BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1000|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 1000
Author: Leyva (D), et al.
Amended: 4/12/16
Vote: 21
SENATE GOVERNANCE & FIN. COMMITTEE: 5-1, 4/6/16
AYES: Hertzberg, Beall, Hernandez, Lara, Pavley
NOES: Moorlach
NO VOTE RECORDED: Nguyen
SENATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE: 5-2, 4/20/16
AYES: Wieckowski, Hill, Jackson, Leno, Pavley
NOES: Gaines, Bates
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 5-2, 5/27/16
AYES: Lara, Beall, Hill, McGuire, Mendoza
NOES: Bates, Nielsen
SUBJECT: Land use: general plans: environmental justice
SOURCE: California Environmental Justice Alliance
Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice
DIGEST: This bill requires every city and county to include an
environmental justice element in its general plan.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Requires, pursuant to the Planning and Zoning Law:
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a) Every county and city to adopt a general plan with seven
mandatory elements: land use, circulation, housing,
conservation, open space, noise, and safety.
b) The general plan to be "internally consistent," which
means the various elements cannot have conflicting
information or assumptions.
c) Cities and counties' major land use
decisions-subdivisions, zoning, public works projects, use
permits-to be consistent with their general plans.
d) The housing element to be updated no less than every
eight years, pursuant to a statutory schedule.
1)Allows cities and counties to adopt optional elements that
address issues of their choosing.
2)Specifies that optional elements have the same legal force as
the mandatory elements.
3)Requires the Governor's Office of Planning and Research (OPR)
to publish and periodically revise General Plan Guidelines
that:
a) Recommend the information that local planners should
collect;
b) Suggest goals, policies, and objectives that local
general plans could adopt; and
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c) List a wide range of feasible implementation measures to
carry out those local goals.
4)Designates OPR as the lead state agency on environmental
justice matters (SB 115, Solis, Chapter 690, Statutes of
1999).
5)Requires OPR to adopt recommendations in its General Plan
Guidelines that local governments may use to address
environmental justice issues (AB 1553, Keeley, 2001).
6)Requires consideration of specific water, wastewater, and fire
protection needs for disadvantaged communities in general
plans as well as in some proceedings that determine local
government boundaries (SB 244, Wolk, 2011).
7)Provides that 25% of the revenue from the state's
"cap-and-trade" program for greenhouse gas emissions must
benefit disadvantaged communities, as identified by the
California Environmental Protection Agency (CALEPA), based on
geographic, socioeconomic, public health, and environmental
hazard criteria (SB 535, De Leon, Chapter 830, Statutes of
2012).
This bill:
1)Requires every city and county to adopt or review an
environmental justice element upon the adoption or next
revision of the housing element on or after January 1, 2018.
The environmental justice element must identify:
a) Disadvantaged communities within the jurisdiction of the
agency, including both those communities identified by
CALEPA for the purpose of allocating cap-and-trade funding
and communities with median household incomes below 80
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percent of the statewide median.
b) Objectives and policies to reduce the health risks in
disadvantaged communities through means that include
reducing pollution exposure, improving air quality, and
promoting food access, healthier homes, physical activity,
and public amenities, as defined.
c) Objectives and policies to promote civil engagement in
the public decision-making process.
2)Defines public amenities to include facilities such as
community centers or water and transportation infrastructure,
as well as other public services such as fire protection,
public lighting, signage, and sidewalks.
Background
The California Supreme Court has called the general plan "the
constitution for all future development" because it presents a
vision and a set of principles for future growth in the
community. Development decisions must carry out and not
obstruct a general plan's policies. Major updates to a general
plan often trigger review under the California Environmental
Quality Act (CEQA), which requires studies of the impacts of
government decisions on people and the environment.
Since 1999, the Legislature has enacted several laws to advance
consideration of environmental justice; as defined in state law,
environmental justice means the fair treatment of people of all
races, cultures, and incomes with respect to the development,
adoption, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws,
regulations, and policies.
Local governments have also begun to consider environmental
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justice issues. According to the most recent Annual Planning
Survey conducted by OPR (in 2014), 101 cities and counties
reported that they considered equity issues in their general
plans. Two cities-Jurupa Valley and National City-have adopted
optional elements in their general plans specifically addressing
environmental justice.
Nonetheless, disadvantaged communities continue to suffer from
environmental harms. Some advocates want local governments to
take additional steps to address environmental justice issues.
Comments
1)Purpose of the bill. Throughout California, disadvantaged
communities bear a disproportionate burden from pollution and
other environmental hazards. Communities that lack political
power often find polluting facilities sited near them, while
lacking basic infrastructure such as water services, public
transportation, outdoor recreation spaces, and even grocery
stores. This disparate treatment results in poor health
outcomes, such as high rates of cancer, asthma, and birth
defects. Cities and counties have control over many decisions
that affect the exposure of disadvantaged communities, and
burdens that they face can be alleviated by proper planning
that takes their needs into account. By requiring cities and
counties to adopt an environmental justice element in their
general plans, SB 1000 encourages local governments to
consider how these communities are affected by planning
decisions in a comprehensive and cohesive manner. SB 1000 is
an important step toward ensuring that all Californians live
in a healthy environment.
2)Who pays? The Legislature first required cities and counties
to adopt general plans in 1937. Over the last 80 years,
legislators have insisted on increasingly detailed local
plans. But California doesn't invest state General Fund money
in long-range, comprehensive, local planning. The burden of
funding these new state mandated local programs falls on local
general funds and on the property owners who apply for
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development permits. SB 1000 ups the ante by requiring an
entirely new element, which could spark expensive wholesale
makeovers of general plans and the associated costly CEQA
analyses. SB 1000 is another well-intentioned, but unfunded,
state mandated local program.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
1)One-time costs of up to $60,000 to OPR to produce written
guidance related to the mandatory environmental justice
element to supplement the adopted General Plan Guidelines.
(General Fund)
2)Unknown, significant local costs to develop and adopt a new
environmental justice general plan element and revise other
elements to ensure consistency.
SUPPORT: (Verified5/27/16)
California Environmental Justice Alliance (co-source)
Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice
(co-source)
Advancement Project
American Lung Association - California
Asian Pacific Environmental Network
Breast Cancer Fund
California Alliance for Retired Americans
California Bicycle Coalition
California Coastal Protection Network
California League of Conservation Voters
California Pan-Ethnic Health Network
CCoMpress
Center on Race, Poverty, and the Environment
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Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy
Chino Valley Democratic Club
Coalition For A Safe Environment
Coalition for Clean Air
Comité Civico Del Valle
Communities for a Better Environment
Communities for a New California
Community Action to Fight Asthma
Councilmember David Alvarez, City of San Diego
Environmental Health Coalition
Environmental Working Group
Fresno Barrios Unidos
Friends Committee on Legislation of California
Inland Congregations United for Change
Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability
Pacoima Beautiful
Physicians for Social Responsibility - Los Angeles
PODER!
Regional Asthma Management & Prevention
Safe Routes to School National Partnership
Sierra Club California
SoCal CAN
Strategic Concepts in Organizing and Policy Education
The Greenlining Institute
The Women's Foundation of California
Trust for Public Land
OPPOSITION: (Verified5/27/16)
American Planning Association, California Chapter
California Apartment Association
California Building Industry Association
California Business Properties Association
California Chamber of Commerce
California State Association of Counties
City of Camarillo
City of Roseville
City of San Jacinto
City of Thousand Oaks
League of Cities
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Rural County Representatives of California
Prepared by:Anton Favorini-Csorba / GOV. & F. / (916) 651-4119
5/28/16 16:50:09
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