BILL ANALYSIS Ó SB 246 Page 1 Date of Hearing: July 13, 2015 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES Das Williams, Chair SB 246 (Wieckowski) - As Amended July 1, 2015 SENATE VOTE: 26-11 SUBJECT: Climate change adaptation. SUMMARY: Establishes the Climate Adaptation and Resiliency Program (Program) to be administered by the Office of Planning and Research (OPR) to coordinate state, regional, and local agency efforts to adapt to the impacts of climate change. Alters the state agencies with the responsibility for updating the state's climate adaptation strategy and adaptation planning guide (Guide). EXISTING LAW: 1)Establishes OPR as the comprehensive state planning agency and requires OPR to assist state, regional, and local agencies in a variety of research and planning efforts. 2)Requires, pursuant to the California Global Warming Solutions Act (AB 32), the Air Resources Board (ARB) to adopt a statewide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions limit equivalent to SB 246 Page 2 1990 levels by 2020 and to adopt rules and regulations to achieve maximum technologically feasible and cost-effective GHG emission reductions. 3)Pursuant to Executive Order S-13-08 (Schwarzenegger), requires NRA, through the Climate Action Team, to coordinate with local, regional, state, federal, and private entities to develop, by 2009, a state Climate Adaptation Strategy. Requires the strategy to summarize the best known science on climate change impacts to California, assess California's vulnerability to the identified impacts, and outline solutions that can be implemented within and across state agencies to promote resiliency. 4)Requires OPR and NRA to periodically update the guidelines for the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions or the effects of GHG emissions as required by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), including, but not limited to, effects associated with transportation or energy consumption, and to incorporate new information or criteria established by ARB pursuant to AB 32. 5)Pursuant to Executive Order B-30-15 (Brown), in addition to establishing a 40% GHG emission reduction goal by 2030, requires several actions on adaptation including: a) Requires NRA to update every three years the state's climate adaptation strategy and ensure that its provisions are fully implemented. Requires the state's climate adaptation strategy to: i) Identify vulnerabilities to climate change by sector and regions, including, at a minimum, the following sectors: water, energy, transportation, public health, agriculture, emergency services, forestry, biodiversity and habitat, and ocean and coastal resources; ii) Outline primary risks to residents, property, communities, and natural systems from these vulnerabilities, and identify priority actions needed to SB 246 Page 3 reduce these risks; and, iii) Identify a lead agency or group of agencies to lead adaptation efforts in each sector. b) Requires each sector lead to prepare an implementation plan by September 2015 to outline the actions that will be taken as identified in state's climate adaptation strategy, and report back on those actions to the NRA. c) Requires 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. d) Requires 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. e) Requires the state's Five-Year Infrastructure Plan to take current and future climate change impacts into account in all infrastructure projects. f) Requires OPR to establish a technical, advisory group to help state agencies incorporate climate change impacts into planning and investment decisions. g) Requires the state to continue its rigorous climate change research program focused on understanding the impacts of climate change and how best to prepare and adapt to such impacts. THIS BILL: 1)Establishes, no later than January 1, 2017, the Program to be administered by OPR to coordinate state, regional, and local agency efforts to adapt to the impacts of climate change. Requires the Program to include: SB 246 Page 4 a) Assistance to state agencies in coordinating, planning and preparation of regular updates to the state's Climate Adaptation Strategy; b) Assistance to relevant state agencies and public and private entities to create regular updates to the Guide; and, c) Coordination and maintenance of the state's clearinghouse for climate adaptation information. 2)Requires, no later than January 1, 2019, and every three years thereafter, the California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA), NRA, and OPR to update the state's 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. 3)Requires, no later than January 1, 2018, and every three years thereafter, OPR to update the 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. Requires the Guide updates to include, at a minimum, all of the following: a) Information concerning funding opportunities for adaptation research, planning, and projects; b) Regionally prioritized best-practice adaptation projects that, where appropriate, integrate efforts to reduce GHG emissions across the state; c) Recommended metrics and indicators to track the progress and success of adaptation efforts locally, regionally, and statewide; d) Adaptation planning templates for use by local governments and regional collaboratives; and, e) Guidelines for coordinating adaptation activities among state and local governments and regional collaboratives. SB 246 Page 5 