BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Senator Wieckowski, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: SB 246
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|Author: |Wieckowski |
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|Version: |4/13/2015 |Hearing |4/29/2015 |
| | |Date: | |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant:|Laurie Harris |
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SUBJECT: Climate Action Team
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1. Under the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006
(referred to as AB 32), states that it is the intent of the
Legislature that the Climate Action Team, established by the
Governor to coordinate the efforts set forth under Executive
Order S-3-05, continue its role in coordinating the overall
climate policy of the state. (Health and Safety Code §38501)
2. Establishes the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) as a special
fund in the State Treasury; requires that all moneys, except for
fines and penalties, collected pursuant to a market-based
mechanism be deposited in the fund; and requires the Department
of Finance, in consultation with the California Air Resources
Board (ARB) and any other relevant state agency, to develop, as
specified, a three-year investment plan for the moneys deposited
in the GGRF. (Government Code §16428.8)
3. Requires the Climate Action Team to provide information to assist
in the development of each three-year investment plan,
participate in public workshops held on each plan, and provide
testimony to the ARB on each plan. (HSC §39716)
4. Requires that moneys deposited in the GGRF be used to facilitate
the achievement of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions in
the state and, where applicable and to the extent feasible,
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lessen the impacts and effects of climate change on the state's
communities, economy, and environment, among other potential
specified co-benefits. (HSC §39712)
This bill:
1. Declares the Legislature's intent to integrate adaptation
strategies into state policies, projects, and permitting
processes.
2. Creates the Climate Action Team (CAT) in statute, under the
direction of the Secretary for Environmental Protection,
consisting of representatives from specified state agencies.
Allows representatives from other state departments to be added
as necessary upon the determination of the Secretary, and the CAT
to form multiagency working groups.
3. Requires the CAT to be responsible for coordinating the state's
climate policy to achieve the state's climate change goals,
including:
A. Coordination of climate change policies within California,
nationally, and internationally;
B. Coordination of the efficient use of existing state
resources and the recommendation of additional policies and
investment strategies for addressing climate change goals;
C. Consideration of mitigation and adaptation strategies,
where appropriate, in state planning and policies; and
D. Identification and dissemination of information to local
governments and regional bodies.
4. Requires the CAT, in coordination with relevant public and
private entities, to coordinate an update to the state's Climate
Adaptation Strategy (CAS) no later than January 1, 2019 and every
five years thereafter to incorporate advances in climate science
and risk management options.
5. Requires the CAT, in coordination with the Office of Planning and
Research (OPR) and relevant public and private entities, to
coordinate an update to the state's Adaptation Planning Guide
(APG) no later than January 1, 2017, and every five years
thereafter to provide tools and guidance to regional and local
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governments and agencies in creating and implementing adaptation
and resiliency plans and projects. The update shall be informed
by the Climate Adaptation Strategy, and include, at a minimum:
A. Funding opportunities for adaptation research, planning,
and projects;
B. Regionally prioritized best-practice adaptation projects
that integrate GHG reduction efforts where appropriate;
C. Recommended metrics and indicators to track progress of
adaptation efforts locally, regionally, and statewide;
D. Adaptation planning templates for use locally and
regionally; and
E. Guidelines for coordinating adaptation activities among
state, regional, and local bodies.
6. As part of updating the Adaptation Planning Guide, requires the
CAT and advisory council to hold public meetings and workshops at
least annually in the northern, southern, and central regions of
the state.
7. Creates an advisory council to the CAT to provide scientific and
technical support, as well as regional and local perspectives.
Requires the council to be comprised of 15 members, 5 each
appointed by the Governor, Speaker of the Assembly, and Senate
Rules Committee, based on their expertise in the intersection of
climate change and a range of areas within the purview of the
CAT, as specified.
Background
1. Executive Orders Relating to the Climate Action Team and
Adaptation.
Executive order S-3-05 established GHG emission reduction
targets, created the Climate Action Team, and directed the
Secretary of CalEPA to coordinate efforts to meet the targets
with the heads of other state agencies. The order required the
Secretary to report back to the Governor and Legislature
biannually on progress toward meeting the GHG targets, GHG
impacts to California, as well as mitigation and adaptation
plans.
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Executive Order S-13-08 directed state agencies to plan for
climate impacts specifically from sea level rise. It further
directed the Natural Resources Agency, through the CAT, to
coordinate the California Climate Adaptation Strategy by June
2009, noting "California must begin now to adapt and build our
resiliency to coming climate changes through a thoughtful and
sensible approach with local, regional, state and federal
government using the best available science."
