Amended in Senate June 16, 2015

Amended in Assembly May 5, 2015

Amended in Assembly April 20, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly BillNo. 1482


Introduced by Assembly Member Gordon

(Coauthors: Assembly Members Bloom, Rendon, and Mark Stone)

February 27, 2015


An act to amend Section 75125 of, and to add Part 3.7 (commencing with Section 71150) to Division 34 of, the Public Resources Code, relating to climate change.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1482, as amended, Gordon. Climate adaptation.

Existing law establishes the Natural Resources Agency, comprised of departments, boards, conservancies, and commissions responsible for the restoration, protection, and management of the state’s natural and cultural resources.

Existing law establishes the Strategic Growth Council in state government and assigns to the council certain duties, including providing, funding, and distributing data and information to local governments and regional agencies that will assist in the development and planning of sustainable communities.

This bill would requirebegin insert the agency, by July 1, 2017, and every 3 years thereafter, to update the state’s climate adaptation strategy, as provided. The bill would requireend insert the agency, in coordination with the council, to address the impacts of climate change and climate adaptation by reviewing and coordinating existing grants and programs to maximize specified objectives, including, among others, establishing policy, guidelines, and guidance at the state level to inform planning decisions and ensuring that state investments consider climate change impacts, as well as promote the use of naturalbegin delete systems,end deletebegin insert systems and natural infrastructure,end insert whenever feasible, when developing physical infrastructure to address adaptation.begin insert The bill would require the Office of Planning and Research, by July 1, 2019, to update the state’s Five-Year Infrastructure Plan to take current and future climate impacts into account in all infrastructure projects.end insert

This bill also would expand the duties of the council to includebegin insert aiding the Natural Resources Agency inend insert overseeing and coordinating state agency actions to adapt to climate change and identifying and pursuing opportunities for state agencies to collaborate with federal or local agencies in their climate adaptation efforts.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

P2    1

SECTION 1.  

The Legislature finds and declares all of the
2following:

3(a) California’s climate is changing, posing an escalated threat
4to public health, the environment,begin insert the economy,end insert and public and
5private property in the state. The increasing frequency of extreme
6weather events,begin insert including floods and heat waves, fires,end insert rising sea
7levels, and changes in hydrology, including diminishingbegin delete snowpack,end delete
8begin insert snowpacks and more frequent droughts,end insert among other climate
9change impacts, will touch every part of residents’ lives in the next
10century and beyond. Planning appropriately for these impacts will
11help us be better prepared for the future.

12(b) The impacts of climate change, including longer droughts,
13extended floods, prolonged fire seasons with larger and more
14intense fires, heat waves, and sea level rise, are already creating
15challenges for public health and safety and causing destructive
16property damage.

17(c) Climatebegin delete changes poseend deletebegin insert change posesend insert a threat not just to the
18lives and health of residents butbegin insert also to the state’s economy andend insert
19 to the financial health of our state and local governments.

20(d) According to the Natural Resources Agency’s report,
21“Safeguarding California: Reducing Climate Risk,” state-of-the-art
P3    1modeling shows that a single extreme winter storm in California
2could cost on the order of $725,000,000,000, including total direct
3property losses of nearly $400,000,000,000 and devastating impacts
4to residents, the economy, and natural resources.

5(e) Adapting to climatebegin delete changeend deletebegin insert change,end insert in addition to reducing
6the impacts of climate change on California’s natural resources
7andbegin delete infrastructureend deletebegin insert infrastructure,end insert is essential to protecting the
8state’s environment and economy over time and will require
9coordination across all state departments and agencies.

10(f) Given the potential impacts and the long-term nature of
11effective planning, California needs to take action now.

12

SEC. 2.  

Part 3.7 (commencing with Section 71150) is added
13to Division 34 of the Public Resources Code, to read:

14 

15PART 3.7.  Climate Change and Climate
16Adaptation

17

 

18

71150.  

For purposes of this part, the following terms have the
19following meanings:

20(a) “Agency” means the Natural Resources Agency.

