BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1205
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB
1205 (Gomez)
As Amended May 5, 2015
Majority vote
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|Committee |Votes |Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+------+--------------------+----------------------|
|Natural |8-1 |Williams, Dahle, |Harper |
|Resources | | | |
| | | | |
| | |Cristina Garcia, | |
| | |Hadley, McCarty, | |
| | |Rendon, Mark Stone, | |
| | |Wood | |
| | | | |
|----------------+------+--------------------+----------------------|
|Appropriations |17-0 |Gomez, Bigelow, | |
| | |Bonta, Calderon, | |
| | |Chang, Daly, | |
| | |Eggman, Gallagher, | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | |Eduardo Garcia, | |
| | |Gordon, Holden, | |
| | |Jones, Quirk, | |
| | |Rendon, Wagner, | |
| | |Weber, Wood | |
| | | | |
AB 1205
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| | | | |
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SUMMARY: Creates the grant program called the California River
Revitalization and Greenway Development Act of 2015 (CalRIVER),
and requires the Natural Resources Agency (NRA) to administer the
program. Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires NRA to establish a grant program for eligible
applicants to develop projects that assist with implementing AB
32 (Núñez), Chapter 488, Statutes of 2006 and to prioritize
funding projects that provide the greatest level of the
following co-benefits:
a) Recreational access and improved human interactions,
especially in urban corridors and park-starved communities.
b) Transportation mobility, especially pedestrian, bicycle,
and public transit.
c) Economic viability by promoting appropriate development,
especially in an urban setting.
d) Development of visitor-serving and interpretive
facilities.
e) Access and development of pocket parks, community gardens,
demonstration gardens, and other urban greening.
f) Species protections and the protection of habitat
strongholds, including improved wildlife corridors.
AB 1205
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g) Improved resiliency in the face of unavoidable impacts
from climate change.
h) Improved water supply and water quality.
i) Job training and workforce development, especially
projects that involve disadvantaged youth and veterans.
j) Improved stormwater retention.
aa) Improvements along impaired water bodies.
4)Requires projects receiving grants to be consistent with AB 32,
the California Water Action Plan, The Safeguarding California
Plan, and SB 535 (DeLeón), Chapter 830, Statutes of 2012.
5)Requires NRA to also prioritize awarding grants to projects with
the following characteristics:
a) Are consistent with a parkway, greenway, or urban greening
plan.
b) Leverage moneys from the Water Quality, Supply, and
Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2014 (Proposition 1).
c) Provide recreational access to a major metropolitan area
of the state.
AB 1205
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6)Creates the CalRIVER fund to receive appropriations from the
Legislature from bond proceeds and special funds, including but
not limited to, GGRF.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee:
1)Cost pressures, potentially in tens of millions annually (GGRF
and other special funds) to fund CALRIVER.
2)Increased costs for the Air Resources Board of approximately
$175,000 per year to quantify and report on river projects to
track GHG reductions.
3)Absorbable administrative costs for NRA.
COMMENTS: California has 46,166 miles of perennial (year round)
streams, which are in most parts of the state. Currently,
California has two grant programs that restore rivers, the Urban
Streams Restoration Program and the California River Parkways
Program. Both programs fund river restoration through grants to
communities throughout California. Various urban rivers in
California already have river plans to promote restoration, and
the co-benefits outlined in this bill including the San Joaquin
River, Elk River, American River, San Diego River, and Los Angeles
(LA) River. Urban river parkways in California are some of the
most unique, sensitive, and ecologically important conservation
areas in the state. Not only do they provide crucial riparian
habitat for endangered and threatened species, but they also
provide important open space areas for communities. Many of these
communities near urban rivers are considered "park poor," meaning
they have insufficient open space areas and lack access to free,
public opportunities for recreation and nature based activities.
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The LA River is a great example of communities coming together to
work towards a healthier river, which means a healthier community.
Organizations such as the LA River Revitalization Corporation are
working to restore and improve 51 miles of the LA River into a
"greenway" by 2020, which would be a continuous stretch of parks,
bike paths, and open spaces for recreation. CalRIVER will create a
consolidated grant program that will assist communities in
restoring their river while reducing GHG emissions.
Analysis Prepared by: Michael Jarred / NAT.
RES. / (916) 319-2092 FN: 0000773