BILL ANALYSIS
SB 1006
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Senator S. Joseph Simitian, Chairman
2009-2010 Regular Session
BILL NO: SB 1006
AUTHOR: Pavley
AMENDED: April 5, 2010
FISCAL: Yes HEARING DATE: April 19, 2010
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT: Amber Hartman
SUBJECT : CLIMATE CHANGE: STRATEGIC GROWTH COUNCIL
SUMMARY :
Existing law :
1) Under the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006
(CGWSA):
a) Requires the California Air Resources Board (ARB) to
determine the 1990 statewide greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions level and approve a statewide GHG emissions
limit that is equivalent to that level, to be achieved
by 2020, and sets various requirements to meet this
requirement. (Health and Safety Code 38500 et seq.).
b) Requires ARB to ensure that GHG emission reduction
requirements and programs, to the extent feasible,
direct public and private investment toward the most
disadvantaged communities in the state and provide an
opportunity for certain entities to participate in and
benefit from statewide efforts to reduce GHG emissions.
(38565).
c) Requires ARB to adopt GHG emission limits and
reduction measures by regulation on or before January 1,
2011, to become operative January 1, 2012. ARB must
meet certain requirements in adopting the regulations
(e.g., minimize costs; not disproportionately impact
low-income communities; ensure reductions are real,
permanent, quantifiable, verifiable, and enforceable).
(38562).
2) Under the Safe Drinking Water, Water Quality and Supply,
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Flood Control, River and Coastal Protection Bond Act of
2006 (Proposition 84):
a) Authorizes approximately $5.4 billion in general
obligation bonds for safe drinking water, water quality
and water supply, flood control, natural resource
protection, and park improvements, of which $90 million
is specified for planning grants and incentives and $90
million for urban greening programs.
b) Specifies that the planning grants and incentives
include revolving loan programs and other methods to
encourage the development of regional and local land use
plans that are designed to promote water conservation,
reduce automobile use and fuel consumption, encourage
greater infill and compact development, protect natural
resources and agricultural lands, and revitalize urban
and community centers.
3) Under the Sustainable Communities and Climate Protection
Act (SCCPA) of 2008 (SB 373 (Steinberg) Chapter 728,
Statutes of 2008):
a) Requires metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs)
to include sustainable communities strategies in their
regional transportation plans for the purpose of
reducing greenhouse gas emissions and complying with
CGWSA.
b) Establishes a process for aligning planning for
housing, land use, transportation and greenhouse gas
emissions for the 17 MPOs in the state.
4) Under the Strategic Growth Council and Climate change
Reduction Law (Public Resources Code 75120 et seq.):
a) Establishes the Strategic Growth Council (SGC)
comprised of the Director of the Office of Planning and
Research; the Secretary of the Resources Agency; the
Secretary for Environmental Protection; the Secretary of
Business, Transportation and Housing; the Secretary of
California Health and Human Services; and one member of
the public to be appointed by the Governor. (75121).
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b) Requires the SGC to identify and review activities
and funding of programs of member state agencies
including improving air and water quality, meeting the
CGWSA requirements and encouraging sustainable land use.
(75125). The SGC must also review and comment on the
state's five-year infrastructure plan (Government Code
13100 et seq.) and the State Environmental Goals and
Policy Report. (65041).
c) Authorizes the SGC to manage and award grants and
loans for three programs, including an urban greening
program (75129), from funds established by the Safe
Drinking Water, Water Quality and Supply, Flood Control,
River and Coastal Protection Bond Act of 2006. (Public
Resources Code 75125(d)(7)). Financial assistance may
be awarded to a city, county, or nonprofit organization
for implementing an urban greening project with a
certain percentage for revolving loans or grants.
(75129).
This bill , under the Strategic Growth Council and Climate
Change Reduction Law, requires the SGC to:
1) Identify and review activities of member state agencies
that will address climate change impacts.
2) Provide guidelines and information to local and regional
agencies that will enable climate change adaptation
strategies to protect ecosystem functions, use
nonstructural approaches for community protection, and
avoid emission of greenhouse gases and environmental
degradation.
3) Expand the list of agencies under the urban greening
program that can receive financial assistance to include
council of governments, countywide authority, metropolitan
planning organization, local government, special district,
or joint powers authority if at least one of the parties to
the joint powers authority qualifies as an eligible
applicant.
