BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1408|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 1408
Author: Alarcon (D), et al
Amended: 5/2/00
Vote: 21
SENATE ENV. QUALITY COMMITTEE : 7-2, 4/24/00
AYES: Sher, Alarcon, Alpert, Chesbro, McPherson,
O'Connell, Solis
NOES: Rainey, Wright
NOT VOTING: Hayden
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 8-4, 5/25/00
AYES: Johnston, Alpert, Bowen, Burton, Escutia, Karnette,
Perata, Vasconcellos
NOES: Johnson, Kelley, Leslie, Mountjoy
NOT VOTING: McPherson
SUBJECT : Environmental justice
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill enacts the Environmental Justice
Technical Assistance Grant Demonstration Program for
allocation of grants 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 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 State Department of
CONTINUED
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Transportation, or in a decision involving a certification
by the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development
Commission. This bill limits the amount of the grant to
$25,000 for participating in a project.
ANALYSIS : Existing law:
1.Requires the Governor's Office of Planning and Research
(OPR) to be the coordinating agency in state government
for environmental justice programs and requires the OPR
director to carry out certain related responsibilities.
2.Under Environmental Justice Law, requires the California
Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) to meet certain
requirements relating to environmental justice, and to
develop a model environmental justice mission statement
for boards, departments, and offices within the agency.
3.Under the Warren-Alquist State Energy Resources
Conservation and Development Act, establishes the State
Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission
(CEC) with various energy responsibilities, including
planning and forecasting, assistance, research and
development, and power facility and site certification.
This bill creates the Environmental Justice Technical
Assistance Grant Demonstration Program that:
1.Requires OPR to allocate grants from funds appropriated
for that purpose for community-based nonprofit
organizations in communities with low-income or minority
populations to obtain technical assistance in connection
with the organization's participation in a decision
involving a permit remediation order, or corrective
action by any board, department, or office within CalEPA,
in a decision involving a permit of the State Department
of Transportation, or in a decision involving a
certification by the State Energy Resources Conservation
and Development Commission.
2.Requires OPR to submit an evaluation of the grant
demonstration program to the Legislature no later than
June 30, 2004.
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3.Prohibits a grant from exceeding $25,000.
4.Requires OPR to 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.
5.Includes related legislative findings and declarations.
6.Is inoperative on June 30, 2004, and sunsets January 1,
2005.
Comments
1. Purpose of Bill . SB 115 (Solis), Chapter 690, Statutes
of 1999, requires OPR to be the coordinating agency in
state government for environmental justice programs and
enacted the Environmental Justice Law.
According to the author, many "low-income and minority
communities are subject to disproportionately high and
adverse human health or environmental effects. One of
the causes of this historical inequality of environmental
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burdens is the lack of financial and other resources
low-income and minority communities have to obtain
technical assistance with complicated state permitting
processes. Without such technical assistance, low-income
and minority communities are at a disadvantage in terms
of effectively voicing their concerns about a project."
The author notes that providing technical assistance grants
to these community-based organizations in these
communities "will facilitate greater participation by
such communities in permitting decisions and reduce the
risk that already overburdened communities will be
subject to additional environmental degradations."
The author has also requested a budget augmentation of
$300,000 for OPR to fund ten grants and administrative
costs.
2. Background. Environmental justice refers to the fair
treatment of people of all races, cultures, and income
with respect to the development, adoption,
implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws,
regulations, and policies. On February 11, 1994,
President Clinton signed Executive Order 12898 regarding
"federal actions to address environmental justice in
minority populations and low-income populations." The
executive order directs federal agencies to address human
health and environmental issues in low-income communities
and minority communities, and followed a 1992
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) report indicating
that "communities of color and low-income populations
experience higher than average exposures to selected air
pollutants, hazardous waste facilities, and other forms
of environmental pollution."
The President also directed each federal agency to address
effects of actions on these communities when analysis is
required under the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA). The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) has
oversight of federal government compliance with the
executive order and NEPA, and the CEQ has developed
guidance to assist federal agencies with their NEPA
procedures. ( NOTE : Enacted in 1970, CEQA was modeled
after NEPA which was enacted by Congress in 1969.)
