BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1062
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Date of Hearing: April 13, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
Das Williams, Chair
AB 1062
(Bonta) - As Amended April 7, 2015
SUBJECT: Environmental Justice Small Grant Program
SUMMARY: Specifies that physical projects that improve the
environment or the environmental health of a community, or that
address a specific environmental justice need are eligible for
grants awarded from the Environmental Justice Small Grant
Program (Program) and increases the total grant program from up
to $1.5 million to not less than $5 million annually.
EXISTING LAW: Establishes the CalEPA Environmental Justice
Small Grant Program to provide grants to eligible community
groups that are located in areas adversely affected by
environmental pollution and hazards and that are involved in
work to address environmental justice issues.
1)Grants are awarded on a competitive basis for projects that
are based in communities with the most significant exposure to
pollution. They are limited to purposes of resolving
environmental problems through information, improving
coordination among public agencies and stakeholders, expanding
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community understanding about environmental issues, developing
guidance on environmental risks, promoting community
involvement, and using data to enhance community understanding
and decision-making.
2)Grants cannot be used for other state grant programs, lobbying
or advocacy activities, litigation, funding of lawsuits, or
for opposing technical assessments prepared by a public
agency.
3)The maximum amount of a grant shall not exceed $50,000, and
the Secretary for CalEPA can expend up to $1.5 million per
year for the program.
4)Authorizes CalEPA to allocate funds from various special
funds, settlements, and penalties to implement this program.
THIS BILL:
1)Allows grants awarded under the Program to include physical
projects, including planning, engineering and construction,
monitoring or filtering technology, and environmental
assessments that improve the environment or the environmental
health of the community, or that address a specific
environmental justice need.
2)Requires CalEPA to expend not less than $5 million per year
for environmental justice grants. Requires each board,
department, or office within CalEPA to allocate appropriated
funds from special funds, settlements, and penalties to
implement this program.
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FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown.
COMMENTS:
1)This bill. According to the author:
AB 1062 will help provide our most vulnerable communities
of color with the tools they need to fight against
environmental health hazards in their communities, greatly
reducing their quality of life.
AB 1062 will ensure EJ Small Grants will be continuously
funded. It will require the Boards, Departments, and
Agencies to contribute to the grant program to ensure there
is a CalEPA-wide contribution.
The bill will also add one additional grant objective to
the program: implementation of physical projects that
address environmental justice issues, such as planning for
open-space in park-poor areas or installation of air
filters to address poor air quality.
2)Background. According to the Office of Environmental Health
Hazard Assessment (OEHHA), approximately 8 million
Californians (21%) live in zip codes that are considered
"highly impacted" by environmental, public health, and
socioeconomic stressors. Nearly half of all Californians live
within six miles of a facility that is a significant
greenhouse gas emitter (46%), but they are disproportionately
people of color (62%). Throughout California, people of color
face a 50% higher risk of cancer from ambient concentrations
of air pollutants listed under the Clean Air Act. These
impacts are felt by all Californians. The Air Resources Board
estimates that air pollution exposure accounts for 19,000
premature deaths, 280,000 cases of asthma, and 1.9 million
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lost work days every year.
Environmental justice is the fair treatment of people of all
races, cultures, and incomes with respect to the development,
adoption, implementation, and enforcement of environmental
laws, regulations, and policies.
SB 89 (Escutia), Chapter 728, Statutes of 2000 required CalEPA
to convene the Environmental Justice Working Group and develop
an agency-wide environmental justice strategy. Follow-up
legislation, SB 828 (Alarcon), Chapter 765, Statutes of 2001,
established a timeline for these requirements and required
CalEPA to update its report to the Legislature every three
years. In October of 2004, CalEPA released its Environmental
Justice Action Plan.
In 2012, SB 535 (De Leon), Chapter 830 required CalEPA to
identify disadvantaged communities for investment
opportunities using the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.
Pursuant to this requirement, OEHHA has developed the
California Communities Environmental Health Screening Tool
(CalEnviroScreen) that uses existing environmental, health,
and socioeconomic data to determine the extent to which
communities across the state are burdened by and vulnerable to
pollution. OEHHA states that the results generated by
CalEnviroScreen are not intended to assign responsibility for
any issues identified. The intent is to provide information
that enables the state to focus time, resources, and programs
on areas that are in the greatest need of assistance.
CalEPA Environmental Justice Small Grants, established in
2002, are available to help eligible non-profit community
groups/organizations and federally recognized Tribal
governments address environmental justice issues in areas
adversely affected by environmental pollution and hazards. In
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2013, $249,175 was awarded through Environmental Justice Small
Grants projects. A minimum of $250,000 in grant funds was
made available for the 2015/2016 grant cycle. SB 861 (Budget
and Fiscal Review), Chapter 35, Statutes of 2014 increased the
maximum grant from $20,000 to $50,000 and authorized CalEPA to
expend up to $1.5 million annually for the program. The
stated goals of the program include:
a) Improve access to safe and clean water;
b) Reduce potential for exposure to pesticides and toxic
chemicals;
c) Promote community capacity building and improve
communities' and tribes' understanding of the technical and
procedural aspects of environmental decision making;
d) Promote the development of community-based research that
protects and enhances public health and the environment;
and,
e) Address cumulative impact through collaboration between
community-based organizations and local government.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
Asian Pacific Environmental Network
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California Environmental Justice Alliance
Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice
Center for Race, Poverty and the Environment
Communities for a Better Environment
Environmental Health Coalition
People Organizing to Demand Environmental and Economic Rights
(PODER)
Sierra Club California
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by:Elizabeth MacMillan / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092
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