Amended in Assembly July 1, 2015

Amended in Senate June 2, 2015

Amended in Senate May 5, 2015

Amended in Senate April 13, 2015

Senate Bill No. 246

Introduced by Senator Wieckowski

February 18, 2015

An act to add Part 4.5 (commencing with Section 71350) to Division 34 of the Public Resources Code, relating to environmental protection.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 246, as amended, Wieckowski. Climate change adaptation.

The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 designates the State Air Resources Board as the state agency charged with monitoring and regulating sources of emissions of greenhouse gases. The state board is required to adopt a statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit equivalent to the statewide greenhouse gas emissions level in 1990 to be achieved by 2020 and to adopt rules and regulations in an open public process to achieve the maximum, technologically feasible, and cost-effective greenhouse gas emissions reductions. The act requires all state agencies to consider and implement strategies to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. An executive order establishes a climate action team consisting of specified ex officio members and requires the team to make a specified biannual report to the Legislature and Governor.

This bill would begin insert establish the Climate Adaptation and Resiliency Program to be administered by the Office of Planning and Research to coordinate state, regional, and local agency efforts to adapt to the impacts of climate change, as specified. The bill would end insert require begin insert the California Environmental Protection Agency, end insert the Natural Resources Agency, begin insert and the office, end insert no later than January 1, begin delete 2019, end delete begin insert 2017, and every 3 years thereafter, end insert to update the 2009 California Climate Adaptation Strategy, as specified. The bill also would require the begin delete Office of Planning and Research end delete begin insert office end insert , no later than January 1, begin delete 2017, end delete begin insert 2018, and every 3 years thereafter, end insert to update the Adaptation Planning Guide, as specified. The bill would establish an advisory council, as specified, to support those goals of the begin delete Office of Planning and Research. end delete begin insert office. The bill would require the office to establish a clearinghouse for climate adaptation information, as specified. 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:

SECTION 1.  

Part 4.5 (commencing with Section 71350) is
added to Division 34 of the Public Resources Code, to read:

 

PART 4.5.  Climate begin delete Change end delete Adaptation begin insert and
Resiliency Program end insert

 

begin insert

begin insert 71350. end insert   

For purposes of this part, “office” means the Office of
Planning and Research.

end insert

begin delete 71350. end delete
begin insert 71352. end insert   

The Legislature finds and declares:

(a) The state has been a leader in climate mitigation efforts.
However, the state’s efforts alone will not prevent global climate
change from occurring, as noted in the update to the 2009
California Climate Adaptation Strategy issued in July 2014. Due
to the inevitability of climate change impacts on the state, the state
must invest in building resiliency and strengthening adaptation
efforts at the state, regional, and local levels using the
best-available science.

(b) Improved coordination of existing adaptation planning efforts
and funding by the state, as well as increased implementation and
support of adaptation programs, can directly protect the state’s
infrastructure, communities, environmental quality, public health,
natural resources, and economy from the unavoidable impacts of
climate change for decades to come.

begin insert

(c) In order to have a cohesive and comprehensive adaptation
response to climate change impacts, the state must have integrated
planning with coordinated strategies across state, regional, and
local governments and agencies.

end insert begin insert

(d) The office is established as the comprehensive state planning
agency that shall engage in the formulation, evaluation, and
updating of long-range goals for factors that shape statewide
development patterns and significantly influence the quality of the
state’s environment, in addition to assisting state, regional, and
local agencies in a variety of research and planning efforts,
pursuant to Section 65040 of the Government Code. Therefore,
the office is well-positioned to work with state, regional, and local
entities across the state in coordinating climate adaptation
strategies.

end insert begin delete

(c)

end delete

begin insert (e) end insert  It is the intent of the Legislature, therefore, that adaptation
strategies to build resiliency to the risks and impacts from climate
change be integrated in state policies, projects, and permitting
begin delete processes. end delete begin insert processes, and that the office serve as a coordinating
body for adaptation projects and goals across California. end insert

begin insert

begin insert 71354. end insert   

The Climate Adaptation and Resiliency Program is
hereby established to be administered by the office. No later than
January 1, 2017, the Director of State Planning and Research
shall establish the program to coordinate state, regional, and local
agency efforts to adapt to the impacts of climate change with, to
the extent feasible, an emphasis on climate equity considerations
across sectors and regions and strategies that benefit both
reductions greenhouse gas emissions and adaptation efforts. The
program shall include all of the following:

(a) Assisting state agencies in coordinating the planning and
preparation of regular updates to the 2009 California Climate
Adaptation Strategy, pursuant to Section 71356, and maintain
copies of the updates on the office’s Internet Web site.

(b) Working with relevant state agencies and public and private
entities to create regular updates to the Adaptation Planning
Guide, pursuant to Section 71358, and maintain copies of the
updates on the office’s Internet Web site. One or more lead state
agencies may be designated to prepare the updates.

