BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1482|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1482
Author: Gordon (D), et al.
Amended: 9/1/15 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE NATURAL RES. & WATER COMMITTEE: 7-2, 6/23/15
AYES: Pavley, Allen, Hertzberg, Hueso, Jackson, Monning, Wolk
NOES: Stone, Vidak
SENATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE: 5-1, 7/1/15
AYES: Wieckowski, Hill, Jackson, Leno, Pavley
NOES: Bates
NO VOTE RECORDED: Gaines
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 5-2, 8/27/15
AYES: Lara, Beall, Hill, Leyva, Mendoza
NOES: Bates, Nielsen
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 63-12, 6/2/15 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Climate adaptation
SOURCE: Audubon California
TreePeople
DIGEST: This bill requires the California Natural Resources
Agency (CNRA) to update its climate adaptation strategy, the
Safeguarding California Plan (Plan), by July 1, 2017, and every
three years thereafter by coordinating adaption activities among
lead state agencies in each sector. This bill also requires the
relevant state agencies to maximize specified objectives across
sectors to address vulnerabilities identified in the Plan and
requires the Strategic Growth Council (SGC) to identify and
review activities and funding programs of state agencies that
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may be coordinated to meet the goals of the strategies and
priorities in the Plan.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Establishes the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) as a
special fund in the State Treasury; requires all moneys,
except fines and penalties, collected pursuant to a
market-based mechanism be deposited in the fund; and requires
the Department of Finance, in consultation with the California
Air Resources Board and any other relevant state agency, to
develop, as specified, a three-year investment plan for the
moneys deposited in the GGRF. (Government Code (GOV)
§16428.8)
2)Requires that moneys deposited in the GGRF be used to
facilitate the achievement of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
reductions in the state and, where applicable and to the
extent feasible, lessen the impacts and effects of climate
change on the state's communities, economy, and environment,
among other potential specified co-benefits. (Health and
Safety Code (HSC) §39712)
3)Establishes the SGC, consisting of the Director of the
Governor's Office of Planning and Research (OPR), the
Secretary of the CNRA, the Secretary of the Environmental
Protection Agency (CalEPA), the Secretary of Transportation,
the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), the
Secretary of Business, Consumer Services, and Housing, the
Secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture
(CDFA), and three members of the public. (Public Resources
Code (PRC) §75121)
4)Requires the SGC to identify and review activities and funding
programs of member agencies to improve air and water quality,
meet the goals of AB 32 (Pavley, Chapter 488, Statutes of
2006), encourage sustainable land use, and revitalize urban
and community centers in a sustainable manner, in addition to
helping local and regional bodies develop and plan sustainable
communities. (PRC §75125)
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5)Establishes the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities
program to be developed and administered by the SGC to reduce
GHG emissions through projects that implement land use,
housing, transportation, and agricultural land preservation
practices to support infill and compact development and that
support related and coordinated policy objectives, as
specified. (PRC §75210)
6)Appropriates, continuously, 20 percent of annual proceeds of
the GGRF to the SGC for the Affordable Housing and Sustainable
Communities program. (HSC §39719)
This bill:
1)States legislative findings and declarations regarding
numerous impacts of climate change and the need for adaptation
planning, prioritization, and policy development by all state
departments and agencies consistent with the Plan in order to
address the impacts.
2)Requires the CNRA to:
a) Update the Plan by July 1, 2017, and every three years
thereafter, by coordinating with other state agencies to
identify a lead agency or group of agencies to lead state
adaptation efforts in each sector, and including:
b) Vulnerabilities by region and sector, including at
minimum, water, energy, transportation, public health,
agriculture, emergency services, forestry, biodiversity and
habitat, ocean and coastal resources.
c) Priority actions to reduce sector risks.
d) Release a draft of the Plan by January 1, 2017, and
every three years thereafter; between release of the draft
and publication of the final update, hold at least three
public hearings in northern, central valley, and southern
California.
e) Report to the Legislature on actions to implement the
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Plan by applicable agencies.
