BILL ANALYSIS �
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| SENATE COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES AND WATER |
| Senator Fran Pavley, Chair |
| 2013-2014 Regular Session |
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BILL NO: AB 2516 HEARING DATE: June 24, 2014
AUTHOR: Gordon URGENCY: No
VERSION: May 7, 2014 CONSULTANT: Bill Craven
DUAL REFERRAL: No FISCAL: Yes
SUBJECT: Sea level rise planning: database.
BACKGROUND AND EXISTING LAW
Few laws or other actions direct activities of or within the
California Natural Resources Agency on climate change. Although
some other measures are pending in this session (such as SB 1217
Leno), among the few currently in effect are:
1. Executive Order S-13-08 (Schwarzenegger), which ordered the
California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) through the Climate
Action Team, to coordinate with local, regional, state and
federal public and private entities to develop, by 2009, a state
"Climate Adaptation Strategy," which has subsequently been
updated.
2. There is also statutory direction to the California Coastal
Conservancy (Conservancy) to address the impacts and potential
impacts of climate change on coastal resources and to award
grants to public agencies and nonprofit organizations for this
purpose.
3. At the State Lands Commission, there is statutory direction
that requires a local trustee of granted public trust lands
whose annual gross public trust revenues exceed $250,000 to
prepare and submit to the State Lands Commission (Commission) an
assessment of how it proposes to address sea level rise.
PROPOSED LAW
This bill would create the "Planning for Sea Level Rise
Database" (PSLRD) to be managed by the California Natural
Resources Agency (CNRA). The bill would also require various
public and private entities to provide CNRA with existing sea
level rise planning information that is to be displayed, and
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updated monthly, on the PSLRD.
This bill specifically does the following:
1) Requires, on or before January 1, 2016, CNRA, in
collaboration with the Ocean Protection Council, to create and
post on its Internet Web site the PSLRD that would describe
steps being taken throughout the state to prepare for, and adapt
to, sea level rise. To be an effective inventory of sea level
rise planning in the state, CNRA would update the PSLRD on a
monthly basis with information provided by the described public
and private entities.
2) Defines "projects" as sea level rise planning information,
which includes studies, programs, modeling, mapping,
cost-benefit analyses, vulnerability assessments, or adaptation
assessments.
3) Requires the PSLRD to include existing projects and local
coastal program information, as specified.
4) Requires the following public and private entities to provide
information in existing projects and local coastal programs, as
applicable, to CNRA on a monthly basis:
a) Airports within the California coastal zone or San Francisco
Bay area;
b) California Coastal Commission;
c) State Energy Resources Conservation and Development
Commission;
d) Ports located in the California coastal zone or San Francisco
Bay area;
e) Department of Transportation;
f) Investor-owned utilities located in the California coastal
zone or the San Francisco Bay area;
g) Publicly owned electric and natural gas utilities located in
the California coastal zone or San Francisco Bay area;
h) Regional water quality control boards;
i) San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission;
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j) Coastal Conservancy and
k) State Water Resources Control Board.
5) Specifies that the bill does not require any of the listed
public or private entities to develop, adopt, or update a
project.
6) Requires CNRA, in developing the PSLRD, to organize the
database by geographic regions, provide an entry for each city,
county, and city and county within the coastal zone and San
Francisco Bay area, and include project information under each
entry. Requires CNRA to organize the database in a manner it
determines best to provide the public with clear, useful, and
readily accessible information.
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT
According to information provided by the author, climate change
during the next century is projected to accelerate sea level
rise. A 2012 report from the National Research Council found
that the average sea level rise projections for California are
an additional 6 inches by 2030, 12 inches by 2050, and 36 inches
by 2100. The country's longest continuously operating gauge of
sea level, in San Francisco Bay, recorded a seven-inch rise in
sea level over the 20th century. As has been seen throughout the
country with longer and more sustained hurricanes and other
storms and recent king tides, California's coast is vulnerable
to the impacts of sea level rise.
The author also chairs the Assembly Select Committee on Sea
Level Rise and the California Economy (Select Committee) which
was established last year to thoroughly review the challenges
ahead in addressing the expected impacts of sea level rise on
California and its economy. Over the
course of a year, the Select Committee held four hearings
throughout the state to examine sea level rise's effect on
various sectors and industries. Topics at the four hearings
included projected impacts on coastal agriculture, fishing and
aquaculture, tourism, ports, airports, roads and bridges, and
water and power infrastructure. It also examined existing
authority granted to state agencies to prepare and respond to
anticipated sea level rise.
The Select Committee found that many cities, counties, and
regions have already begun to address the challenge of sea level
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rise. Numerous activities have been completed or are underway,
including studies, modeling, mapping, cost-benefit analyses, and
vulnerability assessments throughout the state to help
understand and plan for sea level rise.
The Select Committee also found that California is a leader in
addressing sea level rise. State agencies have developed sea
level rise planning guidance documents as well as supported
planning and adaptation projects through grant funding and
working with local governments.
Importantly for the purposes of this bill, the Select Committee
found that the information that exists is not centrally located,
but found piecemeal among many agencies and entities. According
to the author, it would be beneficial for a variety of reasons
to create a database and obtain an inventory of the work being
done to address this critical issue.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION
None received.
COMMENTS
1. One page 2, line 28 and on page 5, line 12, the bill requires
quarterly updates to the database. As a practical matter,
updates on that schedule may not happen, there may not be
anything new to report, and affected agencies will complain
about the costs.
Staff suggests bi-annual updates are probably adequate. See
Amendments 1 and 2.
2. On page 2, line 23, the bill requires that the database be
established by CNRA in collaboration with the Ocean Protection
Council and that the database be created on the CNRA website. It
may be that the existing database of the Ocean Protection
Council, which is probably the most extensive of its sort in the
nation, would be a more useful location than a stand-alone data
base at CNRA. That is probably a conversation best resolved
within the administration. However, staff suggests that adding
some flexibility about where the database is located may be
useful. Staff suggests that instead of requiring that CNRA host
the database, that the database be hosted on "an" internet
website, which could be CNRA, OPC, or some other agency's. As
stated, the OPC website already has extensive information about
sea level rise.
http://portal.gis.ca.gov/geoportal/catalog/main/home.page
See Amendment 3.
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3. Private entities are required to cooperate with posting sea
level rise information on the database. These include utilities,
among others. The OPC should be directed to request this
information. The private utilities and maybe even some of the
other public entities may not be aware of what is expected by
Section 30965(a) of the Public Resources Code without such a
communication. See Amendment 4.
SUGGESTED AMENDMENTS
AMENDMENT 1
Page 2, line 28. Change "quarterly" to "bi-annual."
AMENDMENT 2
Page 5, line 12. Change "quarterly" to "bi-annual."
AMENDMENT 3
Page 2, line 23. Change ""its" to "an"
AMENDMENT 4
Page 5, line 33. Add at end: "The Ocean Protection Council
shall request, when necessary, the information required by
this section."
SUPPORT
Bay Conservation and Development Commission
California Association of Professional Scientists
California Coastal Commission
California State Lands Commission
Cities Association of Santa Clara County
City and County of San Francisco.
City of Goleta
City of Mountain View
County of San Mateo
County of Santa Clara
Santa Clara Valley Water District
Sierra Club California
The Nature Conservancy
OPPOSITION
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None Received
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