(c) Coordinating and maintaining the state’s clearinghouse for
climate adaptation information, pursuant to Section 71362.

(d) Conducting regular meetings with the advisory council
established pursuant to Section 71360 in order to have expertise
and advice from regional and local experts working in climate
adaptation throughout the research and planning processes, as
described in this section.

end insert

begin delete 71352. end delete
begin insert 71356. end insert   

No later than January 1, begin delete 2019, the Natural Resources
Agency, end delete begin insert 2017, and every three years thereafter, the California
Environmental Protection Agency, the Natural Resources Agency,
and the office, end insert in coordination with begin insert those agencies that have
previously led sector-specific adaptation efforts and any end insert relevant
public and private entities, shall update the 2009 California Climate
Adaptation Strategy, for which the first update was titled
Safeguarding California: Reducing Climate Risk, to incorporate
advances in climate science and risk management options regarding
regional and statewide climate change impacts and vulnerabilities
and recommended adaptation strategies.

begin delete 71355. end delete
begin insert 71358. end insert   

(a) No later than January 1, begin delete 2017, the Office of
Planning and Research, end delete begin insert 2018, and every three years thereafter,
the office, end insert in coordination with all relevant public and private
entities, shall update the Adaptation Planning Guide to provide
tools and guidance to regional and local governments and agencies
in creating and implementing climate adaptation and community
resiliency plans and projects. The Adaptation Planning Guide
updates shall be informed by begin insert the climate adaptation clearinghouse
established pursuant to Section 71362 and end insert the scientific
assessments and recommendations in the most recent update
prepared pursuant to Section begin delete 71352 end delete begin insert 71356 end insert . The Adaptation
Planning Guide updates shall include, at a minimum, all of the
following:

(1) Information concerning funding opportunities for adaptation
research, planning, and projects.

(2) Regionally prioritized best-practice adaptation projects that,
where appropriate, integrate efforts to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions across the state.

(3) Recommended metrics and indicators to track the progress
and success of adaptation efforts locally, regionally, and statewide.

(4) Adaptation planning templates for use by local governments
and regional collaboratives.

(5) Guidelines for coordinating adaptation activities among state
and local governments and regional collaboratives.

(b) As part of updating the Adaptation Planning Guide, begin insert the office
with end insert the advisory council created pursuant to Section 71360 shall
hold public meetings and workshops at least annually in the
northern, southern, and central regions of the state to obtain input
from the public and leaders in local and regional climate
preparedness.

71360.  

(a) An advisory council to the begin delete Office of Planning and
Research end delete begin insert office end insert is hereby established. The advisory council shall
be comprised of 15 members from a range of disciplines in order
to provide scientific and technical support, as well as regional and
local perspectives, to support the begin delete Office of Planning and Research’s end delete
begin insert office’s end insert goals identified in begin delete Section 71355 end delete begin insert this part end insert .

(b) Members of the advisory council shall be appointed based
on their expertise in the intersection of climate change and areas
that include, but need not be limited to, any of the following:

(1) Public health.

(2) Environmental quality.

(3) Environmental justice.

(4) Agriculture.

(5) Transportation and housing.

(6) Energy.

(7) Natural resources and water.

(8) Planning.

(9) Recycling and waste management.

(10) Local or regional government.

(c) Five members of the advisory council shall be appointed by
the Governor, five members shall be appointed by the Speaker of
the Assembly, and five members shall be appointed by the Senate
Committee on Rules. All members shall be appointed to four-year
terms with the possibility of reappointment.

(d) The advisory council shall meet with the begin delete Office of Planning
and Research end delete begin insert office end insert as needed but not less than three times a year.

(e) The members of the advisory council shall serve without
compensation but shall be reimbursed for necessary expenses
incurred in the performance of their duties.

begin insert

begin insert 71362. end insert   

(a) (1) The office shall coordinate with appropriate
entities, including state, regional, or local agencies, to establish
a clearinghouse for climate adaptation information for use by
state, regional, and local entities.

(2) The clearinghouse shall be a centralized source of
information that provides downscaled climate data to guide
decisionmakers at state, regional, and local levels when planning
for and implementing climate adaptation projects to promote
resiliency to climate change. The clearinghouse shall include all
of the following:

(A) A collection of the best-available science, projections and
models, and vulnerability assessments of climate change impacts
throughout the state at statewide, regional, and local levels for
both near-term and longer term timescales, including year 2050
and year 2100 projections. Climate change impacts shall include,
but are not limited to, impacts to public health, natural resources,
environmental quality, and infrastructure.

(B) Tools that allow for the visualization or identification of
regional and local impacts across the state and that integrate
best-available data on vulnerable populations and infrastructure.

(C) A library of relevant white papers, case studies, research
articles, and climate adaptation best practices that are searchable
by relevance to region, locality, and sector.

(b) The clearinghouse shall be regularly updated with relevant
information to improve its functionality as a tool to guide
decisionmaking at state, regional, and local levels.

end insert