BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2800
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Date of Hearing: May 18, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Lorena Gonzalez, Chair
AB
2800 (Quirk) - As Amended April 12, 2016
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|Policy |Natural Resources |Vote:|7 - 2 |
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill establishes a Climate-Safe Infrastructure Working
Group (Working Group) at the Natural Resources Agency (NRA) to
examine how to integrate scientific data concerning projected
climate change impacts into state infrastructure engineering.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires state agencies to take into account the expected
impacts of climate change when planning, designing, building,
and investing in state infrastructure.
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2)Requires NRA, by July 1, 2017, to establish the Working Group,
as specified, to examine how to integrate scientific data
concerning projected climate change impacts into state
infrastructure engineering.
3)Requires the Working Group to make recommendations to the
Legislature by July 1, 2018, on a process for integrating
scientific knowledge into state infrastructure design.
FISCAL EFFECT:
1)In addition to existing resources, the NRA estimates it will
take an additional staff person working 3/4 time on this
project to fulfill the requirements of the bill.
2)Unknown costs, likely absorbable for the state agency members
of the Working Group (Department of Transportation, Department
of Water Resources, Department of General Services).
3)Unknown costs, likely absorbable for the California State
University and University of California to participate on the
Working Group.
4)Absorbable costs for state agencies to account for the impacts
of climate change when investing in state infrastructure. The
recommendations provided by the Working Group may provide cost
savings for state agencies' plans and projects.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. According to the author, the Office of Planning
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and Research's current technical advisory group that is
considering how to incorporate climate change into state
planning and investment decisions is a valuable endeavor,
but the group will not specifically address the challenge
targeted by this bill. This bill brings together climate
scientists and professional engineers to examine how to
integrate climate change data into infrastructure
engineering.
2)Background. Several administrative actions have been adopted
to ensure the state is preparing for the impacts of climate
change. Executive Order S-13-08 required the Natural
Resources Agency (NRA), to develop a state Climate Adaptation
Strategy to summarize the best known science on climate change
impacts and outline solutions that can be implemented within
and across state agencies.
Executive Order B-30-15 (Brown), in addition to establishing a
40% Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emission reduction goal by 2030,
requires the NRA to update the state's climate adaptation
strategy every three years and ensure that its provisions are
fully implemented. This Executive Order also requires:
a) 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.
b) State agencies' planning and investment to be guided by
the principles of climate preparedness, flexibility and
adaptive approaches for uncertain climate impacts,
protective of vulnerable populations, and prioritization of
natural infrastructure solutions.
c) The state's Five-Year Infrastructure Plan to take
current and future climate change impacts into account in
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all infrastructure projects and requires Office of Planning
and Research (OPR) to establish a technical advisory group
to help state agencies incorporate climate change impacts
into planning and investment decisions.
Additionally, existing law requires the NRA to update its
climate adaptation strategy, the Safeguarding California Plan
by July 1, 2017, and every three years thereafter, by
coordinating adaption activities among lead state agencies in
each sector.
This bill is intended assist state agencies by bridging the
gap between the state's scientific understanding of the
projected impacts of climate change and the information
required by engineers to determine how best to build state
infrastructure.
Analysis Prepared by:Jennifer Galehouse / APPR. / (916)
319-2081
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