2. Overview of the Climate Action Team Today.
According to the Climate Action Team's website, the CAT is
comprised of state agency secretaries and the heads of agency,
boards, and departments, chaired by the Secretary of the
California Environmental Protection Agency. Furthermore, the
team works to coordinate statewide efforts to implement GHG
emission reduction programs, as well as the state's Climate
Adaptation Strategy.
In addition to the CAT members, there are 10 working groups,
including the following areas: agriculture, biodiversity, coastal
and ocean climate adaptation team, interagency forestry,
intergovernmental, land use and infrastructure, research, public
health, state government, and water energy. These working groups
support the activities of the CAT through such activities as
conducting research, producing informational documents,
organizing workshops, and conducting outreach.
3. California's Climate Change Documents.
Beginning in 2006, there have been three climate change
assessment documents prepared by state agencies to better
understand risks of climate change to California. Currently, a
fourth assessment is being prepared, intended to provide
information to support adaptation decisions. This latest
assessment is the first interagency effort to implement a large
part of the Climate Change Research Plan (Research Plan) and will
serve as a request for proposals for ongoing research concerning
climate change.
The 2015 Climate Change Research Plan was prepared by the CAT,
involving almost 50 authors from 16 agencies. The Research Plan
outlines statewide research priorities for climate change. Some
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of these major areas of research include:
Improved methods and indicators for monitoring climate
change;
Improved methods to "downscale" global climate
projections to support risk assessments and adaptation
planning;
Refined GHG emissions accounting methods and reduction
pathways;
Incorporation of new climate science into a risk
assessment framework, and identification of robust adaptation
strategies that would fare well under multiple potential
climate scenarios from local to statewide levels; and
Synergies between mitigation and adaptation efforts.
1. California's Adaptation Documents.
The 2009 California Climate Adaptation Strategy is a statewide
strategy that includes a summary of impacts from climate change
and provides recommendations for adaptation strategies in seven
sectors, including public health, water, agriculture,
transportation and energy, forestry, biodiversity and habitat,
and oceans and coastal resources. Overall, it provides guidance
for establishing adaptation and resiliency actions for the state.
The 2014 Safeguarding California Plan is an update to the
strategy that augments climate adaptation strategies based on new
climate science and risk management options.
The 2012 California Adaptation Planning Guide, prepared and
promoted by OPR, the Natural Resources Agency, and the Office of
Emergency Services, was designed to provide guidance and support
for local governments and regional collaboratives in addressing
the impacts of climate change. The guide consists of an overview
document and three companion documents for use as needed in
defining local and regional impacts, understanding regional
characteristics, and identifying adaptation strategies. The
guide is meant to allow for flexibility across communities in
terms of the time, money, and effort available for adaptation.
Comments
1. Purpose of Bill.
According to the author, "Currently, the state lacks a
coordinated, comprehensive approach for adapting to the impacts
of climate change. While California has been a leader in climate
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mitigation efforts, the state alone cannot prevent global climate
change and must prepare for the inevitable impacts through
planning and implementing adaptation strategies in addition to
continuing mitigation efforts.
"Regional collaboratives and local governments have been at the
forefront of efforts to plan and implement adaptation projects,
though many lack the scientific expertise, knowledge on
adaptation best-practices, funding opportunities, and metrics to
evaluate their progress with adaptation. Given their efforts and
needs, improved coordination and communication with state
agencies overseeing the state's climate policy is important for
developing comprehensive, statewide adaptation efforts.
"SB 246 establishes the cross-agency Climate Action Team in
statute and tasks the CAT with coordinating the state's climate
policy, as previously intended by Executive Order and in statute,
including both mitigation and adaptation. The bill further tasks
the CAT with coordinating updates to the state's Climate
Adaptation Strategy and Adaptation Planning Guide as specified.
These resources, in combination with opportunities for public
meetings, and the creation of an advisory council to provide
scientific or technical support, and regional and local
perspectives, will help ensure that state, regional, and local
adaptation efforts are coordinated to provide resiliency to
climate impacts for communities across California."
2. The Need for Improving Adaptation Efforts in California.
According to the 2014 independent report "Governing California
Through Climate Change" by the Little Hoover Commission (LHC)-a
bipartisan state oversight agency-based on hearings, meetings,
and interviews with climate change experts and stakeholders
throughout the state, there is a need for a more unified approach
to adaptation from the state government. The report notes the
thorough and proactive efforts of the state to understand the
challenges and vulnerabilities from climate change. However, the
report also notes that most adaptation strategies at the state
level are still advisory and have been developed without
coordination with local governments and the private sector, which
have largely been planning and implementing projects individually
or with regional collaboratives.
Specific recommendations from the LHC's report included:
That the Governor and Legislature create a new state
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entity or enhance the institutional capacity of an existing
organization, which should include an independent science
board, to help California's multitude of governments prepare
for and react to climate change; and
That the California Strategic Growth Council expand its
focus beyond reduction of carbon emissions to include a
greater emphasis on adaptation to the impacts of climate
change.
