BILL ANALYSIS Ó
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 246|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 246
Author: Wieckowski (D)
Amended: 6/2/15
Vote: 21
SENATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE: 6-0, 4/29/15
AYES: Wieckowski, Gaines, Hill, Jackson, Leno, Pavley
NO VOTE RECORDED: Bates
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 5-2, 5/28/15
AYES: Lara, Beall, Hill, Leyva, Mendoza
NOES: Bates, Nielsen
SUBJECT: Climate Change Adaptation
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill requires the California Natural Resources
Agency (NRA) to coordinate an update to the state's Climate
Adaptation Strategy (CAS) and the Governor's Office of Planning
and Research (OPR) to coordinate an update to the Adaptation
Planning Guide, as specified. This bill also establishes an
advisory council to the OPR.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1) Under the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006,
states that it is the intent of the Legislature that the
Climate Action Team (CAT), established by the Governor to
SB 246
Page 2
coordinate the efforts set forth under Executive Order S-3-05
and led by the Secretary of the California Environmental
Protection Agency with coordination from the Secretary of the
NRA and heads of five additional state agencies, continue its
role in coordinating the overall climate policy of the state.
(Health and Safety Code §38501)
2) Requires the OPR to serve the Governor and Cabinet as staff
for long-range planning and research, constituting the
comprehensive state planning agency, with a focus on factors
influencing the quality of the state's environment. (GOV
§65040)
This bill:
1) Declares the Legislature's intent to integrate adaptation
strategies into state policies, projects, and permitting
processes.
2) Requires the NRA, in coordination with relevant public and
private entities, to coordinate an update to the state's CAS,
for which the first update was titled "Safeguarding
California," no later than January 1, 2019, to incorporate
advances in climate science and risk management options.
3) Requires the OPR, in coordination with relevant public and
private entities, to coordinate an update to the state's
Adaptation Planning Guide (APG) no later than January 1,
2017, to provide tools and guidance to regional and local
governments and agencies in creating and implementing
adaptation and resiliency plans and projects, including, at a
minimum:
a) Funding opportunities for adaptation research,
planning, and projects;
b) Regionally prioritized best-practice adaptation
projects that integrate greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction
efforts where appropriate;
c) Recommended metrics and indicators to track progress of
adaptation efforts locally, regionally, and statewide;
SB 246
Page 3
d) Adaptation planning templates for use locally and
regionally; and
e) Guidelines for coordinating adaptation activities among
state, regional, and local bodies.
4) As part of updating the APG, requires the OPR and advisory
council to hold public meetings and workshops at least
annually in the northern, southern, and central regions of
the state.
5) Creates an advisory council to the OPR to provide scientific
and technical support, as well as regional and local
perspectives. Requires the council to be comprised of 15
members, five 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, as specified.
Background
Executive Orders Relating to State Agencies and Adaptation.
Executive Order S-3-05 established GHG emission reduction
targets, created the CAT, and directed the Secretary of the
California Environmental Protection Agency (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.
Executive Order S-13-08 directed state agencies to plan for
climate impacts specifically from sea level rise. It further
directed the NRA, 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."
Overview of State Agency Coordination Today. Previous
SB 246
Page 4
legislative efforts have tried to place the task of coordinating
the state's adaptation efforts with both the CAT and the
Strategic Growth Council (SGC), two cross-agency bodies dealing
with climate change issues.
The 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.
The CAT is comprised of state agency secretaries and the heads
of agency, boards, and departments, chaired by the Secretary of
the CalEPA. The team works to coordinate statewide efforts to
implement GHG emission reduction programs, as well as the
state's CAS.
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 numerous state agencies
working on climate change, through such activities as conducting
research, producing informational documents, organizing
workshops, and conducting outreach.
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
SB 246
Page 5
(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
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.
California's Adaptation Documents. The 2009 California CAS 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 NRA, 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
SB 246
Page 6
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
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 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 tasks state entities 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."
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
SB 246
Page 7
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 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 SGC expand its focus beyond reduction of
carbon emissions to include a greater emphasis on adaptation
to the impacts of climate change.
Related/Prior Legislation
AB 1482 (Gordon, 2015) required the NRA, in coordination with
the SGC, to coordinate existing grant programs to address
climate change and adaptation across state agencies and to
identify and coordinate opportunities to expend funds from the
Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, Proposition 1 of 2014, and other
sources, to implement adaptation strategies. AB 1482 is on the
Assembly Floor.
SB 1217 (Leno, 2014) would have required the NRA 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) would have 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 246
Page 8
SB 721 (Steinberg, 2009) was a reintroduction of SB 1760
(Perata, 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) would have created the CAT in statute and
required an annual strategic research, development,
demonstration, and 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.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Unknown one-time costs, at least in the hundreds of thousands
of dollars, to the General Fund for the necessary activities
to inform the required update of the CAS and the APG.
Unknown costs, potentially in the high tens of thousands of
dollars, to the General Fund to the OPR to support the
advisory committee.
SUPPORT: (Verified6/1/15)
Audubon California
California League of Conservation Voters
Center for Climate Protection
Climate Resolve
Defenders of Wildlife
Environment California
Friends of the River
Local Government Commission
Public Health Institute's Center for Climate Change & Health
Sierra Club California
The Nature Conservancy
SB 246
Page 9
TreePeople
OPPOSITION: (Verified6/1/15)
None received
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."
Prepared by:Laurie Harris / E.Q. / (916) 651-4108
6/2/15 22:03:03
**** END ****
SB 246
Page 10