Bill Text: CA AB1099 | 2021-2022 | Regular Session | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Environmental equity: principles: bond and fund expenditures.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Failed) 2022-02-01 - From committee: Filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56. [AB1099 Detail]

Download: California-2021-AB1099-Introduced.html


CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 1099


Introduced by Assembly Member Robert Rivas

February 18, 2021


An act relating to environmental equity.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 1099, as introduced, Robert Rivas. State funding: environmental equity.
Existing law establishes the Strategic Growth Council in state government consisting of various state agency heads and 3 public members. Existing law requires the council to identify and review activities and funding programs of state agencies that may be coordinated to improve air and water quality, improve natural resource protection, increase the availability of affordable housing, improve transportation, meet greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals, encourage sustainable land use planning, and revitalize urban and community centers in a sustainable manner.
This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact subsequent legislation to provide new approaches and considerations for directing investments and allocating funds, as well as increasing accountability for how those funds are expended to achieve key objectives. The bill would also state the intent of the Legislature to enact subsequent legislation that incorporates, to the extent practicable, specified principles of environmental equity into the administration of all environmental and natural resources state funding.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: NO   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 (a) It is the intent of the Legislature to enact subsequent legislation to provide new approaches and considerations for directing investments and allocating funds, including involving disproportionately affected communities to identify high-impact programs that will deliver intentional environmental and economic benefits, and increasing accountability for how those funds are expended to achieve key objectives.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to enact subsequent legislation to incorporate, to the extent practicable, all of the following principles of environmental equity into the administration of all environmental and natural resources state funding:
(1) Future-proof the state’s disproportionately affected communities and populations with policy and funding decisions informed by sound science and ground-truthed by these communities to build resiliency, develop and harness local talent for quality jobs, and promote community-based leadership to withstand the shocks and stresses of future anticipated and unforeseen events, which would result in improved environmental conditions, better health outcomes, social cohesion, and increased jobs, entrepreneurship, and economic opportunities, including those relating to energy conservation and renewable energy.
(2) Prioritize investments and funding to the state’s disproportionately affected communities and populations that have experienced persistent inequities and disparities due to past policies and are subject to the most severe impacts from pandemics, climate change, and pollution, through place-based and population-based investments that comprehensively deliver better public health outcomes, environmental benefits, and economic opportunities.
(3) Apply sound science-based frameworks for climate solutions, and invest in projects that increase the resilience of both human and natural communities, through the protection and restoration of the state’s ecosystems, enhancing the state’s natural infrastructure, and recognizing the role that improving ecosystems and biodiversity can have on food, water systems, health, and livelihoods.
(4) Maximize impacts by developing an investment plan with a proactive focus on disproportionately affected communities and populations that integrates state and local policy objectives with existing and future investments and funding from all levels of government and private and philanthropic entities, capitalizes on the long-term and short-term nature of funding sources, encourages pilot programs for disproportionately affected communities and populations to identify and self-determine the most effective long-term strategies; and insists on greater accountability and prioritization of existing investments and funding for disproportionately affected communities and populations.
(5) Refrain from funding or otherwise incentivizing programs and projects that exacerbate, perpetuate, or sustain environmental injustice through air pollution, water contamination, or other forms of environmental degradation in communities that are already disproportionately affected, as well as programs and projects that will shift climate and environmental burdens to disadvantaged or otherwise disproportionately burdened communities.
(6) Enhance success for investments and funding by incorporating capacity building and technical assistance to ensure access to programs and funding opportunities and rewarding multisectoral collaboration and community involvement to jointly achieve successful outcomes and avoid unintended consequences. Respect the wide array of needs of the state’s diverse disproportionately affected communities and populations and regions, amplify the voices of these communities, and build democratic and economic power in these communities whose histories and experiences should inform unique standards and strategic objectives for each community to flourish and thrive.
(7) Ensure investments and funding create high-road, high-quality jobs that comply with all laws, rules, and regulations, including labor, training, safety, contracting, and environmental requirements and standards.
(8) Commit to a financing authority governance model that includes state finance and policy leaders, diverse public representation of inland and coastal interests from the state’s disproportionately affected communities and populations, environmental representation, labor representation, and business representation to establish an accessible, comprehensive “one-stop shop” decisionmaking body, and provide accountability for funded projects to meet measurable public health, environmental, and economic outcomes.
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