Bill Text: CA AB2362 | 2021-2022 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Water quality control plans: funding.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2022-08-22 - Ordered to inactive file at the request of Senator Stern. [AB2362 Detail]
Download: California-2021-AB2362-Amended.html
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Amended
IN
Senate
August 11, 2022 |
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Amended
IN
Senate
June 30, 2022 |
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Amended
IN
Senate
June 21, 2022 |
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Amended
IN
Senate
June 13, 2022 |
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Amended
IN
Assembly
May 19, 2022 |
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Amended
IN
Assembly
April 18, 2022 |
| Introduced by Assembly Member Mullin (Coauthors: Assembly Members Cristina Garcia, Quirk, and Wood) |
February 16, 2022 |
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
(1)Existing law requires the Natural Resources Agency, by July 1, 2017, and every 3 years thereafter, to update the state’s climate adaptation strategy to identify vulnerabilities to climate change by sectors and priority actions needed to reduce the risks in those sectors. Existing law requires the agency to explore, and authorizes the agency to implement, options within the agency’s jurisdiction to establish a more coordinated and efficient regulatory review and permitting process for coastal adaptation projects that use natural infrastructure.
This bill would require the agency, on or before July 1, 2023, in coordination with the California Environmental Protection Agency, to convene the Interagency Working Group comprised of regulatory agencies under the auspices of the agency and the California Environmental
Protection Agency that are responsible for permitting environmentally beneficial projects, that include procedures and ongoing management for the protection of the environment and that serve the primary purposes of aquatic, riparian ecosystem, or upland habitat restoration, enhancement, or establishment, to coordinate efficient regulatory review and permitting mechanisms, as provided. The bill would authorize the Interagency Working Group to establish and consult with a panel of stakeholders of no more than 15 members, as specified. The bill would require the meetings of the Interagency Working Group and the stakeholder panel to be publicly held with appropriate advance public notice. The bill would require the Interagency Working Group to, among other things, identify existing programmatic and other efficient permitting mechanisms, coordinate actions to expedite permitting for those projects, and develop and implement, as specified, robust internal training procedures, including manuals, guidelines, and
other materials, to ensure that each state entity involved in permitting projects uses the same standards to evaluate permit applications, and would require those training manuals, guidelines, and other materials to be readily and publicly available on each applicable state entity’s internet website. The bill would require the agency, on or before July 1, 2024, and annually thereafter, to submit a comprehensive report, as specified, to the Legislature evaluating regulatory and permitting mechanisms that meaningfully accelerate those projects. The bill would require the agency to provide funding for the participation of state entities within its jurisdiction in carrying out these provisions. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2028.
(2)Existing
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NOBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
(a)The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(1)Urgent action is needed to combat the biodiversity and climate crises affecting California’s natural habitats.
(2)As part of combating these crises, it is necessary to accelerate actions to enable the state to adapt and become more resilient to the impacts of climate change, including by expanding nature-based solutions.
(3)Projects that restore healthy ecosystems are a key component of the state’s strategy to build nature-based solutions
and establish climate resilience.
(4)The Cutting Green Tape initiative, implemented by the Natural Resources Agency, is a collaborative effort, involving habitat restoration stakeholders and state government, to increase the pace and scale of environmentally beneficial restoration and stewardship by amending and streamlining various government processes.
(b)It is therefore the intent of the Legislature to provide a statutory framework for state agencies to accelerate habitat restoration projects within state agencies at statewide and regional levels.
(a)For purposes of this section, “project” means an environmentally beneficial project that includes procedures and ongoing management for the protection of the environment and that serves the primary purposes of aquatic, riparian ecosystem, or upland habitat restoration, enhancement, or establishment to improve water quality, restore native vegetation, recover species, or promote natural hydrologic processes that may have an incidental climate resiliency or other public benefit, including, but not limited to, natural flood attenuation, groundwater recharge, public access, or recreation, but not a project that serves the primary purpose of nonrestoration-related development. A project does not include any construction
activities except for those solely related to habitat restoration.
