BILL NUMBER: AB 2329 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 21, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 26, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 8, 2010
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Members Ruskin and Chesbro
FEBRUARY 19, 2010
An act to amend Section 12891 of the Government Code, to add
Division 25.7 (commencing with Section 38600) to the Health and
Safety Code, and to add Part 5 (commencing with Section 71400)
to Division 34 of the Public Resources Code, relating to
environmental protection.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2329, as amended, Ruskin. Environmental protection: greenhouse
gas emissions: Climate Action Team.
The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 requires the
State Air Resources Board (state board) to adopt regulations to
require the reporting and verification of emissions of greenhouse
gases and to monitor and enforce compliance with the reporting and
verification program, and requires the state board to adopt a
statewide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions limit equivalent to the
statewide GHG emissions levels in 1990, to be achieved by 2020. The
act requires the state board to adopt rules and regulations in an
open public process to achieve the maximum technologically feasible
and cost-effective GHG emission reductions. The act requires all
state agencies to consider and implement strategies to reduce their
GHG emissions.
This bill would create the Climate Action Team (CAT), under the
direction of the Secretary for Environmental Protection and
consisting of representatives from specified state agencies, that
would be responsible for coordinating the state's overall climate
policy, identifying and reviewing activities and funding programs,
recommending policies, investment strategies, and priorities, and
providing information to local governments and regional agencies.
The bill would require the Natural Resources Age ncy,
by June 1, 2012, in coordination with other state agencies, to
prepare and submit to the Governor the California Climate
Vulnerability and Adaptation Plan that would provide for the
protection of California's natural resources, public health,
infrastructure, and economic vitality from the ongoing and expected
impacts of climate change. The bill would require the Natural
Resources Agency, in coordination with state agencies and
departments, to review and revise the California Climate
Vulnerability and Adaptation Plan on a triennial basis to incorporate
new information regarding impacts of climate change.
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. Section 12891 of the Government Code is amended to
read:
12891. For purposes of this chapter, the following terms have the
following meanings:
(a) "Agency" means the California Environmental Protection Agency.
(b) "Climate Action Team" means the Climate Action Team
established pursuant to Section 71402 of the Public Resources Code.
(c) "GHG" means greenhouse gas as defined in subdivision (g) of
Section 38505 of the Health and Safety Code.
(d) "GHG emission reduction target" means a requirement made
applicable to a state agency by an action taken by the State Air
Resources Board pursuant to Division 25.5 (commencing with Section
38500) of the Health and Safety Code.
(e) "Secretary" means the Secretary for Environmental Protection.
(f) "Sector" means an industrial, resources, or administrative
domain that should be addressed as an integrated whole for the
purposes of climate change planning.
(g) "State agency" means a member of the Climate Action Team, a
state office, department, division, bureau, board, or commission
whose operations or programs result in greenhouse gas emissions that
are subject to Division 25.5 (commencing with Section 38500) of the
Health and Safety Code, and any other state agency, as determined by
the secretary.
SEC. 2. Division 25.7 (commencing with Section
38600) is added to the Health and Safety Code ,
to read:
DIVISION 25.7. CALIFORNIA CLIMATE VULNERABILITY AND ADAPTATION
PLAN OF 2010
38600. This division shall be known, and may be cited, as the
California Climate Vulnerability and Adaptation Plan of 2010.
38601. (a) On or before June 1, 2012, the Natural Resources
Agency shall, in coordination with other state agencies, prepare and
submit to the Governor, a statewide California Climate Vulnerability
and Adaptation Plan that provides for the protection of California's
natural resources, public health, infrastructure, and economic
vitality from the ongoing and expected impacts of climate change.
(b) The plan shall be developed to include the scope, elements,
and policy recommendations from the 2009 California Climate
Adaptation Strategy developed and adopted by the Natural Resources
Agency as directed by Executive Order No. S-13-08, including other
refinements to those recommendations.
(c) The plan shall assess progress on strategies identified in the
2009 California Climate Adaptation Strategy, and identify and
prioritize existing and future needed research, policies, planning,
best management practices, and other actions required for the state
to continue to adapt to the ongoing and expected impacts associated
with climate change, including both of the following elements:
(1) Guidelines for integrating and updating existing and new state
adaptation policies that could also be utilized by local, regional,
and federal adaptation policies, plans, programs, and projects,
including the California State Wildlife Action Plan and California
Landscape Conservation Cooperatives.
