BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                    SB 1386


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          SENATE THIRD READING


          SB  
          1386 (Wolk)


          As Amended  August 1, 2016


          Majority vote


          SENATE VOTE:  26-7


           ------------------------------------------------------------------ 
          |Committee       |Votes|Ayes                  |Noes                |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
          |Natural         |7-1  |Williams, Cristina    |Harper              |
          |Resources       |     |Garcia, Gomez,        |                    |
          |                |     |Hadley, McCarty, Mark |                    |
          |                |     |Stone, Wood           |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
          |Appropriations  |14-5 |Gonzalez, Bloom,      |Bigelow, Chang,     |
          |                |     |Bonilla, Bonta,       |Jones, Obernolte,   |
          |                |     |Calderon, Daly,       |Wagner              |
          |                |     |Eggman, Eduardo       |                    |
          |                |     |Garcia, Holden,       |                    |
          |                |     |Quirk, Santiago,      |                    |
          |                |     |Weber, Wood, Chau     |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
           ------------------------------------------------------------------ 









                                                                    SB 1386


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          SUMMARY:  Declares it to be the policy of the state that the  
          protection and management of natural and working lands is an  
          important strategy in meeting the state's greenhouse gas (GHG)  
          reduction goals.  Requires all 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.


          EXISTING LAW:   


          1)Requires, pursuant to the California Global Warming Solutions  
            Act [AB 32 (Núñez), Chapter 488, Statutes of 2006], the Air  
            Resources Board (ARB) to adopt a statewide GHG emissions limit  
            equivalent to 1990 levels by 2020 and to adopt rules and  
            regulations to achieve maximum technologically feasible and  
            cost-effective GHG emission reductions.


          2)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 Natural Resources Agency (NRA) to update the  
               state's climate adaptation strategy every three years 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  








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                 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 Office of Planning and Research 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.








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          3)Requires the NRA to update its climate adaptation strategy,  
            the Safeguarding California Plan (Plan), by July 1, 2017, and  
            every three years thereafter, by coordinating adaption  
            activities among lead state agencies in each sector.  


          FISCAL EFFECT:  According to the Assembly Appropriations  
          Committee the bill has minor, absorbable costs.


          COMMENTS:  Three-quarters of California's landmass is comprised  
          of biologically diverse landscapes such as forests, woodlands,  
          shrublands, grasslands and wetlands.  These lands can be a major  
          source of sequestration through capturing carbon in soils,  
          plants, and trees.  They can also be a source of GHG emissions  
          when drought, disease, wildfires, soil disturbances, conversion,  
          and harvests occur.  Through preservation and management,  
          natural and working lands can provide significant GHG  
          reductions.  Natural and working lands are also susceptible to  
          climate change impacts of sea level rise, drought, and increased  
          temperatures.    


          ARB has recognized the importance of natural and working lands  
          in meeting the state's GHG reduction targets.  In the 2013  
          Scoping Plan update, ARB included a sector on natural and  
          working lands and a sector on agriculture.  These sectors lay  
          out opportunities and challenges for reducing GHG emissions in  
          those sectors.  The Scoping Plan also put forth recommended  
          actions including the development of the Forest Climate Plan.   
          The Scoping Plan update identifies funding as critical to  
          address the needs in the natural and working lands sector. 


          AB 1482 (Gordon), Chapter 603, Statutes of 2015, requires state  
          agencies to maximize, where applicable and feasible, objectives  
          that included promoting the use of natural systems, natural  








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          infrastructure, flood plain and wetlands restoration or  
          preservation, urban greening, wildlife corridors, and healthy  
          soils and sustainable agriculture to deal with climate change  
          impacts and adaptation.  However, much needs to be done to  
          properly manage our natural and working lands to meet our GHG  
          goals and adapt to climate impacts. 


          In Governor Brown's 2015 inaugural address, he noted that the  
          management of natural and working land was one of his key  
          strategies to reduce GHG emissions to meet the state's GHG  
          reduction goals.  




          Analysis Prepared by:                                             
          Michael Jarred / NAT. RES. / (916) 319-2092  FN: 0003795