21(b) “Council” means the Strategic Growth Council.

22

71152.  

It is the intent of the Legislature to prioritize the state’s
23response to the impacts resulting from climate change by ensuring
24all state departments and agencies prepare for and are ready to
25respond to the impacts of climate change, such as extreme weather
26events, the urban heat island effect, habitat loss, wildfire, sea-level
27rise, and drought. It also is the intent of the Legislature that the
28agency consider developing policies to address the impacts of
29climate change and climate adaptation with a focus on people,
30places, and water and that actions taken to address climate
31adaptation should be consistent with the Safeguarding California
32 Plan.

begin insert
33

begin insert71153.end insert  

(a) By July 1, 2017, and every three years thereafter,
34the agency shall update the state’s climate adaptation strategy,
35the Safeguarding California Plan. As part of the update, the agency
36shall do all of the following:

37(1) Identify vulnerabilities to climate change by sector and
38regions, including, at a minimum, the following sectors:

39(A) Water.

40(B) Energy.

P4    1(C) Transportation.

2(D) Public health.

3(E) Agriculture.

4(F) Emergency services.

5(G) Forestry.

6(H) Biodiversity and habitat.

7(I) Ocean and coastal resources.

8(2) Identify priority actions needed to reduce risks in those
9sectors.

10(3) Identify a lead agency or group of agencies to lead
11adaptation efforts in each sector and ensure the provisions of
12Safeguarding California Plan are implemented.

13(4) Report to the Legislature, pursuant to Section 9795 of the
14Government Code, on actions taken to implement the Safeguarding
15California Plan.

16(b) By July 1, 2019, the Office of Planning and Research shall
17update the state’s Five-Year Infrastructure Plan to take current
18and future climate change impacts into account in all infrastructure
19projects.

end insert
20

71154.  

To address the impacts of climate change and climate
21adaptation, the agency, in coordination with the council, shall
22review and coordinate existing grants and programs to maximize
23the following objectives:

24(a) Educating the public about the consequences of climate
25change, such as sea-level rise, extreme weather events, the urban
26heat island effect, habitat loss, wildfire, and drought.

27(b) Ensuring there is a continued repository for scientific data
28on climate change and climate adaptation in the state in order to
29facilitate educated state and local policybegin delete decisions.end deletebegin insert decisions and
30to help identify primary risks from climate change to residents,
31property, communities, and natural systems across the state.end insert

32(c) Establishing policy, guidelines, and guidance at the state
33begin delete levelend deletebegin insert level, through implementation of the Safeguarding California
34Plan,end insert
to inform planning decisions and ensure that state investments
35consider climate change impacts, as well as promote the use of
36naturalbegin delete systems,end deletebegin insert systems and natural infrastructure,end insert whenever
37feasible, when developing physical infrastructure to address
38adaptation.

39(d) Encouraging regional collaborative planning efforts to
40address regional climate change impacts and adaptation strategies.

P5    1(e) Promoting a water supply, delivery, and capture system that
2is coordinated and can withstand a multiyear drought scenario.
3Establishing both drought preparation programs, which will help
4create sustainable water systems in the future, and immediate
5drought response programs, which will reduce water demand or
6increase supply within one to five years of any declared drought.

7(f) Building resilient communities by developing urban greening
8projects that reduce air pollution and heat reflection in urban areas
9and create livable, sustainable communities in urban cores to
10promote infill development and reduce vehicle miles traveled.

11(g) Protecting and enhancingbegin delete habitat andend deletebegin insert habitat,end insert species
12begin delete strongholdsend deletebegin insert strongholds, and wildlife corridorsend insert that are critical to
13the preservation of species that are at risk from the consequences
14of climate change.

15

71156.  

For the purposes of implementing the objectives of this
16part, the agency, to the extent feasible and in coordination with
17the council, shall identify and coordinate opportunities among its
18departments in expending moneys from all of the following:

19(a) The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, created pursuant to
20Section 16428.8 of the Government Code.