(2) Guidelines for effective coordination among state agencies to
develop and implement effective cross-sector strategies and actions.
(d) The plan shall be based on the best available science.
(e) The plan shall identify strategies that protect, conserve,
restore, utilize, enhance, or mimic natural processes and functions.
(f) The plan will utilize and update the CalAdapt Internet Web
site to show climate change impacts to California and provide all
California residents with an opportunity to visualize how specific
climate impacts can impact their community, assess which research was
utilized to show those impacts, and make determinations of
appropriate actions to reduce identified climate impacts.
(g) The Natural Resources Agency, in coordination with other
partner state agencies and departments, shall review and revise the
plan every three years to incorporate new information regarding the
impacts of climate change on natural resources, public health,
infrastructure, and economic vitality, as well as to incorporate new
strategies to address adaptation, including strategies that increase
resiliency, to those impacts.
(h) The plan shall also serve as the state's climate change
adaptation planning document required by any federal law that makes
federal funding contingent upon a statewide adaptation plan.
(i) The Natural Resources Agency, consistent with the provision of
this division and the plan, shall do both of the following:
(1) Receive federal and state funds for statewide planning and
implementation of the statewide plan including any federal funds made
available to the state from a federal climate change policy.
(2) Conduct research related to the state's need to understand and
address the ongoing and expected impacts of climate change on our
natural resources.
SEC. 2. SEC. 3. Part 5 (commencing
with Section 71400) is added to Division 34 of the Public Resources
Code, to read:
PART 5. State Climate Change Action Team Act of 2010
71400. This part shall be known as the State Climate Change
Action Team Act of 2010.
71401. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) California is a world leader in efforts to reduce greenhouse
gases, to assess, adapt to, and mitigate the effects of climate
change, and to promote clean alternative technologies to improve the
state's economy and to protect public health and the environment.
(b) The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (Division
25.5 (commencing with Section 38500) of the Health and Safety Code)
provides a process for the establishment of a statewide greenhouse
gas emission limit and a process for the adoption of regulations to
achieve the maximum technologically feasible and cost-effective
greenhouse gas emission reductions. That act also directs the Climate
Action Team to coordinate the overall climate policy as provided in
Executive Order No. S-3-05 and for all state agencies to consider and
implement strategies to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.
(c) California currently invests hundreds of millions of dollars
in research funds for air quality, transportation, electricity,
natural gas, water, and other types of research, development,
demonstration, and deployment projects that could contribute to the
achievement of statewide greenhouse gas emission reductions, or to
the effective adaptation to unavoidable climate change.
(d) More effective coordination of existing programs and funding
by the state can improve the achievement of statewide greenhouse gas
emission reductions, protect the state's infrastructure, communities,
and natural resources from the impacts of climate change, and
provide economic and job growth through the development and support
of a strong clean technology industry.
(e) Due to the global nature of the causes and impacts of climate
change, it is imperative for California to consult with other states,
the federal government, and other nations to identify the most
effective strategies and methods to reduce greenhouse gases, adapt to
ongoing and future climate change, coordinate climate change
research efforts, and facilitate the development of integrated and
cost-effective regional, national, and international climate change
programs.
(f) Climate change in California during this century is expected
to shift precipitation patterns, accelerate sea level rise, and
increase temperatures, thereby posing a serious threat to California'
s economy, to the health and welfare of its population, and to its
natural resources.
(g) California needs to continue to adapt and build our resiliency
to climate changes through a thoughtful and sensible approach with
local, regional, state, and federal government using the best
available science, as was developed by the Natural Resources Agency,
the state's lead agency in climate adaptation.
(h) California's water supply and coastal resources, including
valuable natural habitat areas, are particularly vulnerable to sea
level rise over the next century and could suffer devastating
consequences if adaptive measures are not taken. The country's
longest continuously operating gauge of sea level at Fort Point in
San Francisco Bay, recorded a seven-inch rise in sea level during the
20th century, demonstrating the vulnerability of infrastructure and
resources within that bay. Global sea level rise for the 21st century
is projected to rise faster than historical levels with the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicting that global sea
levels will rise between seven to 23 inches this century and some
experts predicting even higher rises.
(i) The State Energy Resources Conservation and Development
Commission's Public Interest Energy Research Program has funded
research on climate change since 2001 that has provided the
foundation for California's climate change impact and adaptation
research.
