BILL NUMBER: SB 246 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JULY 1, 2015
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 2, 2015
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 5, 2015
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 13, 2015
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 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
require the California Environmental Protection Agency,
the Natural Resources Agency, and the office, no
later than January 1, 2019, 2017, and every 3
years thereafter, to update the 2009 California Climate
Adaptation Strategy, as specified. The bill also would require the
Office of Planning and Research office
, no later than January 1, 2017, 2018, and
every 3 years thereafter, to update the Adaptation Planning
Guide, as specified. The bill would establish an advisory council, as
specified, to support those goals of the Office of Planning
and Research. office. The bill would require the
office to establish a clearinghouse for climate adaptation
information, 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:
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 Change Adaptation
and Resiliency Program
71350. For purposes of this part, "office" means the Office of
Planning and Research.
71350. 71352. 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.
(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.
(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.
(c)
(e) 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 processes.
processes, and that the office serve as a coordinating body for
adaptation projects and goals across California.
71354. 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.
71352. 71356. No later than January
1, 2019, the Natural Resources Agency, 2017,
and every three years thereafter, the California Environmental
Protection Agency, the Natural Resources Agency, and the office,
in coordination with those agencies that have previously
led sector-specific adaptation efforts and any 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.
71355. 71358. (a) No later than
January 1, 2017, the Office of Planning and Research,
2018, and every three years thereafter, the
office, 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 the climate adaptation clearinghouse established
pursuant to Section 71362 and the scientific assessments and
recommendations in the most recent update prepared pursuant to
Section 71352 71356 . 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, the
office with 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 Office of Planning
and Research office 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
Office of Planning and Research's office's goals
identified in Section 71355 this part
.
(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 Office of
Planning and Research office 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.
71362. (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.