BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2139|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2139
Author: Williams (D), et al.
Amended: 8/15/16 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE NATURAL RES. & WATER COMMITTEE: 7-2, 6/14/16
AYES: Pavley, Allen, Hertzberg, Hueso, Jackson, Monning, Wolk
NOES: Stone, Vidak
SENATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE: 6-1, 6/29/16
AYES: Wieckowski, Bates, Hill, Jackson, Leno, Pavley
NOES: Gaines
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 6-1, 8/11/16
AYES: Lara, Bates, Beall, Hill, McGuire, Mendoza
NOES: Nielsen
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 58-22, 6/2/16 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Ocean Protection Council: ocean acidification and
hypoxia
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill states that the Ocean Protection Council
(OPC), subject to the availability of funding, may develop an
ocean acidification and hypoxia (OAH) science task force, and
outlines required activities for the task force.
ANALYSIS: Existing law creates the OPC, which is tasked with
(1) coordinating activities of ocean-related state agencies to
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improve the effectiveness of state efforts to protect ocean
resources within existing fiscal limitations, (2) establishing
policies to coordinate the collection and sharing of scientific
data related to coast and ocean resources between agencies, (3)
identifying and recommending to the Legislature changes in law,
and (4) identifying and recommending changes in federal law and
policy to the Governor and Legislature.
This bill:
1)Makes the following findings and declarations:
a) The West Coast Ocean Acidification and Hypoxia Science
Panel brought together scientists from California, Oregon,
Washington, and British Columbia and issued a report
detailing findings, recommendations and actions to address
OAH.
b) OPC should address the challenge of ocean acidification
as a part of their mission to ensure that California
maintains healthy, resilient, and productive ocean and
coastal ecosystems for the benefit of current and future
generations.
2)Authorizes OPC, subject to the availability of funding, to
develop an OAH science task force.
3)Requires OPC, subject to the availability of funding to:
a) Take the following actions to address OAH:
i) Generate an inventory of areas that are most
vulnerable to ocean acidification.
ii) Develop, refine, and
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integrate predictive models on OAH.
iii) Inventory the colocation
of protected areas and areas vulnerable to ocean
acidification and hypoxia.
iv) Facilitate agreements
and work with organizations that fund OAH research to
establish joint research priorities.
v) Define gaps between ocean acidification monitoring
efforts and management needs in coordination with
relevant state, federal, and academic entities.
b) Beginning January 1, 2018, adopt recommendations for
further actions that may be taken to address OAH.
Background
Human activities have dramatically increased the concentration
of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and current carbon dioxide
levels are higher than they have been in over 650,000 years.
Oceans have absorbed approximately one-third of all
anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions.
The absorption of carbon dioxide in the oceans is contributing
to a suite of changes to ocean chemistry including a reduction
in ocean pH, a process referred to as ocean acidification.
Research has shown that the increase in ocean acidity is having
a negative impact on many ocean organisms, including shellfish,
starfish, corals, sea urchins, and many types of plankton.
Organisms that produce skeletons (e.g. corals) or shells (e.g.
oysters and clams) are particularly sensitive to changes in
ocean chemistry. The disruptive potential of ocean
acidification poses a serious risk to California's shellfish
industry.
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The effects of ocean acidification are further compounded by the
intensification and expansion of low dissolved oxygen - or
hypoxic - zones in the ocean. These regions form in part from
runoff that carries nutrients and organic carbon into the ocean.
The low levels of dissolved oxygen can result in "dead zones"
where mass die-offs of fish and shellfish occur.
The California Ocean Protection Act of 2004 created the OPC.
OPC is tasked with (1) coordinating activities of ocean-related
state agencies to improve the effectiveness of state efforts to
protect ocean resources within existing fiscal limitations, (2)
establishing policies to coordinate the collection and sharing
of scientific data related to coast and ocean resources between
agencies, (3) identifying and recommending to the Legislature
changes in law, and (4) identifying and recommending changes in
federal law and policy to the Governor and Legislature.
In an effort to develop the scientific foundation necessary for
coastal managers and other stakeholders to take informed action,
the OPC asked the California Ocean Science Trust to establish
and coordinate a scientific advisory panel in collaboration with
counterparts in Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia. The
resulting West Coast Ocean Acidification and Hypoxia Science
Panel (Panel) was charged with summarizing the current state of
knowledge and developing scientific consensus about available
management options. On April 4, 2016, the Panel released a
document describing the major findings, recommendations and
actions.
Related/Prior Legislation
SB 1363 (Monning, 2015) creates the Ocean Acidification and
Hypoxia Reduction Program in OPC with the following goals: (1)
develop demonstration projects to research factors that interact
across space and time to influence how geographically dispersed
eelgrass beds function for carbon dioxide removal and hypoxia
reduction; (2) generate an inventory of locations where
conservation or restoration of aquatic habitats can mitigate
OAH; (3) incorporate consideration of carbon dioxide removal
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during the habitat restoration planning process; and (4) support
science, monitoring, and coordination to ensure that ocean and
coastal policy and management in California reflect best
available science. AB 2139 was amended in the Senate
Appropriations Committee to coordinate with SB 1363.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, approximately
$1.65 million (special and private funds) for OPC to implement
the specified tasks. The OPC indicates that funds (private and
special fund) have been allocated for this purpose.
SUPPORT: (Verified 8/12/16)
California Coastkeeper Alliance
Center for Biological Diversity
Defenders of Wildlife
Monterey Bay Aquarium
Natural Resources Defense Fund
Ocean Conservancy
Oceana
Sierra Club California
Surfrider Foundation
The Nature Conservancy
One individual
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/12/16)
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: The author argues that "Many studies
point to the harmful effects of ocean acidification, but the
state does not currently have enough data at its disposal to
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evaluate the scope of the problem or make educated policy
decisions. Key strategies to address this deficiency include
generating an inventory of ocean acidification 'hot spots,'
developing predictive models of ocean acidification, and
defining gaps between monitoring efforts and management needs.
Up to this point there has been very little focus on ocean
acidification at the state level, and this measure codifies
ocean acidification as a priority for the Legislature and the
Ocean Protection Council."
Supporters also point out the potential adverse effect of ocean
acidification on California's fishing industry. Ocean
Conservancy states that "California has the largest ocean
economy in the United States, accounting for over $42 billion
dollars in construction, ship & boat building, tourism,
recreation, transportation, and ocean fishing/harvesting.
According to a 2013 survey by the Pacific Shellfish Institute,
the shellfish industry alone provides almost $26 million of
revenue for California, and would be immediately affected by
increasing acidification."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 58-22, 6/2/16
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Arambula, Atkins, Baker,
Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chau,
Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Daly, Dodd, Eggman,
Frazier, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson,
Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Hadley, Roger Hernández,
Holden, Irwin, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Lopez, Low, Maienschein,
McCarty, Medina, Mullin, Nazarian, O'Donnell, Quirk,
Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Mark Stone,
Thurmond, Ting, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Rendon
NOES: Bigelow, Brough, Chang, Chávez, Dahle, Beth Gaines,
Gallagher, Grove, Harper, Jones, Kim, Lackey, Linder, Mathis,
Mayes, Melendez, Obernolte, Olsen, Patterson, Steinorth,
Wagner, Waldron
Prepared by:Matthew Dumlao / N.R. & W. / (916) 651-4116
8/15/16 20:10:15
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