Amended in Senate August 2, 2016

Amended in Assembly April 7, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 2781

Introduced by Assembly Member Eduardo Garcia

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(Coauthor: Senator Hueso)

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February 19, 2016

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

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2781, as amended, 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 begin delete communities and that includes, end delete begin insert communities, as defined. Existing law requires that policy to include end insert among other things, allowing the amount of a supplemental environmental project to be up to 50% of the enforcement action.

This bill would require begin delete the policy to also include a requirement end delete begin insert an assurance end insert that begin insert no less than end insert 10% of begin delete an end delete begin insert the end insert enforcement action monetary begin delete penalty be deposited in the Supplemental Environmental Projects in the Disadvantaged Communities Fund, which would be created by the bill. The bill would require the moneys in the fund, upon appropriation, to be used to implement environmental projects in disadvantaged communities, as specified. end delete begin insert penalties received by each board, department, and office within the agency is allocated to supplemental environmental projects in disadvantaged communities. The bill would require each board, department, and office within the agency to compile and submit specified information to the agency and would require the agency to consolidate that information and post it on the agency’s Internet Web site. end insert

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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begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

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begin insert The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following: end insert

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(a) Many communities across California are located in areas
disproportionately impacted from multiple sources of pollution,
including air and water pollution, leading to higher rates of
respiratory illness, hospitalizations, and premature death.

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(b) These environmentally impacted communities, also known
as environmental justice communities, need resources to
appropriately address environmental health impacts and to
implement community-led solutions.

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(c) One way that environmental justice communities can see
direct environmental and public health benefits in their
neighborhoods is through the implementation of supplemental
environmental projects, which allow entities in violation of
environmental laws to voluntarily undertake environmental projects
as part of a settlement of an enforcement action.

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(d) Currently, pursuant to Chapter 585 of the Statutes of 2015,
boards, departments, and offices within the California
Environmental Protection Agency have been directed to develop
policies on supplemental environmental projects, and those policies
authorize up to 50 percent of an enforcement action brought under
the jurisdiction of a board, department, or office within the agency
be a supplemental environmental project.

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(e) Supplemental environmental projects bring needed
investments to communities that bear the environmental damage
of environmental violations in which the damage is done.

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(f) Because the individual regulatory agency is best able to
evaluate the best projects to benefit those communities in which
the damage was done, that agency should oversee supplement
environmental projects within its jurisdiction.

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begin delete SECTION 1. end delete

begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

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

71118.  

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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(c) Each board, department, and office within the agency that
has enforcement authority shall ensure that no less than 10 percent
of the enforcement action penalties received from actions brought
pursuant to the jurisdiction of the board, department, or office
within the agency is allocated to supplemental environmental
projects in disadvantaged communities.

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(d) (1) Each board, department, and office within the agency
that has enforcement authority shall compile and submit to the
agency the information required pursuant to subdivision (b).

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(c)

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begin insert (2) end insert  The Secretary for Environmental Protection shall consolidate
the begin delete projects compiled pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) end delete
begin insert information received pursuant to paragraph (1) end insert into one list and
post that list on the agency’s Internet Web site.

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SEC. 2.  

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

71119.  

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

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