(b)On or before July 1, 2023, the agency, in coordination with the California Environmental Protection Agency, shall convene the Interagency Working Group comprised of regulatory agencies under the auspices of the agency and the California Environmental Protection Agency that are responsible for permitting projects, including, but not limited to, the Department of Fish and Wildlife, to coordinate efficient regulatory review and permitting mechanisms. The composition of the Interagency Working Group shall always include the agency, the California Environmental Protection Agency, the State Water Resources Control Board,
and the Department of Fish and Wildlife but other members may change over time.
(c)(1)The Interagency Working Group may establish and consult with a panel of
stakeholders of no more than 15 members.
(2)The agency, in consultation with the California Environmental Protection Agency, shall develop robust, public, and transparent conflict of interest requirements for the panel prior to its establishment.
(3)The Interagency Working Group, in establishing the panel of stakeholders, shall ensure all of the following:
(A)Members are representative of diverse stakeholder interests and experience, including, but not limited to, the following stakeholders:
(i)Those with experience permitting projects.
(ii)Those that have received permits for
projects across the state.
(iii)Local governments with permitting authority for projects.
(iv)Those who sponsor projects.
(B)Members are appointed with consideration of the principles of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion.
(C)Members are subject to, and shall conform with, the conflict of interest requirements established by the agency pursuant to paragraph (2).
(4)Members of the Interagency Working Group’s stakeholder panel shall serve without compensation, except for the reimbursement of any necessary travel expense, which shall be available for reimbursement by the agency.
(d)Meetings of the Interagency Working Group and the stakeholder panel shall be publicly held with appropriate advance public notice.
(e)The Interagency Working Group shall also encourage the participation of federal agencies responsible for permitting projects.
(f)Under the oversight of the agency, the Interagency Working Group shall do all of the following:
(1)Identify existing programmatic and other efficient permitting mechanisms, for example, those established pursuant to Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 1650) of Division 2 of the Fish and Game Code, for permitting projects.
(2)Coordinate actions to expedite permitting for eligible projects, including, but not limited to, coordinating programmatic permits, organizational structure efficiencies, or unified permit applications.
(3)Investigate the feasibility of developing and administering an online permit portal to create an efficient and effective application submission and tracking system for qualifying projects.
(4)Incorporate input from permit applicants and other stakeholders to inform potential agency actions to be proposed by the Interagency Working Group.
(5)Develop and implement robust and ongoing public outreach, education, and engagement materials and efforts to ensure that stakeholders and the broader public
are aware of, and have the opportunity to engage with, the Interagency Working Group and relevant state entities on permit streamlining efforts pursuant to this section.
(6)(A)Develop and implement, or require the development and implementation of by applicable state entities, robust internal training procedures, including manuals, guidelines, and other materials, in order to help ensure that each state entity involved in permitting uses the same standards to evaluate permit applications under the same program statewide.
(B)The training manuals, guidelines, and other materials developed pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall be readily and publicly available on all of the applicable state entities’ internet websites.
(g)(1)On or before July 1, 2024, and annually thereafter, the agency shall prepare and submit to the Legislature a comprehensive
report evaluating regulatory and permitting mechanisms that meaningfully accelerate projects. The report shall include, but not be limited to, a review of all of the following information demonstrating the efforts of the Interagency Working Group to meet the requirements of subdivision (f):
(A)Identification of existing programmatic and other efficient permitting mechanisms for projects.
(B)A review of the progress made by the Interagency Working Group, and the state regulatory agencies that comprise it, toward completing the requirements of subdivision (f).
(C)A list and description of the projects approved by each state entity, as applicable.
(D)Identification of the counties and watersheds in which applicable state entities have approved permits.
(E)The average permit processing time by each state entity for each project.
(F)The number of permits granted by each state entity for each applicable project.
(G)Specific strategies and changes instituted to streamline permitting as implemented by each state entity.
(H)Lessons learned to improve ongoing permitting processes and restoration work.
(I)Incentives provided for applicable state entities to accelerate permit streamlining.
(J)The development and implementation of new, or revisions to existing, programmatic permitting approaches.
(K)The resources dedicated by state entities to advance the goals of this section.
(L)An overview of public education and outreach, public engagement, and training efforts required by each applicable state entity in carrying out the goals of this section.
(2)A report to be submitted pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government
Code.
(h)The agency shall provide funding for the participation of state entities within its jurisdiction to fulfill the requirements of this section.
(i)This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2028, and as of that date is repealed.
