Bill Text: CA AB1384 | 2021-2022 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Resiliency Through Adaptation, Economic Vitality, and Equity Act of 2022.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Passed) 2022-09-16 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 338, Statutes of 2022. [AB1384 Detail]
Download: California-2021-AB1384-Chaptered.html
Assembly Bill
No. 1384
CHAPTER 338
An act to amend Sections 71150, 71152, 71153, and 71154 of, and to add Section 71155.5 to, the Public Resources Code, relating to climate change.
[
Approved by
Governor
September 16, 2022.
Filed with
Secretary of State
September 16, 2022.
]
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1384, Gabriel.
Resiliency Through Adaptation, Economic Vitality, and Equity Act of 2022.
Existing law requires the Natural Resources Agency to release a draft of the state’s climate adaptation strategy, known as the Safeguarding California Plan, by January 1, 2017, and every 3 years thereafter, to update the plan by July 1, 2017, and every 3 years thereafter, and to coordinate with other state agencies to identify vulnerabilities to climate change by sectors and priority actions needed to reduce the risks in those sectors. Existing law requires, to address the vulnerabilities identified in the plan, state agencies to maximize specified objectives.
This bill would instead require the agency to release the draft plan by January 1, 2024, and every 3 years thereafter, and to update the plan by July 1, 2024, and every 3 years thereafter. The bill would require the agency to also coordinate with the Office of Planning and Research and identify, among other things, vulnerabilities to climate change for vulnerable communities, an operational definition of “climate resilience” for each sector and for vulnerable communities, special protections of vulnerable communities and industries that are disproportionately impacted by climate change, opportunities to improve policy and budget coordination across jurisdictions, and timetables and specific metrics to measure
and evaluate the state’s progress in implementing the plan. The bill would require each lead agency or group of agencies to be informed, at a minimum, by specified documents and climate science research in identifying the vulnerabilities to climate change. The bill would require state agencies to also maximize the objective of prioritizing equity by ensuring public expenditures that address climate change adaptation prioritize protecting vulnerable communities, rectifying intersectional and systemic inequities, and enhancing low-income and vulnerable communities’ abilities to weather the impacts of climate change. The bill would authorize the Treasurer, and the financing authorities that the Treasurer chairs, to assist state agencies by leveraging public and private capital investment to help with loans and other incentives to attain the goals established pursuant to these provisions.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NOBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the Resiliency Through Adaptation, Economic Vitality, and Equity Act of 2022.SEC. 2.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:(a) According to the state’s Fourth Climate Change Assessment, “emerging findings for California show that costs associated with direct climate impacts by 2050 are dominated by human mortality, damages to coastal properties, and the potential for droughts and mega-floods.”
(b) The economic cost to the state for losses across the state by 2050 is estimated to be over $100 billion each year.
(c) Rising average temperatures, destructive fires, higher sea levels, and more
severe droughts and floods put state residents in danger. Already many lives, and even whole communities, have been lost or destroyed.
(d) The state has taken bold leadership to create the Safeguarding California Plan and other adaptation frameworks, and should now shift these planning efforts into action that protects our state.
SEC. 3.
Section 71150 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:71150.
For purposes of this part, the following terms have the following meanings:(a) “Agency” means the Natural Resources Agency.
(b) “Council” means the Strategic Growth Council.
(c) “Office” means the Office of Planning and Research.
(d) “Plan” means the Safeguarding California Plan.
(e) “Vulnerable communities” has the same meaning as provided in subdivision (d) of Section 71340.
SEC. 4.
Section 71152 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:71152.
(a) It is the intent of the Legislature to prioritize the most vulnerable communities, ecosystems, and economic sectors in the state’s climate adaptation and resilience strategy set forth in the Safeguarding California Plan by ensuring that all state departments and agencies accurately identify, collaboratively prepare for, and are sufficiently resourced to adequately respond to the impacts of climate change, such as extreme weather events, the urban heat island effect, habitat loss, wildfire, sea level rise, and drought.(b) It also is the intent of the Legislature that the agency consider developing policies to address the impacts of climate change and climate adaptation with a focus on equity and that actions taken to address climate adaptation should be consistent with the plan. In developing these policies and taking these actions, all of the following shall occur:
(1) The creation of planning processes that are transparent, fair, and inclusive in the development phases.
(2) The prioritization of
resources and investments for vulnerable communities and populations.
(3) The adoption of strategies that seek to address and, at a minimum, avoid worsening social and racial inequities.
SEC. 5.
Section 71153 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:71153.
(a) By July 1, 2024, and every three years thereafter, the agency shall update the state’s climate adaptation strategy, known as the plan. As part of the update, the agency shall coordinate with the office and other state agencies to identify a lead agency or group of agencies to lead adaptation efforts in each sector. The updates to the plan shall include all of the following:(1) Vulnerabilities to climate change by sector, as identified by the lead agency or group of agencies, and regions, including, at a minimum,
the following sectors:
(A) Water.
(B) Energy.
(C) Transportation.
(D) Public health.
(E) Agriculture.
(F) Emergency services.
(G) Forestry.
(H) Biodiversity and habitat.
(I) Ocean and coastal resources.
(J) Financial
resources.
