BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                    AB 2139


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          ASSEMBLY THIRD READING


          AB  
          2139 (Williams)


          As Amended  May 31, 2016


          Majority vote


           ------------------------------------------------------------------ 
          |Committee       |Votes|Ayes                  |Noes                |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
          |Natural         |5-1  |Williams, Cristina    |Harper              |
          |Resources       |     |Garcia, Gomez, Mark   |                    |
          |                |     |Stone, Wood           |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
          |Appropriations  |14-6 |Gonzalez, Bloom,      |Bigelow, Chang,     |
          |                |     |Bonilla, Bonta,       |Gallagher, Jones,   |
          |                |     |Calderon, Daly,       |Obernolte, Wagner   |
          |                |     |Eggman, Eduardo       |                    |
          |                |     |Garcia, Roger         |                    |
          |                |     |Hernández, Holden,    |                    |
          |                |     |Quirk, Santiago,      |                    |
          |                |     |Weber, Wood           |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
           ------------------------------------------------------------------ 


          SUMMARY:  Requires the Ocean Protection Council (OPC) to  
          coordinate and facilitate research with other relevant public  








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          agencies on the causes, effects, and management of ocean  
          acidification.  Requires, beginning on January 1, 2018, OPC to  
          annually adopt recommendations for further actions to address  
          ocean acidification. 


          EXISTING LAW:  


          1)Requires OPC to support state agencies' use and sharing of  
            scientific and geospatial information for coastal- and  
            ocean-relevant decision making relating to coastal and ocean  
            ecosystems, including the effects of climate change.


          2)Pursuant to Executive Order B-30-15 (Brown), in addition to  
            establishing a 40% greenhouse gas emission reduction goal by  
            2030, requires several actions on adaptation, including:


             a)   Requires Natural Resources Agency (NRA) to update the  
               strategy every three years and ensure that its provisions  
               are fully implemented.  Requires the strategy to:
               i)     Identify vulnerabilities to climate change by sector  
                 and region, including, at a minimum, the following  
                 sectors:  water, energy, transportation, public health,  
                 agriculture, emergency services, forestry, biodiversity  
                 and habitat, and ocean and coastal resources;
               ii)    Outline primary risks to residents, property,  
                 communities, and natural systems from these  
                 vulnerabilities, and identify priority actions needed to  
                 reduce these risks; and,


               iii)   Identify a lead agency or group of agencies to lead  
                 adaptation efforts in each sector.


             b)   Requires each sector lead to prepare an implementation  








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               plan by September 2015 to outline the actions that will be  
               taken as identified in the strategy, and report back on  
               those actions to the NRA.
             c)   Requires state agencies to take climate change into  
               account in their planning and investment decisions and  
               employ full life-cycle cost accounting to evaluate and  
               compare infrastructure investments and alternatives. 


             d)   Requires state agencies' planning and investment to be  
               guided by the principles of climate preparedness for  
               uncertain climate impacts, protective of vulnerable  
               populations, and prioritization of natural infrastructure  
               solutions.  


             e)   Requires the state's Five-Year Infrastructure Plan to  
               take current and future climate change impacts into account  
               in all infrastructure projects.


          3)Requires the NRA 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.  


          FISCAL EFFECT:  According to the Assembly Appropriations  
          Committee:  


          1)Unknown, potentially significant cost pressures to implement  
            any executive or legislative recommendations resulting from  
            the research and compilation of data.  


          2)No additional state funds for OPC to conduct research and  
            compile data.  The OPC is currently involved in similar  
            activities with plans to expend Proposition 84 of 2006 bond  








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            funds for the research necessary to implement the report.


          COMMENTS:  The Ocean absorbs about a third of the carbon dioxide  
          that is released into the atmosphere each year from the burning  
          of fossil fuels and other human activities.  As the carbon  
          dioxide levels in the atmosphere increase, so do the levels in  
          the ocean.  This changes the chemistry of the water and  
          threatens marine ecosystems and coastal communities dependent on  
          the health of the sea.  Ocean acidification is the lowering of  
          the pH of the ocean and changing of the ocean's chemistry, which  
          can lead to low dissolved oxygen water (hypoxia) in ocean  
          ecosystems.  Ocean acidification will likely have major impacts  
          on the fisheries and aquaculture industries in California.  It  
          could also have a profound effect on marine ecosystems leading  
          to large-scale die-offs and over the long term reduced  
          biodiversity.  Record hot temperatures in the Pacific Ocean  
          caused by global warming and a powerful El Niño have fueled the  
          worst coral bleaching event ever seen in portions of Australia's  
          famed Great Barrier Reef.  According to the author's office,  
          "Ocean acidification has cost the oyster industry in the Pacific  
          Northwest $110 million and jeopardized 3,200 jobs."


          The Plan includes a sector on Oceans and Coastal Resources and  
          Ecosystems.  That sector released a sector plan that discusses  
          ocean acidification, but there are no specific recommendations  
          for legislative or executive action.  On April 4, 2016, the West  
          Coast Ocean Acidification and Hypoxia Science Panel (Panel)  
          released a synthesis of the current state of scientific  
          knowledge about ocean acidification and hypoxia in California,  
          Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia.  The Panel's final  
          report included what management options might be used to address  
          ocean acidification on the west coast.  This bill would require  
          OPC to develop California-specific recommendations on how the  
          state can address ocean acidification. 











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          Analysis Prepared by:                                             
          Michael Jarred / NAT. RES. / (916) 319-2092  FN: 0003326