71402. (a) The Climate Action Team is hereby established in state
government and shall consist of the following members:
(1) The Secretary for Environmental Protection, who shall serve as
the chairperson of the Climate Action Team, and who shall coordinate
oversight of state agencies' efforts made to meet the greenhouse gas
emission reduction targets established pursuant to the Global
Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (Division 25.5 (commencing with Section
38500) of the Health and Safety Code).
(2) The Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency.
(3) The Chairperson of the State Air Resources Board.
(4) The Chairperson of the State Energy Resources Conservation and
Development Commission.
(5) The President of the Public Utilities Commission.
(6) The Secretary of Business, Transportation and Housing.
(7) The Secretary of Food and Agriculture.
(8) The Secretary of State and Consumer Services.
(9) The Secretary of California Health and Human Services.
(10) The Director of the Office of Planning and Research.
(11) The Secretary for Labor and Workforce Development.
(b) Upon the determination of the Secretary for Environmental
Protection, ex officio representatives from other state departments
may be added to the Climate Action Team as necessary to provide
assistance and expertise in particular subject areas.
(c) Multiagency staff working groups may be formed by the Climate
Action Team to provide technical support for the work of the team in
individual sectors. Sectors may include, but are not limited to,
agriculture, biodiversity and habitat, forestry, energy, land use,
coastal and delta resources, regional and international policy
development, state operations, water, and climate change research.
71403. Consistent with the California Global Warming Solutions
Act of 2006 (Division 25.5 (commencing with Section 38500) of the
Health and Safety Code) and Executive Order No. S-3-05, the Climate
Action Team, under the direction of the Secretary for Environmental
Protection, shall coordinate climate policy of the state to achieve
all of the following goals:
(a) The maximum feasible and cost-effective reduction of
greenhouse gas emissions through the implementation by the State Air
Resources Board of the California Global Warming Solutions Act of
2006 (Division 25.5 (commencing with Section 38500) of the Health and
Safety Code).
(b) The promotion of economic and job growth in California through
workforce development and the encouragement and support of clean
technology development and deployment to meet the state's climate
change goals and greenhouse gas emission reduction targets and
limits.
(c) The identification of unavoidable climate change impacts to
California's natural resources and infrastructure.
(d) The development and implementation of mitigation and
adaptation plans to protect the natural resources, public health and
welfare, and economy of California.
(e) The coordination of climate change policies with other states,
the federal government, and other nations to identify the most
effective strategies and methods to reduce greenhouse gases, adapt to
ongoing and future climate change, coordinate climate change
research efforts, and facilitate the development of integrated and
cost-effective regional, national, and international climate change
programs.
(f) The coordination and efficient use of existing state
resources, programs, and funds to achieve the goals identified in
this section.
71404. The Climate Action Team, under the direction of the
Secretary for Environmental Protection, shall do all of the
following:
(a) Identify and review activities, funding programs, and other
revenue of state agencies that may be coordinated to meet the goals
of Section 71403.
(b) Recommend policies, investment strategies, and priorities to
meet the goals of Section 71403.
(c) Provide information to local governments and regional
activities that will assist in addressing the goals of Section 71403.
71405. (a) Each member of the Climate Action Team may appoint an
alternate or designee to attend meetings or hearings of the Climate
Action Team in that member's place.
(b) Notwithstanding Section 7.5 of the Government Code, each
designee shall act as the member in his or her place and stead to all
intents and purposes as though the member were personally present,
including the right of the designee to be counted in constituting a
quorum to participate in any proceeding of the Climate Action Team
and to vote upon any and all matters.
(c) Each designee shall have the right to represent the member who
appointed him or her regardless of the number of other designees
representing the chair, director, president, or secretaries, at a
particular meeting or session of the Climate Action Team. Each
designee shall represent only one member at any meeting or session of
the Climate Action Team.
(d) The Climate Action Team shall hold duly noticed public
meetings and workshops to solicit comments from the public prior to
recommending policies, investment strategies, and priorities in
accordance with subdivision (b) of Section 71404. A meeting of the
Climate Action Team, including a meeting related to the coordination
of the multiagency efforts to meet the greenhouse gas emission
reduction targets and activities related to the California Global
Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (Division 25.5 (commencing with Section
38500) of the Health and Safety Code), shall be subject to the
Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act (Article 9 (commencing with Section
11120) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the
Government Code). For the purposes of this subdivision, "meeting"
does not include a meeting at which the secretaries serving as
members of the Climate Action Team are meeting as members of the
Governor's cabinet.