California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 2292

Introduced by Assembly Member Gordon

February 18, 2016

An act to amend Section 71090 of the Public Resources Code, relating to environmental justice.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2292, as introduced, Gordon. California Communities Environmental Health Screening.

Existing law requires the California Environmental Protection Agency to identify disadvantaged communities as part of a 3-year investment plan developed by the Department of Finance for the moneys collected by the State Air Resources Board resulting from a market-based compliance mechanism relative to greenhouse gas emissions. Existing law requires the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment to update the California Communities Environmental Health Screening tool, developed by the agency and the office for the purposes of identifying those disadvantaged communities, to include specified environmental data, when available, relating to communities in the California-Mexico border region.

This bill would additionally require the office in the next update of the tool or by January 1, 2018, whichever is sooner, to include in the tool population density as a population characteristic.

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

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

SECTION 1.  

Section 71090 of the Public Resources Code is
amended to read:

71090.  

(a) For purposes of this part, the following terms have
the following meanings:

begin insert

(1) “Border” means the California-Mexico border.

end insert begin delete

(1)

end delete

begin insert (2) end insert  “Office” means the Office of Environmental Health Hazard
Assessment.

begin delete

(2)

end delete

begin insert (3) end insert  “Tool” means the California Communities Environmental
Health Screening, also known as CalEnviroScreen, that is used to
identify disadvantaged communities pursuant to Section 39711 of
the Health and Safety Code.

(b) (1) In the next update of the tool or by January 1, 2017,
whichever is sooner, the office shall report to the Legislature on
air quality, water quality, and toxic release and hazardous waste
site data necessary for updating the indicators in the tool for
communities located in the begin delete California-Mexico end delete border region,
including both of the following:

(A) Deficiencies in and barriers to accessing necessary data.

(B) Current and future monitoring studies and plans for
obtaining the data.

(2) A report submitted pursuant to this subdivision shall be
submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government
Code.

(c) For the purposes of subdivision (b), necessary data and
information may include, but need not be limited to, the following:

(1) Air quality measurements for ozone and particulate matter
2.5 microns and smaller in size in the border region.

(2) Vehicle emissions at border crossings.

(3) Complete traffic density data within 150 meters of the
border.

(4) Water quality data for waterways that cross the border.

(5) Feasibility of incorporating into the tool information from
Mexico contained in the Pollutant Release and Transfer Registry.

(d) When begin delete such end delete data of sufficient quality identified in
subdivisions (b) and (c) are available for the communities in the
begin delete California-Mexico end delete border region, the office shall include that data
in the next update of the tool.

begin insert

(e) In the next update of the tool or by January 1, 2018,
whichever is sooner, the office shall include in the tool population
density as a population characteristic.

end insert