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The EPA has the following three environmental justice grant
programs:
1) Environmental Justice, to provide financial assistance
to eligible community groups and tribal governments for
projects to address environmental justice issues; 2)
Environmental Justice Community/University Partnership,
to help community groups address local environmental
justice issues through partnerships with higher education
institutions; and 3) Environmental Justice through
Pollution Prevention, to empower low-income, minority
communities through education on environmental issues and
to provide pollution prevention resources for addressing
these issues.
EPA's Office of Civil Rights also processes complaints
filed under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
"alleging discriminatory intent or effect based on race,
color, or national origin resulting from the issuance of
pollution control permits by state or local governmental
agencies that receive EPA funding."
SB 115 (Solis), Chapter 690, Statutes of 1999, tracked
requirements of federal environmental justice provisions
by requiring each state agency to make environmental
justice part of its mission, requiring OPR to develop an
agency-wide environmental justice strategy, and requiring
changes to the CEQA guidelines so that environmental
justice matters are considered in the CEQA process. SB
115 required OPR to identify communities and populations
disproportionately affected by high and adverse
environmental effects and to identify communities and
populations where existing data or information is
insufficient or incomplete and propose strategies for
correcting those deficiencies. SB 115 also required OPR
and the secretary to coordinate their efforts with the
CEQ and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Because of
concerns by the Governor and certain interest groups, SB
115 was subsequently amended to strike these provisions
and add certain OPR and CalEPA requirements.
3. Examples of environmental justice matters. There are a
number of factors to be considered in identifying an
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environmental justice issue. Factors that could be
considered include, for example, a concentration of
environmental hazards in an affected area because of the
lack of public participation, a lack of adequate
protection under health and environmental laws, or
unusual vulnerability of a community to hazards.
Examples of environmental justice problems could include
inadequate stormwater protection in a predominately
minority-populated section of a city compared to systems
in other parts of the city, siting a landfill in a
community with an over-concentration of other hazards
such as Superfund sites, placement of a highway through a
low-income and minority community, and unsafe stormwater
discharges harming fish that are part of the subsistence
diet of Native Americans. Environmental justice
concerns, therefore, are not limited to the
responsibilities of entities under CalEPA.
Related legislation
SB 89 (Escutia), in Assembly, revises the environmental
justice law to require the CalEPA secretary to convene a
working group with certain responsibilities, to convene a
technical advisory group to assist the working group, and
to prepare and submit a report to the Governor and the
Legislature every three years regarding implementation of
the law.
SB 1622 (Alarcon), on Senate Third Reading File, requires
the CalEPA, on or before July 1, 2001, in consultation with
the Office of Planning and Research, to develop and adopt
an environmental justice mission statement for the State
Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission.
Also requires CEC, on or before January 1, 2002, to adopt
regulations that will ensure the commission is in
conformance with the environmental justice mission
statement and applicable federal guidance relating to
environmental justice when certifying sites and related
facilities.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 Fund
Grants program Unknown amount available
forGeneral
grants at up to $25 per grant
Administration Unknown General
Staff Comments
Staff was unable to locate information indicating the
number of permits, remediation orders, or corrective
actions by any board, department or office within CalEPA,
decisions involving a certification by the CEC, or
decisions involving a permit by Caltrans issued or taken
annually.
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/26/00)
American Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees (AFSCME)
American Lung Association
California League of Conservation Voters
Communities for a Better Environment (CBE)
Environmental Health Coalition
Greenlining Institute
Planning and Conservation League
Sierra Club California
OPPOSITION : (Verified 5/26/00)
California Chamber of Commerce
California Council for Environmental and Economic Balance
Printing Industries of California
Western States Petroleum Association
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : Supporters of SB 1408 generally
note that the lack of resources to low-income and minority
communities "is one of the reasons for the heavy human
health burdens borne by many [of these communities]" and
that the bill would "facilitate informed and effective
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participation . . . " and "resolve conflicts early . . ."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : Opponents generally note that
state agencies responsible for permitting projects have
staff who can properly evaluate projects and make
decisions, and that the bill is premature because
"legislation enacted last year regarding environmental
justice has not been fully implemented."
CP:kb 5/26/00 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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