SB 1217, as amended, Leno. Climate change: preparedness.
Existing law establishes the Natural Resources Agency and requires the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency to develop a strategic vision for the Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Fish and Game Commission that includes reforms necessary to take on the challenges of the 21st century, including, among other things, climate change and adaptation. Existing law establishes the Strategic Growth Council and requires the council to, among other things, identify and review activities and funding programs of its member state agencies that may be coordinated to, among other things, meet the goals of the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006.
This bill would require the agency,begin insert in consultation with other appropriate state agencies and departments,end insert
on or before January 1,begin delete 2016end deletebegin insert 2017end insert, and everybegin delete 2end deletebegin insert 5end insert years thereafter, to prepare a climate risk assessment and strategy evaluation of the state’s vulnerability and risk for climate change impacts. The bill would require the councilbegin insert, on or before January 1, 2018end insert, begin insertand every 5 years thereafter, end insertin consultation withbegin insert the end insertbegin insertagency,
the California Environmental Protection Agency, and otherend insert appropriate state agenciesbegin insert and departmentsend insert, tobegin delete considerend deletebegin insert take specified actions with regard to reviewingend insert the impacts of climate changebegin delete on state projects and to identify projects that would provide climate adaptation or resiliency to the stateend deletebegin insert and identifying capital outlay and public infrastructure projectsend insert.begin insert The bill would require the council to report its
findings and provide a description of major projects relating to climate change to the appropriate state agencies, departments, commissions, and boards that make decisions related to capital funding. The bill would also require the council to report to the Legislature on those findings so that the Legislature may consider further action that may be necessary to address climate change in the state.end insert
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
The Legislature finds and declares all of the
2following:
3(a) California’s climate is changing, posing an escalated threat
4to public health, the environment, and public and private property
5in the state. The increasing frequency of extreme weather events,
6rising sea levels, and changes in hydrology, including diminishing
7snowpack, among other climate change impacts, will touch every
8part of Californians’ lives in the next century, and planning
9appropriately for these impacts will help us be better prepared for
10the future.
11(b) The impacts of climate change, including longer droughts,
12extended floods, prolonged fire seasons with larger and more
13intense fires, heat waves, and sea level rise are already creating
14challenges for public health and causing destructive property
15damage.
16(c) Climate changes pose a threat not just to the lives and health
17of the state’s residents, but to the financial health of our state and
18local governments.
19(d) According to the Natural Resources Agency’s draft report,
20entitled “Safeguarding California: Reducing Climate Risk,”
21state-of-the-art modeling shows that a single extreme weather
22event in California could cost approximately $725 billion dollars,
23with total direct property losses of nearly $400 billion dollars, the
24effects of which could cause devastating impacts on the state’s
25residents, economy, and
natural resources.
P3 1(e) Reducing the impacts of climate change on California’s
2natural and agricultural resources is essential to building the
3state’s resiliency and ensuring its capacity to support its economy
4over time.
5(f) Given the potential impacts and long-term nature of effective
6planning, California needs to consider and prepare for these
7climate change impacts now.
8(g) Without appropriate planning to make the state more
9resilient to the identified impacts of climate change, in addition
10to addressing the human and social costs of the effects of climate
11change, California could face billions of dollars per year in direct
12 costs, and expose trillions of dollars of assets in the state to
13collateral risk.
Section 12805.4 is added to the Government Code, to
16read:
(a) On or before January 1,begin delete 2016end deletebegin insert 2017end insert, and every
18begin delete twoend deletebegin insert fiveend insert years thereafter, the Natural Resources Agencybegin insert, in
19consultation with other appropriate state agencies and
20departments,end insert shall prepare a climate risk assessment and strategy
21evaluating California’s vulnerability and risk for climate change
22impacts, begin deletesuch as end deletebegin insertincluding,
but not limited to, end insertsea level risebegin insert, drought
23and flooding, impacts on wildlife habitats, increasing temperatures,
24increased occurrence of extreme weather events, and increased
25wildland fire riskend insert.
26(b) begin deleteThe Strategic Growth Council shall, in consultation with begin insert(1)end insertbegin insert end insertbegin insertOn or before January 1,
27appropriate state agencies, do both end delete
282018, and every five years thereafter, the Strategic Growth Council
29shall, in consultation with the Natural Resources Agency, the
30California Environmental Protection Agency, and other
31appropriate state agencies and departments, do all end insertof the
32following:
33(1) Consider the impacts of climate change on capital outlay
34and other state projects.
35(2) Identify projects that would provide climate adaptation and
36resiliency to the state.
37begin insert(A)end insertbegin insert end insertbegin insertReview the impacts of climate change in the state with
38regard to capital outlay and public infrastructure projects,
39including, but not limited to, the impacts described in subdivision
40(a).end insert
P4 1(B) Identify and prioritize climate resiliency projects of major
2significance that would benefit essential public infrastructure and
3that would provide near-term and longer-term climate change
4resiliency to the state.
5(C) Identify possible funding sources for the projects described
6in subparagraph (B).
7(2) (A) The Strategic Growth Council shall report its findings
8and provide a description of major projects identified in paragraph
9(1) to the appropriate state agencies, departments, commissions,
10and boards that make decisions related to capital funding.
11(B) (i) The Strategic Growth Council shall also report to the
12Legislature on its findings regarding climate change under
13paragraph (1) so that the Legislature may consider further action
14that may be necessary to address climate change in the state.
15(ii) A report submitted to the Legislature pursuant to this
16subparagraph shall comply with Section 9795 of the Government
17Code.
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