BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    




          Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
                                SB 89 (Escutia)
Hearing Date: 5/10/99           Amended: 4/14/99       
Consultant:  Bob Franzoia           Policy Vote: E Q  7-2
____________________________________________________________ 

BILL SUMMARY: SB 89 would require the Office of Planning  
and Research (OPR) to convene a Working Group on  
Environmental Justice, comprised of the secretaries of each  
state agency and the Attorney General for the purpose of  
assisting OPR in developing an agencywide strategy.  This  
strategy, set forth in the California Environmental Justice  
Act of 1999 contained in SB 115 (Solis), would address any  
disproportionately high and adverse human health or  
environmental effects of programs and policies on minority  
populations and low-income populations.  The working group  
would only become effective if SB 115 is enacted.
                         Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
  Major Provisions             1999-2000       2000-01       2001-02    Fund  
Working Group on                  unknown, probably $225 to $300,General/
Environmental          potentially more, one time, to developVarious
Justice                strategy              Special

STAFF COMMENTS: This bill meets the criteria to be placed  
on the Suspense file.

The bill requires that by June 1, 2000, the working group  
will do the following:
 Recommend criteria for identifying disproportionately  
  high and adverse human health or environmental effects on  
  minority and low-income populations.
 Recommend procedures for coordinating and providing  
  guidance to each state agency in implementing an  
  agencywide environmental justice strategy.
 Recommend procedures for collecting, maintaining,  
  analyzing, and coordinating information relating to an  
  environmental justice strategy.
 Recommend procedures to ensure that public documents,  
  notices, and public hearings relating to human health or  
  the environment are concise and readily accessible to the  
  public.
 Hold public hearings to receive public comments regarding  
  the above recommendations.

The extent to which the working group will develop new  
information or use existing information is unknown.  Based  










on the workload involved in other similar studies, it is  
estimated that three to four staff, at a minimum will be  
needed to compile the recommendations and ensure that the  
strategy has the utility to guide state agencies in  
addressing environmental justice issues.  Each state agency  
will incur some unknown costs depending on their  
jurisdiction.

STAFF RECOMMENDS the bill be amended to extend the date by  
which the working group shall set forth the agencywide  
strategy to at least one year.  In general, extending the  
deadline will reduce costs.