BILL NUMBER: SB 1408 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 2, 2000
INTRODUCED BY Senator Alarcon
(Coauthors: Senators Murray and Ortiz)
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Alquist, Bock, and Longville)
FEBRUARY 1, 2000
An act to add and repeal Article 7 (commencing with Section 65055)
to Chapter 1.5 of Division 1 of Title 7 of the Government Code,
relating to the environment.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1408, as amended, Alarcon. Environmental Justice Technical
Assistance Grant Demonstration Project.
Under existing law, the Office of Planning and Research is the
coordinating agency in state government for environmental justice
programs.
This bill would enact the Environmental Justice Technical
Assistance Grant Demonstration Program. The bill would require the
office, from funds appropriated to it for that purpose, to allocate
grants in amounts up to $25,000 to community-based
nonprofit organizations in communities with low-income populations
or minority populations to obtain technical assistance in connection
with the organization's participation in a decision to issue
involving a permit , remediation order, or
corrective action by any board, department, or office within
the California Environmental Protection Agency, a decision
involving a permit by the Department of Transportation, or in a
decision to issue a permit involving a
certification by the State Energy Resources Conservation and
Development Commission. The office would be required to give
priority to grant proposals that would include specified activities.
The bill would limit the amount of the grant to $25,000 for
participating in a project.
This bill would require the office to submit an evaluation of the
program to the Legislature no later than June 30, 2004. The
provisions enacted by the bill would become inoperative on June 30,
2004, and would be repealed on January 1, 2005.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. (a) The Legislature finds and
declares as follows:
(a) Many communities with low-income and minority populations are
subject to disproportionately high and adverse human health or
environmental effects.
(b) One of the causes of this historical inequality of
environmental burdens is the lack of financial and other resources in
communities with low-income and minority populations to obtain
technical assistance with complicated state permitting ,
remediation order, and corrective action processes.
(c) Without that technical assistance, communities with low-income
and minority populations are at a disadvantage in terms of
effectively voicing their concerns about a project.
(d) The provision of technical assistance grants to
community-based organizations in communities with low-income and
minority populations will facilitate greater participation by those
communities in permitting , remediation order, and corrective
action decisions and reduce the risk that already overburdened
communities will be subject to additional environmental degradations.
SEC. 2. Article 7 (commencing with Section 65055) is added to
Chapter 1.5 of Division 1 of Title 7 of the Government Code, to read:
Article 7. Environmental Justice Technical Assistance Grant
Demonstration Program
65055. From funds appropriated to it for that purpose, the office
shall allocate grants in amounts up to twenty-five thousand
dollars ($25,000) to community-based nonprofit
organizations in communities with low-income populations or minority
populations , as determined by the office, to obtain
technical assistance in connection with the organization's
participation in a decision to issue
involving a permit , remediation order, or corrective
action by any board, department, or office within the
California Environmental Protection Agency, in a decision
involving a permit by the Department of Transportation, or in a
decision to issue a permit involving a
certification by the State Energy Resources Conservation and
Development Commission. A grant to any community-based
nonprofit organization pursuant to this article shall not exceed
twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) for participation in a project
involving one or more permits, certifications, remediation orders,
or corrective actions.
65056. In allocating grants pursuant to this article, the
office shall give priority to proposals that would increase an
organization's ability to engage in one or more of the following
activities:
(a) Identify environmental justice issues.
(b) Improve communication and coordination between community
members, community organizations, agencies, and stakeholders.
(c) Strengthen the capacity of community members to identify and
respond to issues.
(d) Collect and interpret health and environmental data.
(e) Train residents in their rights and responsibilities.
(f) Identify pollution sources.
(g) Resolve environmental problems.
(h) Monitor projects and implementation of mitigation measures.
65057. The office shall submit an evaluation of the program
authorized by this article to the Legislature no later than June 30,
2004.
65057.
65058. This article shall become inoperative on June 30,
2004, and as of January 1, 2005, is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that becomes effective on or before January 1, 2005, deletes
or extends the dates on which it becomes inoperative and is
repealed.