3)Requires state agencies to address the vulnerabilities
identified in the Plan by working to maximize, where
applicable and feasible, the following objectives:
a) Educating the public about the consequences of climate
change, as specified.
b) Ensuring a continued repository of scientific data on
climate change and adaptation in the state.
c) Promoting the use of the Plan to inform planning
decisions, ensure that state investments consider climate
change impacts, and promote the use of natural systems and
natural infrastructure, as defined.
d) Encouraging regional collaborative planning efforts.
e) Promoting a coordinated, drought-resilient water system
and establishing drought preparation and response systems.
f) Building resilient communities by developing urban
greening projects.
g) Protecting and enhancing habitat, species strongholds,
and wildlife corridors.
h) Promoting actions to address impacts across specified
sectors and communities.
4)Requires the SGC to identify and review activities and funding
programs of "state agencies," instead of only "member state
agencies," by striking "member" in Section 75125 subdivision
(a), that may be coordinated for the list of specified goals,
including meeting the goals of the strategies and priorities
developed in the Plan when identifying and reviewing funding
programs of state agencies.
Background
1)Executive Orders Relating to the Climate Change Adaptation.
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Executive Order S-3-05 established GHG emission reduction
targets, created the Climate Action Team (CAT), and directed
the Secretary of CalEPA to coordinate efforts to meet the
targets with the heads of other state agencies. The order
required the Secretary to report back to the Governor and
Legislature biannually on progress toward meeting the GHG
targets, GHG impacts to California, as well as mitigation and
adaptation plans.
Executive Order S-13-08 directed state agencies to plan for
climate impacts specifically from sea level rise. It further
directed the CNRA, through the CAT, to coordinate the
California Climate Adaptation Strategy by June 2009, noting
"California must begin now to adapt and build our resiliency
to coming climate changes through a thoughtful and sensible
approach with local, regional, state and federal government
using the best available science."
Recent Executive Order B-30-15, in addition to setting
GHG-related goals, directs the CNRA to update the Plan every
three years and include vulnerabilities to climate change by
sector and region, as specified, primary risks and priority
actions regarding climate change impacts, and identification
of lead agencies for each sector, which then report back to
the CNRA on their actions taken. The order further directs
state agencies to take climate change into account in planning
and investment decisions, guided by specified principles, and
directs OPR to establish a technical, advisory group to help
state agencies in their efforts.
2)CNRA and the Safeguarding California Implementation
Collaborative. The CNRA, along with the OPR, SGC, and CalEPA,
has developed the Safeguarding California Implementation
Collaborative (SCIC). The SCIC grew out of the steering
committee for the Plan, which was an update to the state's
2009 Climate Adaptation Strategy.
According to the CNRA, the SCIC is convened monthly in order
to understand how the Safeguarding principles are being
implemented across the state, integrate climate change
considerations across state government, and collaborate with
internal and external stakeholders to create sustainable
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strategies to address climate challenges.
The SCIC also coordinates complimentary efforts with the CAT
and its subgroups and is currently working to complete a
Safeguarding California Implementation Tracking Document with
information from 25 bodies listed as participants. The
Tracking Document will include grants, documents, and outreach
efforts carried out by participants. An Implementation Report
was anticipated by August 2015.
3)SGC and Adaptation Funding Considerations. In their 2014
annual report, the SGC highlighted hundreds of sustainable
communities planning and urban greening projects that were
completed or underway, as well as $130 million dollars as part
of the GGRF-supported programs to reduce GHGs. In the 2015
guidelines for the Affordable Housing and Sustainable
Communities Program, the SGC notes as one of the application
threshold requirements that "the applicant must demonstrate
that where applicable, climate adaptation measures are
integrated into their Project."
4)Legislative Hearings on Climate Adaptation. This year, the
Senate Environmental Quality Committee has conducted two
hearings on climate adaptation in California. The first
hearing, in February, was focused mainly on state efforts to
adapt to climate change impacts with testimony from the
Secretaries of CalEPA, CNRA, CDFA, HHS, as well as the Deputy
Directors of OPR and the Office of Emergency Services, and
testimony from regional and local representatives and the
Little Hoover Commission.
Testimony highlighted that there has been a great deal of
preliminary thought on climate change impacts and recommended
policy, though there remains a lack of statutory direction
that clearly articulates the roles at each level of government
to ensure coordination and prioritization of adaptation and
resiliency throughout the state. Uncertainty also remains as
to how adaptation and mitigation are integrated in state
policies.
In May, a second hearing was conducted in Oakland which
focused on regional adaptation efforts and coordination in the
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Bay Area. Speakers included a member of the Nobel
Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, as
well as the San Francisco Department of Public Health, and
representatives from the Climate Readiness Institute, the Bay
Conservation and Development Commission, the Association of
Bay Area Governments, the Counties of Marin, Sonoma, and Santa
Clara, and the City of Berkeley, as well as the Asian Pacific
Environmental Network.
