BILL NUMBER: SB 1386	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  MAY 2, 2016
	AMENDED IN SENATE  MARCH 28, 2016

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Wolk

                        FEBRUARY 19, 2016

   An act to add Section 9001.5 to the Public Resources Code,
relating to resource conservation.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 1386, as amended, Wolk. Resource conservation: working and
natural lands.
    The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 designates
the State Air Resources Board as the state agency charged with
monitoring and regulating sources of emissions of greenhouse gases.
The act requires all state agencies to consider and implement
strategies to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.
   This bill would declare it to be the policy of the state that the
protection and management of natural and working lands, as defined,
is a key strategy in meeting the state's greenhouse gas reduction
goals, and would require all relevant state agencies, departments,
boards, and commissions to consider this policy when revising,
adopting, or establishing policies, regulations, expenditures, or
grant criteria relating to the protection and management of natural
and working lands.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   SECTION 1.    The Legislature finds and declares all
of the following:  
   (a) To address the critical issue of global warming, California is
working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The conservation and
management of natural and working lands has been identified as a key
strategy to meet greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals.  

   (b) Natural and working lands store considerable amounts of
carbon. Terrestrial ecosystems store 2,100 gigatons of carbon.
Natural and working lands are unique in that they can actively remove
carbon from the atmosphere and store or sequester that carbon in,
above, and below the ground.  
   (c) Promoting the conservation and management of natural and
working lands will result in a variety of outcomes that contribute to
carbon sequestration, including, but not limited to, conservation
and agricultural easements on natural and working lands, no- or
low-till agriculture, cover cropping on agricultural lands, the
restoration of degraded lands, including the restoration of
vegetation, and agency decisions that avoid the loss of natural and
working lands.  
   (d) The conservation and management of natural and working lands
to promote carbon sequestration will also deliver important
additional public benefits, including, but not limited to, the
protection and enhancement of wildlife habitat, parks and open
spaces, and recreational and economic opportunities, the production
of food and fiber, the improvement of air and water quality, and
flood protection. 
   SECTION 1.   SEC. 2.   Section 9001.5 is
added to the Public Resources Code, to read:
   9001.5.  (a) It is the policy of the state that the protection and
management of natural and working lands is a key strategy in meeting
the state's greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals. The protection
and management of those lands can result in the removal of carbon
from the atmosphere and the sequestration of carbon in, above, and
below the ground.
   (b) The protection and management of natural and working lands
provides multiple public benefits, including, but not limited to,
assisting with adaptation to the impacts of climate change, improving
water quality and quantity, flood protection, ensuring healthy fish
and wildlife populations, and providing recreational and economic
benefits.
   (c) All relevant state agencies, including the Natural Resources
Agency, the Department of Food and Agriculture, and the California
Environmental Protection Agency, and their respective departments,
boards, and commissions, shall consider the policy set forth in
subdivision (a) when revising, adopting, or establishing policies,
regulations, expenditures, or grant criteria relating to the
protection and management of natural and working lands.
   (d) For purposes of this section, the following terms have the
following meanings:
   (1) "Working lands" means lands used for farming, grazing, or
forest production purposes.
   (2) "Natural lands" means lands consisting of wetlands,
watersheds, wildlands, or wildlife habitat, or used for recreational
purposes such as parks, urban and community forests, trails,
greenbelts, and other open-space land. For purposes of this
paragraph, "parks" includes, but is not limited to, areas that
provide public green space.