Bill Text: CA AB1091 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Natural resources: climate change.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-02-02 - From committee: Filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56. [AB1091 Detail]

Download: California-2009-AB1091-Introduced.html

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BILL NUMBER: AB 1091	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Ruskin

                        FEBRUARY 27, 2009

   An act to add Section 9006 to the Public Resources Code, relating
to natural resources.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1091, as introduced, Ruskin. Natural resources: climate change.

   There is in state government the Natural Resources Agency. The
Natural Resources Agency consists of various departments including
the Department of Conservation, the Department of Forestry and Fire
Protection, the Department of Fish and Game, and the Wildlife
Conservation Board.
   This bill would require the Natural Resources Agency to
incorporate climate change predictions into all relevant planning
processes. The bill would specify key tools for addressing climate
change adaptation.
   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.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (a) Climate change is one of the most serious threats to
California's public health, infrastructure, and natural resources.
Despite California's best efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,
some level of human-induced global climate change has already
occurred, and some further changes are inevitable. Thus, it is
imperative that the state take steps necessary to plan for and adapt
to the anticipated effects of climate change.
   (b) Projected changes from climate change include increased
temperatures, sea level rise and increased storm surges, declining
snowpack, more frequent precipitation events, and an increased risk
of drought, fires, and heat waves. Impacts on California's
biodiversity include shifts in the types and distributions of species
and alterations of life cycle timing. These projected changes are
expected to have serious impacts on California's wildlife and natural
systems. Projected impacts include increased rates of species
extinction, decreased biodiversity, and loss of ecosystem services
vital to the quality of life for all Californians.
   (c) The state is charged with protecting and conserving our public
trust resources, including fish, plants, and wildlife. Fish and
wildlife resources are held in trust for the people of the state
primarily by and through the Department of Fish and Game. In light of
the anticipated impacts of climate change, it is the Legislature's
intent that the Department of Fish and Game, in fulfilling its public
trust responsibilities, plan and implement policies to assist
wildlife in adapting to climate change.
  SEC. 2.  Section 9006 is added to the Public Resources Code, to
read:
   9006.  To prepare the state to adapt to anticipated climate change
impacts while protecting our natural resources, the Natural
Resources Agency shall incorporate climate change predictions into
all relevant planning processes. Key tools for addressing climate
change adaptation include, but are not necessarily limited to, all of
the following:
   (a) An explicit prioritization of state goals and objectives that
relate to climate change preparedness and adaptation.
   (b) A state commitment to funding activities of the Natural
Resources Agency needed for climate change adaptation, and to
identifying appropriate funding sources.
   (c) Adaptive management of public and private resource lands,
based on ongoing monitoring and evaluation of climate change and
management impacts.
   (d) Development of a coordinated approach to the collection and
management of baseline information on status and distribution of
selected ecological indicators to support adaptive natural resource
management.
   (e) Creation of a coordinated investment strategy that identifies
high-priority lands and waters, the conservation of which is
necessary to sustain functioning native ecosystems and viable
populations of fish and wildlife species under projected climate
changes.
   (f) Avoiding, to the extent feasible, further development on state
lands identified as high-priority lands, the conservation of which
is key for climate change preparedness and adaptation.
   (g) A detailed plan for how climate change impacts will be
addressed by projects, programs, and policies, and how these best
management practices will be employed and included in the
decisionmaking processes of the respective agencies and departments.
   (h) A process for integrating local, state, and federal adaptation
policies, programs, and projects with the plan.
   (i) A plan for how proposed investments in infrastructure, such as
highways and levees, will incorporate an evaluation of their climate
change impact on reducing or increasing the protection of natural
resources from the adverse effects of climate change.