21(b) The Water Quality, Supply, and Infrastructure Improvement
22Act of 2014, approved by the voters as Proposition 1 at the
23November 4, 2014, statewide general election.

24(c) Other state funds.

25

71158.  

Thebegin delete agency, in coordination with the council,end deletebegin insert agencyend insert
26 shall assess and coordinate across all state departments and
27agencies to identify opportunities that increase the ability for state
28and local infrastructure, people, and habitat and wildlife to adapt
29to the impacts of climate change.

30

SEC. 3.  

Section 75125 of the Public Resources Code is
31amended to read:

32

75125.  

The council shall do all of the following:

33(a) Identify and review activities and funding programs of
34member state agencies that may be coordinated to improve air and
35water quality, improve natural resource protection, increase the
36availability of affordable housing, improve transportation, meet
37the goals of the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006
38(Division 25.5 (commencing with Section 38500) of the Health
39and Safety Code), encourage sustainable land use planning, and
40revitalize urban and community centers in a sustainable manner.
P6    1At a minimum, the council shall review and comment on the
2five-year infrastructure plan developed pursuant to Article 2
3(commencing with Section 13100) of Chapter 2 of Part 3 of
4Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code and the State
5Environmental Goals and Policy Report developed pursuant to
6Section 65041 of the Government Code.

7(b) Recommend policies and investment strategies and priorities
8to the Governor, the Legislature, and to appropriate state agencies
9to encourage the development of sustainable communities, such
10as those communities that promote equity, strengthen the economy,
11protect the environment, and promote public health and safety,
12consistent with subdivisions (a) and (c) of Section 75065.

13(c) Provide, fund, and distribute data and information to local
14governments and regional agencies that will assist in developing
15and planning sustainable communities.

16(d) Manage and award grants and loans to support the planning
17and development of sustainable communities, pursuant to Sections
1875127, 75128, and 75129. To implement this subdivision, the
19council may do all of the following:

20(1) Develop guidelines for awarding financial assistance,
21including criteria for eligibility and additional consideration.

22(2) Develop criteria for determining the amount of financial
23assistance to be awarded. The council shall award a revolving loan
24to an applicant for a planning project, unless the council determines
25that the applicant lacks the fiscal capacity to carry out the project
26without a grant. The council may establish criteria that would allow
27the applicant to illustrate an ongoing commitment of financial
28resources to ensure the completion of the proposed plan or project.

29(3) Provide for payments of interest on loans made pursuant to
30this article. The rate of interest shall not exceed the rate earned by
31the Pooled Money Investment Board.

32(4) Provide for the time period for repaying a loan made
33pursuant to this article.

34(5) Provide for the recovery of funds from an applicant that fails
35to complete the project for which financial assistance was awarded.
36The council shall direct the Controller to recover funds by any
37available means.

38(6) Provide technical assistance for application preparation.

39(7) Designate a state agency or department to administer
40technical and financial assistance programs for the disbursing of
P7    1grants and loans to support the planning and development of
2sustainable communities, pursuant to Sections 75127, 75128, and
375129.

4(e) Provide an annual report to the Legislature that shall include,
5but need not be limited to, all of the following:

6(1) A list of applicants for financial assistance.

7(2) Identification of which applications were approved.

8(3) The amounts awarded for each approved application.

9(4) The remaining balance of available funds.

10(5) A report on the proposed or ongoing management of each
11funded project.

12(6) Any additional minimum requirements and priorities for a
13project or plan proposed in a grant or loan application developed
14and adopted by the council pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section
1575126.

16(f) begin deleteOversee and coordinate end deletebegin insertAid the Natural Resources Agency
17in overseeing and coordinating end insert
state agency actions to adapt to
18climate change.

19(g) begin deleteIdentify and pursue end deletebegin insertAid the Natural Resources Agency in
20identifying and pursuing end insert
opportunities for state agencies to
21collaborate with federal or local agencies in their climate adaptation
22efforts.



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