Amended in Senate March 28, 2016

Senate Bill No. 1294

Introduced by Senator Pavley

February 19, 2016

An act to add begin delete Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 42200) to Part 3 of Division 30 of end delete begin insert Division 45 (commencing with Section 75300) to end insert the Public Resources Code, relating to the environment.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 1294, as amended, Pavley. The begin delete California end delete Community begin delete Climate, Drought, and Jobs Resiliency Act. end delete begin insert Climate and Drought Resilience Program of 2016. end insert

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Existing law authorizes the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CalFire) to implement a program in urban forestry to encourage better tree management and planting in urban areas to increase integrated, multibenefit projects by assisting urban areas with innovative solutions to problems, including greenhouse gas emissions, public health impacts of poor air and water quality, urban heat island effect, stormwater management, water shortages, lack of green space, lack of urban parks that are accessible to pedestrians, vandalism, and insufficient tree maintenance. Existing law authorizes the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) to develop a program to increase the use of compost products in agricultural applications.

end insert begin insert

This bill would enact the Community Climate and Drought Resilience Program of 2016 and would require CalFire to review the urban forestry program and, if necessary, revise the program to provide funding priority to multibenefit carbon sequestration projects and to establish local or regional targets for urban tree canopy. The bill would require CalRecycle, by July 1, 2017, to develop and implement a program that provides incentives for certain projects that increase drought resilience and result in quantifiable reductions in the emissions of greenhouse gases through increased carbon sequestration in urban and rural areas.

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Existing law establishes the California Conservation Corps in the Natural Resources Agency as a service organization providing employment and training for young men and women. Existing law authorizes the Director of the California Conservation Corps, implementing the corps program, to recruit and employ corpsmembers and to adopt criteria for employment in the program.

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This bill would require the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery to award grants to local conservation corps certified by the California Conservation Corps for projects that improve the climate and drought resiliency of urban canopies, community landscaping, and urban greening efforts through the use of various water conservation methods, including the application of compost and mulch. The project would require the department to consider certain factors in selecting a project for a grant, and would require the department to give priority to projects that would aid urban canopies at the greatest risk from drought. The bill would require a project that receives a grant to leverage state and local funds. The bill would authorize the department, in coordination with local water agencies, to develop a pilot program to study the use of compost in landscaping to assist local water agencies in increasing groundwater supply and reducing evaporation.

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Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

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begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Division 45 (commencing with Section 75300) is
added to the end insert begin insert Public Resources Code end insert begin insert , to read: end insert

begin insert

 

Division  begin insert 45. end insert   Community Climate and Drought
Resilience Program of 2016

 

Chapter   begin insert 1. end insert General Provisions and Definitions

 

begin insert 75300. end insert   

(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:

(1) California has been a global leader in reducing the emissions
of greenhouse gases through the California Global Warming
Solutions Act of 2006 (Division 25.5 (commencing with Section
38500) of Health and Safety Code) and the Governor’s Executive
Orders S-03-05 and B-30-15.

(2) The state has developed a comprehensive climate adaptation
strategy document titled “Safeguarding California” and has
established the integrated Climate Adaptation and Resiliency
Program to further coordinate local and regional efforts with the
state climate adaptation strategies.

(3) The state’s existing investment in natural infrastructure,
including urban forest canopy, which helps accomplish both carbon
sequestration and climate resilience, is at risk due to existing
drought conditions.

(4) The drought has heightened awareness and underscored
the importance of sustainable water management.

(5) Improved water retention and infiltration can greatly reduce
reliance on potentially energy-intensive long-distance water
imports, and thereby reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.

(6) Through carbon sequestration, the protection and
management of natural and working lands and organic waste
diversion are both integral to accomplishing the state’s policy to
reduce greenhouse gas levels.

(7) The state has recently developed a strategy to dramatically
increase the diversion of organic waste from landfills, with the
organic waste being used to create compost and mulch.

(8) Composting and use of organic waste in improved landscape
and healthy soil management has great potential to be cost effective
at reducing greenhouse gas levels through improved carbon soil
sequestration, and may also greatly improve water retention and
infiltration of stormwater flows.

(9) Composting may also provide important environmental and
agricultural cobenefits, such as reduction of naturally occurring
volatile organic compounds and ammonia, and may help the state
address agriculture, dairy, and forestry waste in a proper and
environmentally responsible manner.

(b) In enacting this division, it is the intent of the Legislature
to do both of the following:

(1) Establish an innovative natural resource management
program that improves carbon sequestration, improves drought
preparedness, and helps California communities address the effects
of climate change through increased urban forest canopy, carbon
soil sequestration, multibenefit stormwater management, organic
waste diversion, and community greening.

