BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 1217
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 23, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
Wesley Chesbro, Chair
SB 1217 (Leno) - As Amended: May 27, 2014
SENATE VOTE : 25-11
SUBJECT : Climate change: preparedness
SUMMARY : Requires the Natural Resources Agency (NRA), every
five years, to prepare a climate change strategy (Strategy) that
evaluates climate change risks to the state. Requires the
Strategic Growth Council (SGC), every five years, to identify
and prioritize climate resiliency projects of major significance
that would benefit essential public infrastructure and that
would provide near-term and longer-term climate change
resiliency to the state.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Authorizes the State Coastal 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.
2)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 an assessment of how
it proposes to address sea level rise.
3)Pursuant to Executive Order S-13-08 (Schwarzenegger), ordered
NRA, 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.
Ordered the strategy to summarize the best known science on
climate change impacts to California, assess California's
vulnerability to the identified impacts, and outline solutions
that can be implemented within and across state agencies to
promote resiliency.
4)Creates the Office of Planning and Research (OPR) to serve the
Governor and his or her Cabinet as staff for long-range
planning and research, and to constitute the comprehensive
state planning agency.
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5)Creates SGC, which consists of the Director of OPR, the
Secretary of NRA, the Secretary for Environmental Protection
(EPA), 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 to be
appointed by the Governor.
6)To support the planning and development of sustainable
communities, requires SGC to manage and award financial
assistance to a city or county for preparing, adopting, and
implementing a general plan or general plan element that is
designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, 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.
THIS BILL :
1)Makes findings and declarations regarding sea level rise,
including the following:
a) According to the Natural Resources Agency's draft
report, entitled "Safeguarding California: Reducing Climate
Risk," state-of-the-art modeling shows that a single
extreme weather event in California could cost
approximately $725 billion dollars, with total direct
property losses of nearly $400 billion dollars, the effects
of which could cause devastating impacts on the state's
residents, economy, and natural resources.
b) Given the potential impacts and long-term nature of
effective planning, California needs to consider and
prepare for these climate change impacts now.
c) Without appropriate planning to make the state more
resilient to the identified impacts of climate change, in
addition to addressing the human and social costs of the
effects of climate change, California could face billions
of dollars per year in direct costs, and expose trillions
of dollars of assets in the state to collateral risk.
2)Requires, on or before January 1, 2019, and every five years
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thereafter, NRA, in consultation with other appropriate state
agencies and departments, to prepare the Strategy that
evaluates climate change risks to the state, including sea
level rise, drought and flooding, impacts on wildlife
habitats, increasing temperatures, increased occurrence of
extreme weather events, and increased wildland fire risk.
Requires the Strategy to also identify mitigation measures
that increase climate resiliency. Requires NRA to identify
possible funding for mitigation measures identified in the
Strategy.
3)Requires, on or before January 1, 2020, and every five years
thereafter, SGC, in consultation with NRA, EPA, and other
appropriate state agencies and departments, to do all of the
following:
a) Review the impacts of climate change in the state with
regard to capital outlay and public infrastructure
projects.
b) Identify and prioritize climate resiliency projects of
major significance that would benefit essential public
infrastructure and that would provide near-term and
longer-term climate change resiliency to the state.
c) Identify possible funding sources for the climate
resiliency projects.
4)Requires SGC to submit reports on its findings and a
description of climate resiliency projects to various state
agencies and the Legislature.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee:
1)Cost pressures between $900,000 and $5 million from the
General Fund (GF) every five years to prepare a climate risk
assessment.
2)Ongoing annual costs of $150,000 from the GF for the
development of a climate strategy.
3)Ongoing costs of approximately $100,000 from the GF to the SGC
to identify and prioritize resiliency projects.
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COMMENTS :
1)California's Adaptation Strategy. California and the world's
climate are changing, posing an escalated threat to health,
well-being, nature, and property. Extreme weather, rising sea
levels, shifting snowpack, among other impacts will touch
every part of peoples' lives in the next century.
In 2008, the Governor ordered NRA, 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. The Governor's executive order
required the strategy to summarize the best known science on
climate change impacts to California, assess California's
vulnerability to the identified impacts, and outline solutions
that can be implemented within and across state agencies to
promote resiliency. As a result, NRA drafted the 2009
California Climate Adaptation Strategy. The strategy
represents the work of seven sector-specific working groups
led by 12 state agencies, boards, and commissions, and
numerous stakeholders. The strategy proposes a comprehensive
set of recommendations designed to inform and guide California
decision makers as they begin to develop policies that will
protect the state, its residents and its resources from a
range of climate change impacts.
The strategy was updated in 2013 through the report entitled
Safeguarding California: Reducing Climate Risk. According to
this report:
This plan provides a multi-sectoral framework for
state efforts to reduce climate risk and is designed
to work in conjunction with more in-depth,
sector-specific climate planning and risk reduction
activities, such as the 2013 State of California
Sea-Level Rise Guidance Document and the 2013
Preparing California for Extreme Heat Guidance and
Recommendations. The Safeguarding California Plan
also fits into a broader suite of coordinated state
actions on climate change. For instance, the state is
leading the nation in its effort to reduce emissions
that cause climate change, and is also supporting
local and regional government actions to address
climate change.
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This bill essentially codifies the 2008 executive order and
requires it to be updated every five years.
2)The State's Capital Outlay and Public Infrastructure Projects .
This bill will require SGC, every five years, to review the
impacts of climate change in the state with regard to capital
outlay and public infrastructure projects. This bill also
requires SGC to identify and prioritize climate resiliency
projects of major significance that would benefit essential
public infrastructure and that would provide near-term and
longer-term climate change resiliency to the state.
Committee staff has had discussion with the author's office
and received technical advice from the administration to
determine the most effective and efficient way to review the
impacts of climate change in the state with regard to the
state's capital outlay and public infrastructure projects.
Given staffing constraints at SGC and the expertise at OPR, it
seems appropriate to have OPR develop guidelines that identify
conditions necessary for state action to be resilient to
climate change. In addition to this process, the guidelines
could be used by state agencies when developing capital outlay
budgets. The committee and the author may wish to consider
amendments that incorporate these concepts into the bill.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Public Health Institute
The Nature Conservancy
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Mario DeBernardo / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092