COMMENTS :
1) Purpose of Bill . According to the author, "Under this
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bill, the SGC would create and distribute adaptation
information to local governments and regional agencies.
These entities can incorporate this information into their
planning and project plans."
2) Addressing climate change . Climate change refers to
long-term changes in temperature, precipitation, wind
patterns and other parts of earth's climate system. The
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) defines
climate change as "any change in climate over time, whether
due to natural variability or as a result of human
activity." For some time, scientific research increasingly
attributes these climate changes to GHGs, especially those
generated from use of fossil fuels. Scientists indicate
that the earth is warming faster than any time in the
previous 1,000 years, and the 10 warmest years of the last
century occurred in the last 15 years. A rise in
temperature accompanied by climate change affects how
organisms live, adapt, and survive.
Climate change adaptation strategies refer to human
attempts to adapt to and ameliorate physical changes in our
environment that result from climate changes such as rising
sea levels.
3) MPOs as funding recipients . Expanding the list of
available recipients of funding to include metropolitan
planning organizations (MPOs) indirectly expands the
ability of the Council to affect the SCCPA. Given that
there are 17 MPOs, this amended list authorizes funding to
an organization with jurisdiction that covers a larger land
area than those under current law.
4) Outstanding issues .
a) Technical amendments are needed to achieve internal
consistency between the words "financial assistance"
(page 4, line 31), "grants" (page 4, line 37), "loans or
grants" (page 6, line 3), and "grants" (page 6, line
10). The last three instances should all be replaced
with the term "financial assistance" and the term should
be defined in 75120 in a manner that is consistent with
Proposition 84.
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b) Technical amendments are needed on page 4, line 33
and page 6, line 7 "joint powers authority" should be
stricken in both places because it is redundant with the
phrase that follows it.
c) Technical amendments are needed on page 4, line 31
after "a", insert "city, county, special district" and
on page 4, line 33 strike "local government, special
district", with similar changes included on page 6,
lines 3 to 10. References to "countywide authority"
also need to be stricken (page 4, line 32 and page 6,
line 5).
d) For clarification, on page 2, line 17 the words
"conserve, protect, restore" should be inserted before
the word "enhance" to conform with U.S. Natural
Resources Conservation Service guidelines.
e) For clarification, the term "nonstructural" (page 2,
line 18) should be either defined or stricken. While it
is likely the author's intent is to discourage sea wall
construction and reinforcement, it is conceivable the
undefined word "nonstructural" might prevent the
creation of an artificial wetland or park as an
appropriate climate change adaptation strategy because
it could be considered a "structural" effort.
5) Related legislation . Governor Schwarzenegger issued
Executive Order S-3-05 June 1, 2005, to establish emission
reduction targets for the state, require the Secretary for
Environmental Protection to coordinate oversight efforts
with certain other entities to meet the targets, and set
various reporting requirements.
AB 32 (Nunez/Pavley) Chapter 488, Statutes of 2006, requires
the ARB to determine the 1990 statewide greenhouse gas
(GHG) emissions level and approve a statewide GHG emissions
limit that is equivalent to that level, to be achieved by
2020 - and sets related requirements (see Summary above).
AB 596 (Evans) of 2009 would have established the Community
Planning Grant and Loan Fund and authorized the SGC to
expend the revenues in the fund, upon appropriation by the
Legislature, for certain purposes. (Died Assembly
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Appropriations suspense file).
SB 406 (DeSaulnier) of 2009 would have levied vehicle
registration fees to pay for SCCPA. It also would have
increased the communication between the Planning Advisory
and Assistance Council (PAAC) and the SGC and added a new
duty for SGC to consult with and coordinate its
recommendations with PAAC. (Vetoed by the Governor).
SB 1445 (DeSaulnier) requires the SGC to consult with and
coordinate its recommendations with the PAAC within the
Governor's Office of Planning and Research. (Approved by
the Senate Local Government Committee April 7, 2010 (3-2);
to be heard by the Senate Transportation and Housing
Committee April 20, 2010).
SOURCE : Audubon California, Defenders of Wildlife, The
Nature Conservancy
SUPPORT : Tree People, Watershed Conservation Authority
OPPOSITION : None on file