California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly BillNo. 2781


Introduced by Assembly Member Eduardo Garcia

February 19, 2016


An act to amend Section 71118 of, and to add Section 71119 to, the Public Resources Code, relating to environmental justice.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2781, as introduced, Eduardo Garcia. Supplemental environmental projects.

Existing law requires each board, department, and office within the California Environmental Protection Agency that has enforcement authority to establish a policy on supplemental environmental projects that benefits disadvantaged communities that includes, among other things, allowing the amount of a supplemental environmental project to be up to 50% of the enforcement action.

This bill would require the policy to also include a requirement that an additional 10% of an enforcement action to be deposited in the Supplemental Environmental Projects and Disadvantaged Communities Fund. The bill would require the moneys in the fund, upon appropriation, to be used to implement environmental projects in disadvantaged communities, as specified.

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

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

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SECTION 1.  

Section 71118 of the Public Resources Code is
2amended to read:

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71118.  

(a) For purposes of this section, the following terms
2have the following meanings:

3(1) “Agency” means the California Environmental Protection
4Agency.

5(2) “Disadvantaged community” means a community identified
6pursuant to Section 39711 of the Health and Safety Code.

7(3) “Supplemental environmental project” means an
8environmentally beneficial project that a person subject to an
9enforcement action voluntarily agrees to undertake in settlement
10of the action and to offset a portion of a civil penalty.

11(b) Each board, department, and office within the agency that
12has enforcement authority shall establish a policy on supplemental
13environmental projects that benefits disadvantaged communities.
14The policy shall include, but need not be limited to, all of the
15following:

16(1) A public process to solicit potential supplemental
17environmental projects from disadvantaged communities.

18(2) Allowing the amount of a supplemental environmental
19project to be up to 50 percent of the enforcement action brought
20under the jurisdiction of a board, department, or office within the
21begin delete agency.end deletebegin insert agency and requiring an additional 10 percent of the
22enforcement action be deposited in the Supplemental
23Environmental Projects and Disadvantaged Communities Fund,
24created pursuant to Section 71119.end insert

25(3) An annual list of supplemental environmental projects that
26may be selected to settle a portion of an enforcement action under
27the jurisdiction of a board, department, or office within the agency.

28(4) A consideration of the relationship between the location of
29the violation and the location of the proposed supplemental
30environmental project.

31(c) The Secretary for Environmental Protection shall consolidate
32the projects compiled pursuant tobegin insert paragraph (3) ofend insert subdivision (b)
33into one list and post that list on the agency’s Internet Web site.

34

SEC. 2.  

Section 71119 is added to the Public Resources Code,
35to read:

36

71119.  

The Supplemental Environmental Projects and
37Disadvantaged Communities Fund is hereby created. All moneys
38deposited in the fund shall be available, upon appropriation by the
39Legislature, to implement environmental projects in disadvantaged
40communities, as identified pursuant to Section 39711. Priority
P3    1shall be given to projects on the list compiled pursuant to
2subdivision (c) of Section 71118.



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