(2) Enable opportunities for employment of California’s at-risk
youth in climate-friendly landscape management strategies,
especially in disadvantaged communities.

(c) The Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and the
Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, in implementing
this division, shall promote policies and incentives that advance
all of the following:

(1) Help urban and rural communities adapt to the effects of
climate change.

(2) Improve water management and drought preparedness.

(3) Provide workforce training to young men and women in
disadvantaged communities.

(4) Maximize carbon sequestration and ensure the associated
greenhouse gas reduction benefits are maintained through both
of the following:

(A) Improvement and continued management of urban forest
canopy and carbon soil sequestration.

(B) Development and application of compost made from organic
waste that is diverted from landfills.

begin insert 75305. end insert   

For purposes of this division, the following definitions
apply:

(a) “CalFire” means the Department of Forestry and Fire
Protection.

(b) “CalRecycle” means the Department of Resources Recycling
and Recovery.

(c) “Disadvantaged communities” means communities identified
pursuant to Section 39711 of the Health and Safety Code.

 

Chapter   begin insert 2. end insert Urban Forestry

 

begin insert 75310. end insert   

(a) CalFire shall review the urban forestry program
implemented pursuant to the California Urban Forestry Act of
1978 (Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 4799.06) of Part 2.5
of Division 4), and revise the program, if necessary, to do both of
the following:

(1) Provide funding priority to multibenefit carbon sequestration
projects. Eligible project categories shall include, but are not
limited to, all of the following:

(A) Mulching, watering, or pruning.

(B) The use of onsite water capture, recycled water, and other
local water sources.

(C) Emergency drought response measures that reduce tree
mortality, ensure optimal tree health, and preserve the carbon
sequestration and climate resilience benefits of the urban forest.

(2) Establish local or regional targets for urban tree canopy,
especially in disadvantaged communities that tend to be most
vulnerable to urban heat island effect. These targets shall include
urban forest diversity, tree species’ adaptability to anticipated
climate change impacts, and other relevant factors.

(b) CalFire shall develop or update its regulations, as necessary,
to implement the requirements of the chapter and shall provide
both of the following:

(1) Planning and technical assistance for eligible applicants
assisting disadvantaged communities.

(2) Guidance to grantees and local governments regarding best
practices and metrics for maintaining urban forest health.

 

Chapter   begin insert 3. end insert The Use of Compost in Farming and
Landscaping Practices

 

begin insert 75320. end insert   

(a) By July 1, 2017, CalRecycle, in consultation with
relevant state agencies, shall develop and implement a program
that provides incentives for the use of compost from organic waste
in farming and landscaping practices that increase drought
resilience and result in quantifiable reductions in the emissions
of greenhouse gases through increased carbon sequestration in
urban and rural areas.

(b) In implementing this program, CalRecycle shall enter into
an agreement with state-certified conservation corps to assist
community outreach, compost delivery and application, and other
urban greening projects that are eligible under the program.

(c) CalRecycle shall develop and update regulations for the
implementation of this chapter.

end insert

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SECTION 1.  

Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 42200) is
added to Part 3 of Division 30 of the Public Resources Code, to
read:

 

Chapter  4. The California Community Climate,
Drought, and Jobs Resiliency Act

 

42200.  

(a) The department shall award grants to local
conservation corps certified by the California Conservation Corps
for projects that improve the climate and drought resiliency of
urban canopies, community landscaping, and urban greening efforts
through the use of various water conservation methods, including
the application of compost and mulch.

(b) The department, in selecting a project for a grant pursuant
to subdivision (a), shall consider the extent to which the project
would employ at-risk youth, save existing climate-beneficial green
spaces, save water, beautify low-income communities, use compost
and mulch, increase onsite stormwater infiltration and groundwater
recharge, and build healthy, biologically active soil able to
sequester carbon and support healthy plants.

(c) Projects eligible for grants pursuant to subdivision (a)
include, but are not limited to, the following:

(1) Projects that use local water sources as the water supply for
urban canopies.

(2) Landscaping projects that benefit the climate and use water
sustainably.

(3) Projects that develop, transport, and apply compost and
mulch for purposes of improving tree and plant health, increasing
groundwater supply, and reducing evaporation.

(d) A project that receives a grant pursuant to subdivision (a)
shall leverage state and local funds.

(e) In awarding grants pursuant to subdivision (a), the
department shall give priority to projects that would aid urban
canopies at the greatest risk from drought.

42201.  

The department, in coordination with local water
agencies, may develop a pilot program to study the use of compost
in landscaping to assist local water agencies in increasing
groundwater supply and reducing evaporation.

end delete