BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 1062 Page 1 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 AB 1062 Page 2 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. AB 1062 Page 3 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 AB 1062 Page 4 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 AB 1062 Page 5 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 AB 1062 Page 6 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 AB 1062 Page 7