4)Establishes an advisory council to OPR. Specifies the advisory council will 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 OPR adaptation work. Specifies five members will be appointed the Governor, five members will be appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly, and five members will be appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules. 5)Requires OPR to establish a clearinghouse for climate adaptation information for use by state, regional, and local entities. Requires the clearinghouse to include a collection of the best-available science, projections, 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. Requires the clearinghouse to include tools and a library to provide the best available data and best adaptation practices. FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown COMMENTS: 1)Adaptation. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, "adaptation is the adjustments that society or ecosystems make to limit negative effects of climate change. It can also include taking advantage of opportunities that a changing climate provides." In 2009, the NRA described adaptation as a relatively new concept in California policy and stated the term means, "efforts that respond to the impacts of climate change - adjustments in natural or human systems to actual or expected climate changes to minimize harm or take advantage of beneficial opportunities." SB 246 Page 6 California's adaptation efforts can be traced back to 2008, when Governor Schwarzenegger ordered the NRA, through the Climate Action Team (CAT), to coordinate with local, regional, state, federal, public and private entities to develop, by 2009, the state's Climate Adaptation Strategy. The Governor Schwarzenegger's Executive Order required the strategy to summarize the best known science on climate change impacts for California, assess California's vulnerability to the identified impacts, and outline solutions that can be implemented within and across state agencies to promote resiliency. As a result, NRA drafted The 2009 California Climate Adaptation Strategy. The state's Climate Adaptation Strategy represents the work of seven sector-specific working groups led by 12 state agencies, boards, and commissions, and numerous stakeholders. The state's Climate Adaptation Strategy proposes a comprehensive set of recommendations designed to inform and guide California decision makers as they begin to develop policies that will protect the state, its residents, and its resources from a range of climate change impacts. In July of 2014, NRA released an update to the 2009 California Climate Adaptation Strategy Safeguarding California: Reducing Climate Risk. Climate risks in California include sea level rise, changes in precipitation that increase the risk of both drought and flooding, and increases in temperatures that can affect air quality and habitat. California is responding to these risks through various efforts including the recently passed Water Quality, Supply, and Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2014 (Proposition 1), which has several pots of funding for responding to drought conditions or flooding brought by climate change and dealing with sea level rise. Of the over $7 billion allocated in the bond, $3.6 billion could be spent on projects that deal in some way with adaptation. SB 246 Page 7 In addition, the Coastal Commission (Commission) has been working with coastal zone local governments to update their local coastal programs to address shoreline hazards and sea level rise. The Commission has also released a Draft Sea-Level Rise Policy Guidance document that provides an overview of best available science on sea-level rise for California and recommended steps for addressing sea-level rise in Commission planning and regulatory actions. This will help coastal local governments to make planning decisions that will take into account sea level rise and identify infrastructure and property that is at risk. 2)State Efforts. On February 25, 2015, The Senate Environmental Quality Committee held an informational hearing entitled, "California's Adaptation Efforts to Climate Change Impacts of Environmental Quality and Public Health." In the hearing, four different cabinet Secretaries presented how climate impacts affect the work at their agencies. In addition, regional collaboratives and a representative from local governments testified. At a subsequent hearing in the Bay Area on May 29, 2015 the committee heard about regional efforts. During the hearings, regional and local leaders stressed the importance of the following: a) Sustainable funding; b) Actionable, prioritized implementation standards for SB 246 Page 8 adaptation projects; c) More guidance from the state on climate adaptation priorities among state, regional, and local bodies; d) Improved communication among levels of government and more opportunities for input at the state level from regions and locals; and, e) A centralization/hub of resources and data for use by all stakeholders to avoid duplication of efforts by regional and local entities. According to the author, SB 246 attempts to capture that feedback and provide a coordinated, comprehensive approach for adapting to the impacts of climate change. However, the approach SB 246 takes differs from the Governor's executive order by moving some responsibilities from NRA to OPR and by spreading the responsibilities to other agencies such as for