1. Who Should Coordinate Adaptation Efforts in California?
Previous legislative efforts have tried to place the task of
coordinating the state's adaptation efforts with both the Climate
Action Team and the Strategic Growth Council, two cross-agency
bodies dealing with climate change issues.
The Strategic Growth Council (SGC) was established by SB 732
(Steinberg), Chapter 729, Statutes of 2008. SGC is comprised of
10 members representing six agencies, OPR, and three public
members and was created to focus attention on climate change and
coordinated sustainable growth. SGC is also responsible for
awarding sustainable community grants and is tasked with
identifying and reviewing activities and funding programs of
member agencies that may be coordinated to improve air and water
quality, increase the availability of affordable housing, improve
transportation, meet the goals of AB 32, encourage sustainable
land use, and revitalize urban and community centers in a
sustainable manner, in addition to helping local and regional
bodies develop and plan sustainable communities.
It seems reasonable that both the CAT and the SGC place an
emphasis on adaptation, given the urgency and importance of the
topic. Within the SGC, certainly considerations of adaptation
and resiliency must be incorporated into infrastructure as the
state grows. Within the CAT, there is large agency
representation, previous direction to coordinate the state's
overall climate strategy, and multiple cross-agency working
groups; these factors may make the CAT the appropriate body to
undertake broad coordination of adaptation across sectors in
California.
2. Technical Clarifying Changes.
A. On page 4, lines 39-40, the CAT is directed to update "the
Climate Adaptation Strategy and the Safeguarding California
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Plan." As the Safeguarding Plan is an update to the Climate
Adaptation Strategy, this should be clarified. An amendment is
needed to state "the Climate Adaptation Strategy, for which
the first update was titled the Safeguarding California Plan,
to incorporate?"
B. On page 5, line 15, the first listing of information to be
included for the Adaptation Planning Guide states, "Funding
opportunities for adaptation research, planning, and
projects." Because the CAT is not authorized to receive or
expend moneys for funding such adaptation efforts, this
provision should be amended to state "Information concerning
funding opportunities for adaptation research, planning, and
projects."
Related/Prior Legislation
AB 1482 (Gordon, 2015) would expand the duties of the SGC to
coordinate state agency climate adaptation efforts and require the
Natural Resources Agency, with the SGC, to coordinate existing
grants and programs to address climate change and adaptation by
maximizing specified objectives. AB 1482 is currently referred to
the Assembly Committee on Natural Resources.
SB 1217 (Leno, 2014) required the Natural Resources Agency and SGC
to prepare a climate risk assessment and strategy evaluating
California's vulnerability and risk for climate change impacts and
to identify and prioritize climate resiliency projects. SB 1217
died in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
AB 2329 (Ruskin, Chesbro, 2010) enacted the Climate Action Team Act
of 2010 to coordinate oversight of state agency efforts to meet GHG
reduction targets, including development and implementation of
mitigation and adaptation plans, and enacted the California Climate
Vulnerability & Adaptation Plan of 2010. AB 2329 failed on the
Senate floor.
SB 721 (Steinberg, 2009) was a reintroduction of SB 1760 (Perata) of
2008 as specified below. SB 721 would also have required the CAT to
biennially prepare and adopt a climate change impact mitigation and
adaptation plan including specified info. SB 721 died in the Senate
Appropriations Committee.
SB 1760 (Perata, 2008) created the CAT in statute and required an
annual strategic research, development, demonstration, and
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deployment plan with expenditures in those areas, to be administered
by the Department of Transportation for clean technology,
environmental protection, and public interest energy research
consistent with the plan. SB 1760 was vetoed by the Governor.
SOURCE: Author
SUPPORT:
Audubon California
California League of Conservation Voters
Climate Resolve
Defenders of Wildlife
Environment California
Friends of the River
Local Government Commission
Public Health Institute's Center for Climate Change & Health
The Nature Conservancy
Sierra Club California
OPPOSITION: None on file
ARGUMENTS IN
SUPPORT: Sierra Club California states that "it will be
imperative for state agencies to effectively prepare for the impacts
of climate disruption in the coming years. SB 246 will help advance
that preparation."
A coalition of environmental, conservation, and public health
interests notes, "California's changing climate poses an increasing
threat to human health, public safety, natural resources, and
property.
"The state needs to develop adaptation strategies to buffer these
detrimental impacts. These efforts require coordinating state
agencies to implement and support adaptation programs through the
use of up-to-date data, tools, and best-practices that are made
available through cutting-edge scientific assessments, research and
case studies.
"These actions [of SB 246] will optimize the state's collective
ability to address climate change impacts."
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