Bill Text: CA AB2528 | 2017-2018 | Regular Session | Amended

California Assembly Bill 2528 (Prior Session Legislation)

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

Bill Title: Climate adaptation.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Vetoed) 2018-09-18 - Vetoed by Governor. [AB2528 Detail]

Download: California-2017-AB2528-Amended.html

Amended IN Assembly April 24, 2018

Amended IN Assembly April 04, 2018

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2017–2018 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 2528

Introduced by Assembly Member Bloom
(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Kalra)

February 14, 2018

An act to amend Sections 71150, 71153, and 71154 ~~of, and to add Section 71156 to,~~ of the Public Resources Code, relating to climate change.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 2528, as amended, Bloom. Climate adaptation.

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, including the biodiversity and habitat sector, and priority actions needed to reduce the risks in those sectors. To address vulnerabilities identified in the climate adaptation strategy, existing law requires state agencies to maximize specified objectives, including, among others, 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.

This bill would specify that the biodiversity and habitat sector includes habitat resilience areas, as defined. The bill would also require state agencies to maximize the objective of protecting and enhancing habitat resilience areas. The bill would require the Natural Resources Agency to coordinate with the Governor’s office to promote the protection of habitat resilience areas within the Pacific Coast Collaborative. The bill would authorize the Ocean Protection Council and the Strategic Growth Council to conduct biannual, joint meetings to discuss the science and planning relating to the implementation of the climate adaptation strategy and to receive updates on the implementation of the climate adaptation strategy.

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES 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 protect and enhance habitat resilience areas in California and to prepare the state and its associated ecosystems to be more resilient to climate change and its associated impacts, such as drought, fire, and sea level rise.

(b) It is the intent of the Legislature for state agencies, as they implement Part 3.7 (commencing with Section 71150) of Division 34 of the Public Resources Code, to proactively identify, protect, and further enhance habitat resilience areas, including existing strongholds, through existing state planning, including the Safeguarding California Plan, recovery plans, the Wildlife Action Plan, associated sector-specific plans, and other appropriate state plans and programs.

SEC. 2.

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.

(1) Aquatic habitat resilience area. For purposes of this paragraph, “aquatic habitat resilience area” means any one of the following:
~~(1)~~

(A) Strongholds. For purposes of this paragraph, the following definitions apply:

~~(A)~~

(i) “Stronghold” means a watershed that currently supports the largest populations of fish in each bioregion within the state or a watershed that supports populations of fish with critical genetic diversity essential for the recovery of those fish species.

~~(B)~~

(ii) “Populations of fish” means any one of the following:

~~(i)~~

(I) Any wild trout, salmon, and steelhead species listed as an endangered or threatened species pursuant to the federal Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. Sec. 1531 et seq.) or as an endangered, threatened, or candidate species pursuant to the California Endangered Species Act (Chapter 1.5 (commencing with Section 2050) of Division 3 of the Fish and Game Code).

~~(ii)~~

(II) Any wild, native salmonid.

~~(iii)~~

(III) Any native anadromous fish species.

~~(iv)~~

(IV) Any native fish species listed as an endangered or threatened species pursuant to the federal Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. Sec. 1531 et seq.) or as an endangered, threatened, or candidate species pursuant to the California Endangered Species Act (Chapter 1.5 (commencing with Section 2050) of Division 3 of the Fish and Game Code).

~~(2)~~

(B) Source waters. For purposes of this ~~paragraph,~~ subparagraph, “source waters” means any system in the Cascade Mountains, Modoc Plateau, and Feather River headwaters that provides groundwater recharge to extensive volcanic aquifers that store and release large quantities of groundwater to spring-fed rivers.

~~(3)~~

(C) Coastal estuaries over two acres in size.

~~(4)~~

(D) Mountain meadows or degraded mountain meadows that are located within the California portion of the Sierra Nevada, Modoc Plateau, Warner Mountains, Southern Cascades, or Sierra or Cascade foothills.

(d) “Plan” means the Safeguarding California Plan.

SEC. 3.

Section 71153 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:

71153.

(a) By July 1, 2017, 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 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.

(D) Public health.

(E) Agriculture.

(F) Emergency services.

(G) Forestry.

(H) Biodiversity and habitat, including habitat resilience areas.

(I) Ocean and coastal resources.

(2) Priority actions needed to advance adaptation strategies and to reduce risks in those sectors, as identified by the lead agency or group of agencies.

(b) By January 1, 2017, 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.

(c) 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. 4.

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, 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 utilizes 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 the preservation or restoration of ecological systems or the utilization of engineered systems that use ecological processes to increase resiliency to climate change, manage other environmental hazards, or both. This may include, but need not be limited to, flood plain and wetlands restoration or preservation, combining levees with restored natural systems to reduce flood risk, and urban tree planting to mitigate high heat days.

(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 the 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) Protecting and enhancing habitat resilience areas.

SEC. 5.Section 71156 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:
71156.
(a)The Ocean Protection Council and the council may conduct biannual, joint meetings to discuss the science and planning relating to the implementation of the plan and to receive updates on the implementation of the plan.
~~(b)The agency shall coordinate with the Governor’s office to promote the protection of habitat resilience areas within the Pacific Coast Collaborative.~~