the update for California Climate Adaptation Strategy. According to the author's office: The NRA has successfully worked with multiple agencies and coordination bodies, including the CAT and Strategic Growth Council (SGC), to coordinate the Safeguarding California Plan. While there has been extensive research and guidance preparation, there have been concerns that much still remains to be done in aligning and implementing adaptation recommendations across the state. As well, regional and local stakeholders have expressed concern that the state agencies and document preparation processes are very insular. OPR is a noted exception, often engaged by local entities and established in statute as the SB 246 Page 9 comprehensive state planning agency that shall engage in the formulation, evaluation, and updating of long-range goals, assisting state, regional, and local agencies in a variety of research and planning efforts. By specifying that OPR help coordinate the Safeguarding Plan and tasking the office with more responsibility for coordinating adaptation activities that connect state, regional, and local efforts, SB 246 works to address issues beyond state agency coordination to establish a comprehensive adaptation planning effort across levels of government. It is important to consider that adapting to changing climate may go beyond the scope of NRA's expertise when the impacts from climate change fall out of the jurisdiction of the Agency or when they manifest on the local or regional level. The most common impacts that come to mind when thinking of climate change are drought, flooding, fires, and sea level rise, which are in NRA's scope of expertise. However, impacts to air quality, water quality, public health, and agriculture are not. OPR is part of the Governor's Office that oversees all the different state government agencies, and through its role in CEQA, deals with local governments on a constant basis. At this committee's April 27 hearing, AB 1482 was heard. AB 1482 has a different, but overlapping approach to developing the state's adaptation policy. The authors of these measures have agreed to attempt to reconcile their legislation. A path forward could be to recognize the importance of adaptation to NRA while enhancing the role of OPR to assist overseeing the state's role and provide guidance and assistance to local and regional entities. In addition, the SGC could be utilized to provide assistance and funding to improve adaptation efforts. 3)Safeguarding California Plan. Safeguarding California SB 246 Page 10 Plan is the 343-page update to The 2009 California Climate Adaptation Strategy. The update states it, "presents a call to action to address climate risks that threaten the state's people, economy, infrastructure and natural resources. Climate impacts are already manifesting in California, and strong state leadership is critical in order to safeguard our communities." However, it is unclear what risks California is most vulnerable to and which risks should be prioritized because they pose the greatest threat to the state. This bill, AB 1482, and the Governor's executive order all call for updates to state's Climate Adaptation Strategy every three years. This bill requires CalEPA , OPR and NRA to be all be the lead on this update. AB 1482 and the executive order both place the responsibility with NRA. It may be appropriate to direct whomever is leading the update to prioritize what risks and vulnerabilities the state is least prepared for and poses the greatest threat to help focus attention on those areas. 4)Related legislation. AB 1482 (Gordon) codifies a portion of Governor Brown's Executive Order. The bill also requires the NRA to assess and coordinate across all state departments and agencies identify opportunities that increase the ability for state and local infrastructure, people, and habitat, and wildlife to adapt to the impacts of climate change. This bill is awaiting hearing in the Senate Appropriations Committee. SB 317 (De Leon) enacts the Safe Neighborhood Parks, Rivers, and Coastal Protection Bond Act of 2016, which among other things would allocate $100 million to the SGC for grants to develop or implement a regional or local greenprint or climate adaptation plan, or add climate adaption to a general plan, and for the protection of agricultural and open-space resources that support adopted sustainable communities strategies. This bill is on third reading on the Senate Floor. SB 246 Page 11 SB 379 (Jackson) requires cities and counties to review and update their general plans' safety elements to address risks posed by climate change. This bill is awaiting hearing in the Assembly Appropriations Committee. REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION: Support Audubon California California Climate & Agricultural Network California League of Conservation Voters Capitol Region Climate Readiness Collaborative Center for Climate Change and Health Center for Climate Protection Climate Resolve SB 246 Page 12 Coalition for Clean Air Defenders of Wildlife Environment California Friends of the River Little Hoover Commission Local Government Commission Mosquito and Vector Control Association of California Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District Sierra Business Council Sierra Club California The Nature Conservancy TreePeople Opposition SB 246 Page 13 None on file Analysis Prepared by:Michael Jarred / NAT. RES. / (916) 319-2092