Testimony underscored the current and worsening impacts from
climate change and the need for coordinating knowledge, tools,
and funding so that adaptation is approached efficiently and
holistically across government levels and regions. Local
leaders called for more alignment of adaptation efforts across
the state and regional agencies, as well as more guidance and
engagement from the state with regional and local bodies.
Comments
1)Purpose of Bill. According to the author, "California has
been a leader in taking actions to impact the causes of global
climate change. In spite of our efforts, climate change
continues to affect our state. It is not enough to try to
reverse the course of climate change. We must also become a
leader in adapting to climate change. AB 1482 would broaden
the state's focus on climate change to include climate
adaptation and ensure, by including in state law, California's
climate adaptation efforts continue into the future. AB 1482
would specifically require the Natural Resources Agency to
oversee and coordinate state agency and department actions to
adapt to climate change impacts. It is essential to identify
a lead state entity in order to ensure that the state's
response to climate change is focused and consistent across
agencies to best protect California's residents, resources,
and infrastructure from the effects of climate change."
2)Coordination of Adaptation in California. CNRA has
successfully brought together information from multiple
agencies representing various sectors in the Plan. Given
these efforts, along with their investment in the creation and
coordination of the SCIC and in working with multi-agency
groups such as the CAT and SGC, it seems appropriate for the
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CNRA to continue its role in coordinating updates to the
Safeguarding Plan, as well as the research assessments, by
collaborating with leads from numerous sectors.
In considering an organization to lead the state's overall
adaptation policy, there are concerns about the task falling
to one agency with a sector-specific focus. In order to be
the most effective, adaptation efforts should equally involve
sectors and regions across the state. If one sector-specific
agency is in charge of the state's overall adaptation
strategy, there is the potential for prioritizing issues
related to that agency's core mandates. Certainly concerns
for our state's natural resources are a critical component of
addressing climate change, but so are considerations of public
health, agriculture, emergency response, air and water
quality, etc.
Recent amendments to this bill expand both the coordination
among state agencies in leading sector-specific work for the
Plan and the range of objectives across sectors to be
maximized by agencies in addressing the vulnerabilities
identified in the Plan.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Unknown ongoing costs in the low millions of dollars to the
General Fund for each update of the Plan after 2017.
Unknown cost pressures in the millions of dollars to the
General Fund and various special funds to implement the
climate adaptation strategy and the Infrastructure Plan.
SUPPORT: (Verified8/31/15)
Audubon California (co-source)
Tree People (co-source)
Asian Pacific Environmental Network
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California Climate & Agriculture Network
California League of Conservation Voters
California ReLeaf
California State Association of Counties
Center for Climate Change and Health
Climate Resolve
Coastal Environmental Rights Foundation
Defenders of Wildlife
Little Hoover Commission
Local Government Commission
National Parks Conservation Association
The Nature Conservancy
The Trust for Public Land
Wholly H2O
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/31/15)
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to a coalition of supporters,
"In 2014, the Natural Resources Agency adopted the Safeguarding
California Plan, which begins to lay out a statewide plan for
climate adaptation. However, there is no mechanism for
enforcing this plan or ensuring that state agency or department
actions are consistent with the Safeguarding California Plan.
"AB 1482 would provide statutory authority to the CNRA and the
SGC to coordinate the state's climate adaptation policies and
programs.
"AB 1482 will ensure that the state's response to climate change
is focused and consistent across agencies in order to best
protect California's citizens, wildlife, and infrastructure from
the effects of climate change."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 63-12, 6/2/15
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Baker, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brown,
Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper,
Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Cristina Garcia,
Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray,
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Hadley, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones-Sawyer, Lackey,
Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mayes, McCarty,
Medina, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen, Perea,
Quirk, Rendon, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark
Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins
NOES: Travis Allen, Bigelow, Brough, Beth Gaines, Harper,
Jones, Kim, Mathis, Melendez, Patterson, Wagner, Waldron
NO VOTE RECORDED: Chang, Chávez, Gallagher, Grove,
Ridley-Thomas
Prepared by:Laurie Harris / E.Q. / (916) 651-4108
9/1/15 21:30:26
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