means a community with a
median household income less than 60 percent of the statewide
average.
   (c) "Urban forestry" means the cultivation and management of
native or introduced trees and related vegetation in urban areas for
their present and potential contribution to the economic,
physiological, sociological, and ecological well-being of urban
society.
   (d) "Urban forest" means those native or introduced trees and
related vegetation in the urban and near-urban areas, including, but
not limited to, urban watersheds, soils and related habitats, street
trees, park trees, residential trees, natural riparian habitats, and
trees on other private and public properties.
   (e) "Urban area" means an urban place, as that term is defined by
the United States Department of Commerce, of 2,500 or more persons.