BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de Le�n, Chair
SB 1184 (Hancock) - San Francisco Bay Conservation and
Development Commission: sea level rise: regional resilience
strategy.
Amended: March 24, 2014 Policy Vote: NR&W 7-2
Urgency: No Mandate: No
Hearing Date: May 5, 2014 Consultant: Marie Liu
This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill Summary: SB 1184 would require the San Francisco Bay
Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) to prepare a
regional resilience strategy for adapting to seal level rise in
the San Francisco Bay.
Fiscal Impact: Annual costs of up to $1 million from the General
Fund to BCDC for three to five years to develop a regional
resilience strategy. Costs to the General Fund are likely to be
partly offset by federal, state, and local grants.
Background: BCDC is comprised of 27 members appointed by various
federal, state, regional, and local authorities. Its
jurisdiction includes the San Francisco Bay and the land within
100 feet of the shoreline. BCDC has the authority to issue or
deny permits for certain proposed projects within its
jurisdiction. Existing law authorizes BCDC to implement
comprehensive plans for the preservation and protection of the
San Francisco Bay and the Suisun Marsh, including the San
Francisco Bay Plan (Bay Plan).
Section 66646.2 of the Government Code authorizes BCDC, in
coordination with local governments, regional councils of
government, other agencies, and interested parties, to develop
regional strategies for addressing the impacts of, and adapting
to, the effects of sea level rise and other impacts of global
climate change on the San Francisco Bay and affected shoreline
areas.
BCDC published a study in 2011 of sea level rise that found
potentially significant impacts on the Bay's waterfront
communities, economic sustainability, and ecology. The study
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found that approximately $62 billion in infrastructure
investments would be needed to replace businesses and
residential structures that are anticipated to be flooded by sea
level rise. In October 2011, BCDC unanimously approved a policy
to formulate a regional sea level rise adaptation strategy for
protecting critical developed shoreline areas and natural
ecosystems, enhancing the resilience of the Bay and shoreline
systems, and increasing their adaptive capacity. The policy aims
to develop the strategy in collaboration with other agencies,
local governments, and the public.
Proposed Law: This bill would require BCDC, in collaboration
with state, regional, and local government agencies to prepare a
regional resilience strategy for rising sea levels by December
31, 2018. The strategy would be required to include: (1)
planning efforts to increase the resilience of specific
shoreline areas and assets, and (2) a regional assessment of
shoreline vulnerabilities and a process to identify and develop
necessary regional adaptation options.
This bill would specify the goals and objectives of the plan,
including the advancement of public safety and economic
prosperity, enhancement of the Bay ecosystem, integration of
adaptation response of multiple government agencies, addressing
environmental justice and social equity issues, and
identification and pursuit of research that supports adaptive
management.
The strategy would be required to be prepared with coordination
with the Bay Area Joint Policy Committee, the State Coastal
Conservancy, the Ocean Protection Council, and the Office of
Planning Research.
BCDC would also be required to assist local governments in
crafting local strategies to address the effects of sea level
rise.
Related Legislation: AB 2094 (DeSaulnier) Chapter 442, Statutes
of 2008 added Government Code �66646.2 that authorized BCDC to
develop regional strategies for addressing impacts of climate
change.
Staff Comments: In developing its policy to formulate a regional
sea level rise adaptation strategy, BCDC has laid the base work
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for establishing a strategy, but a strategy itself has not yet
been developed. This bill would require the strategy to be
developed. BCDC anticipates that it would need up to $1 million
annually to develop the resilience strategy. Most of these costs
would be for increased staff workload, though funds may be
necessary for work that is contracted out. These costs would be
offset, perhaps significantly, by grants received from federal,
state, and regional agencies. BCDC has already received
approximately $1.6 million in grants from the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration, the Federal Highway
Administration, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bay Area
Metropolitan Transportation Commission, and the Strategic Growth
Council. Though grants from other state agencies do not offset
costs, but rather shift costs from the General Fund to a special
fund.
Staff notes that while the bill requires the strategy to be
developed by 2018, it is possible that BCDC would need another
year or two to complete the work required by this bill.
Staff notes that the bill requires BCDC to assist local
governments to craft local strategies to address the effects of
sea level rise. It is unclear whether "assistance" means
providing technical planning and policy assistance, financial
assistance, or both. If the author's intent is to include
financial assistance to locals, the costs pressures of this bill
would be substantially higher. Staff notes that BCDC currently
does not have the capacity or authority to issue grants.