BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 1217
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Senator Jerry Hill, Chair
2013-2014 Regular Session
BILL NO: SB 1217
AUTHOR: Leno
AMENDED: April 21, 2014
FISCAL: Yes HEARING DATE: April 30, 2014
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT: Rebecca
Newhouse
SUBJECT : CLIMATE CHANGE: STRATEGIC GROWTH COUNCIL
SUMMARY :
Existing law :
1) Establishes the Strategic Growth Council (SGC), consisting
of the Director of State Planning and Research, the
Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency, the Secretary
for Environmental Protection, the Secretary of
Transportation, the Secretary of California Health and
Human Services, the Secretary of Business, Consumer
Services, and Housing, the Secretary of Food and
Agriculture, and one member of the public appointed by the
Governor (Public Resources Code �75121).
2) Requires the SGC to identify and review activities and
funding programs of member state agencies that may be
coordinated to improve air and water quality, improve
natural resource protection, increase the availability of
affordable housing, improve transportation, meet the
state's climate change mitigation goals, and encourage
sustainable land use planning (Public Resources Code
�75125).
3) Requires the state to establish and annually update a
five-year plan for funding infrastructure that identifies
state infrastructure needs and sets out priorities for
funding (Government Code �13100).
4) Requires the Governor to prepare and maintain a
comprehensive state Environmental Goals and Policy Report,
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with priority given to the development of statewide land
use policy, including a mid-term forecast of state growth
and development and a description of new and revised state
policies, programs, and other actions of the executive and
legislative branches required to implement statewide
environmental goals (Government Code �65041).
5) Requires the SGC to review and comment on the
infrastructure plan and State Environmental Goals and
Policy Report (Public Resources Code �75120).
This bill :
1) Requires the Natural Resources Agency, in consultation with
other appropriate state agencies and departments, to
prepare a climate risk assessment and strategy evaluating
California's vulnerability and risk for climate change
impacts by January 1, 2017.
2) Requires the SGC, in consultation with the Natural
Resources Agency, California Environmental Protection
Agency, and other appropriate state agencies and
departments to, before January 1, 2018, do the following:
a) Review the impacts of climate change in the state to
capital outlay and public infrastructure projects,
including the impacts identified by the Natural
Resources Agency report.
b) Identify and prioritize significant climate
resiliency projects benefiting essential public
infrastructure and would provide near-term and
longer-term climate change resiliency to the state.
c) Identify possible funding sources for the above
projects.
3) Requires the SGC to report their findings and provide a
description of major projects identified to appropriate
state agencies, commissions, departments, boards, and the
Legislature.
COMMENTS :
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1) Purpose of Bill . According to the author, "California and
worlds' climate are changing posing an escalated threat to
health, well-being, natural resources, and property. While
California is a leader in reducing greenhouse gas
emissions, the state must also prepare for the inevitable
impacts of climate change, including increasing
temperatures, sea level rise, and extreme weather events
like droughts. Climate risk assessment and planning is
critical to anticipating and preparing for the impacts on
our ecosystems, society and economy."
"This bill would require the Natural Resources Agency to
develop and regularly update a statewide climate resiliency
assessment, similar to the agency's safeguard California
draft. Additionally, the Strategic Growth Council, in
coordination with other state entities, will identify state
projects at risk for climate change impacts. Furthermore,
the bill will ensure coordination of climate change risk
assessments and projects between our state agencies and
local, regional and federal entities."
2) Background . Executive Order S-13-08 directed The
California Resources Agency, in cooperation with the
Department of Water Resources, Energy Resources
Conservation and Development Commission (CEC), California's
coastal management agencies, and the California Ocean
Protection Council, to request that the National Academy of
Sciences complete a California Sea Level Rise Assessment
Report by December 2010 to advise state planning for future
sea level rise.
The Executive Order also directed the California Resources
Agency, through the Climate Action Team, to coordinate with
local, regional, state and federal public and private
entities to develop a state Climate Adaptation Strategy by
June 30, 2009, and directed that the strategy assess
California's vulnerability to the identified impacts and
then outline solutions that can be implemented within and
across state agencies to promote resiliency.
Safeguarding California Draft . Pursuant to the Executive
Order S-13-08, the California Natural Resources Agency
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developed a 2009 California Climate Adaptation Strategy
and, in coordination with other state agencies, is
currently updating the report. The draft update of the
report, Safeguarding California: Reducing Climate Risk,
augments previously identified strategies in light of
advances in climate science and risk management options.
The draft Plan highlights climate risks in nine sectors
including, agriculture, biodiversity and habitat, emergency
management, energy, forestry, ocean and coastal ecosystems
and resources, public health, transportation, and water,
discusses progress to date, and makes sector specific
recommendations.
Strategic Growth Council . The Strategic Growth Council was
established in 2008 by SB 732 (Steinberg) Chapter 729,
Statutes of 2008. The SGC is comprised of eight members
representing six state agencies, the Office of Planning and
Research, and a public member appointed by the Governor.
The Strategic Growth Council was created to focus attention
across its member agencies on climate change and the
sustainable growth of California in a coordinated fashion
to achieve the state's goals in innovative and
cross-cutting ways. It had responsibility for awarding
sustainable community grants authorized by Prop 84 and it
specifically acknowledges responses to climate change as an
important part of its statutory mandate.
The SGC is also tasked with reviewing the five-year
infrastructure funding plan developed by the Department of
Finance, as well as an Environmental Goals and Policy
Report prepared by the Governor.
As an extension of the SGC's duties of coordinating to
achieve the state's climate change and environmental
sustainability goals as well as review of state
infrastructure planning, SB 1217 requires the SGC to review
the impacts of climate change in the state to capital
outlay and public infrastructure projects, and identify
significant projects to benefit public infrastructure and
improve resiliency, as well as identifying potential
funding sources.
3) Climate Change Mitigation and Resiliency . The state has
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implemented a broad climate portfolio to mitigate global
warming impacts by pursuing policies that reduce greenhouse
gases (GHGs) including creating GHG performance standards
for new long-term financial investments in base-load
electricity generation serving California, the Renewables
Portfolio Standard that requires all retail sellers of
electricity serve 33% of their load with renewable energy
by 2020, and, the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006,
(better known as AB 32) that established a statewide GHG
emissions limit by 2020.
Science is clear that aggressive measures to reduce GHGs
are necessary to avert the worst impacts of climate
change. However, even if all GHG emissions ceased today,
some impacts from climate change, including higher
temperatures and diminishing snowpack, would be
unavoidable because the climate system changes slowly.
Although Executive Order S-13-08 directs various agencies
to engage in climate resiliency measures, there is
currently no overarching statutory guidance for the state
in matters concerning climate adaptation and resiliency
preparedness.
4) Natural Resources Agency Report . The bill directs the
report from the Natural Resources Agency to assess
vulnerabilities and risks from climate change to the state.
An amendment should be taken to direct the Agency, in
their report, to also outline mitigation or resiliency
methods, as appropriate, to address those vulnerabilities
and risks.
SOURCE : Author
SUPPORT : None on file
OPPOSITION : None on file
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