(2) Vulnerabilities to climate change for vulnerable communities, as identified by the office, through the Integrated Climate Adaptation and Resilience Program.
(3) An operational definition of “climate resilience” for each sector and for vulnerable communities, as identified by the lead agency or group of agencies, so that total costs, funding plans, and other strategies to adequately prepare for disruptions, recover from shocks and stresses, and adapt and grow from various disruptions, especially in the most vulnerable communities, are analyzed and reported.
(4) Priority actions needed to reduce
risks and achieve climate resilience in those sectors and vulnerable communities,
as identified by the lead agency or group of agencies, with an emphasis on maximizing risk mitigation for the greatest number of people living in vulnerable communities.
(5) Special protections of vulnerable communities and industries that are disproportionately impacted by climate change.
(6) Opportunities to improve policy and budget coordination across jurisdictions, including federal and local jurisdictions.
(7) Timetables for
near-term, medium-term, and long-term timescales, and specific metrics to measure and evaluate the state’s progress in implementing the plan, as identified by the agency or the office. Metrics to evaluate progress toward meeting the goals may be modeled for the years 2030, 2050, 2080, 2100, and beyond.
(b) (1) By January 1,
2024, and every three years thereafter, the agency shall release a draft plan. Between the release of the draft plan and the publication of the final update of the plan, the agency shall hold at least three public hearings for the purpose of providing an opportunity for the public to review and provide written and oral comments on the draft plan. The public hearings shall be held in northern California, the central valley of California, and southern California.
(2) In preparing the draft plan, the agency shall engage with local and regional entities, including local agencies and communities, to enhance policy and funding coordination and promote regional solutions and implementation.
(c) In identifying
the vulnerabilities pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (2) of subdivision (a), each lead agency or group of agencies shall, at a minimum, be informed by the most recent California Climate Change Assessment, the climate science research programs administered by the council and the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, the Climate Change and Health Vulnerability Indicators for California as produced by the Climate Change and Health Equity Section of the State Department of Public Health, and other peer-reviewed climate science research relevant to California.
(d) The agency shall annually report to the
Legislature, consistent with Section 9795 of the Government Code, on actions taken by each applicable agency to implement the plan.
SEC. 6.
Section 71154 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:71154.
To address the vulnerabilities identified in the plan, state agencies shall work to maximize, where applicable and feasible, all of the following objectives:(a) Educating the public about the consequences of climate change, such as sea level rise, extreme weather events, the urban heat island effect, habitat loss, wildfire, drought, threats to infrastructure and agriculture, worsening air and water quality, and public health impacts.
(b) Ensuring there is a continued repository for scientific data on climate change and climate adaptation in the state in order to facilitate educated state and local policy decisions and to help identify
primary risks from climate change to residents, property, communities, and natural systems across the state.
(c) (1) Promoting the use of the plan to inform planning decisions and ensure that state investments consider climate change impacts, as well as promote the use of natural systems and natural infrastructure, when developing physical infrastructure to address adaptation.
(2) When developing infrastructure to address adaptation, where feasible, a project alternative should be developed that uses existing natural features and ecosystem processes or the restoration of natural features and ecosystem processes to meet the project’s goals.
(3) For purposes of this subdivision, “natural infrastructure” means
using natural ecological systems or processes to reduce vulnerability to climate change related hazards, or other related climate change effects, while increasing the long-term adaptive capacity of coastal and inland areas by perpetuating or restoring ecosystem services. This includes, but is not limited to, the conservation, preservation, or sustainable management of any form of aquatic or terrestrial vegetated open space, such as beaches, dunes, tidal marshes, reefs, seagrass, parks, rain gardens, and urban tree canopies. It also includes systems and practices that use or mimic natural processes, such as permeable pavements, bioswales, and other engineered systems, such as levees that are combined with restored natural systems, to provide clean water, conserve ecosystem values and functions, and provide a wide array of benefits to people and wildlife.
(d) Encouraging regional collaborative planning efforts to address regional climate change impacts and adaptation strategies.
(e) Promoting drought resiliency through an integrated water supply, delivery, and capture system that is coordinated and that can be resilient to a multiyear drought scenario while protecting water quality and public health. Establishing both drought preparation programs, which will help create sustainable water systems in the future, and immediate drought response programs, which will reduce water demand or increase supply within one to five years of any declared drought.
(f) Building resilient communities by developing urban greening projects that reduce air pollution and heat reflection in urban areas and create livable, sustainable communities
in urban cores to promote infill development and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
(g) Protecting and enhancing habitat, species strongholds, and wildlife corridors that are critical to the preservation of species that are at risk from the consequences of climate change.
(h) Promoting actions to ensure healthy soils and sustainable agriculture; inform reliable transportation planning; improve emergency management response across sectors; ensure sufficient, reliable, and safe energy; improve capacity to reduce and respond to public health threats; address the impacts of climate change on disadvantaged communities; and protect cultural resources from the impacts of climate change.
(i) Prioritizing equity by ensuring public
expenditures that address climate change adaptation prioritize protecting vulnerable communities, rectifying intersectional and systemic inequities, and enhancing low-income and vulnerable communities’ abilities to weather the impacts of climate change.
