CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 67


Introduced by Assembly Member Petrie-Norris

December 07, 2020


An act to add Section 71156 to the Public Resources Code, relating to sea level rise.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 67, as introduced, Petrie-Norris. Sea level rise: working group: economic analysis.
Existing law requires state agencies to take into account the current and future impacts of climate change when planning, designing, building, operating, maintaining, and investing in state infrastructure. Existing law requires specified entities to submit to the Natural Resources Agency sea level rise planning information, as provided.
This bill would require a state agency to take into account the current and future impacts of sea level rise when planning, designing, building, operating, maintaining, and investing in infrastructure located in the coastal zone or otherwise vulnerable to flooding from sea level rise or storm surges, or when otherwise approving the allocation of state funds for those purposes. The bill would require, by March 1, 2022, the Ocean Protection Council, in consultation with the Office of Planning and Research, to establish a multiagency working group, consisting of specified individuals, on sea level rise to provide recommended policies, resolutions, projects, and other actions to address sea level rise, the breadth of its impact, and the severity of its anticipated harm. The bill would require the council, in consultation with the working group to, among other things, develop a standardized methodology and template for conducting economic analyses of risks and adaptation strategies associated with sea level rise, as provided. The bill would require a state agency to conduct a sea level rise analysis for any state-funded infrastructure project located in the coastal zone or otherwise vulnerable to flooding from sea level rise or storm surges, and restrict funding as needed, pursuant to that methodology. The bill would authorize the Controller to conduct audits of state agencies to ensure compliance with certain of the above provisions.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

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


SECTION 1.

 This act shall be known as the Sea Level Rise Preparedness Act of 2021.

SEC. 2.

 Section 71156 is added to the Public Resources Code, immediately following Section 71155, to read:

71156.
 (a) Consistent with this part, a state agency shall take into account the current and future impacts of sea level rise when planning, designing, building, operating, maintaining, and investing in infrastructure located in the coastal zone or otherwise vulnerable to flooding from sea level rise or storm surges, such as airports, rail lines, streets and highways, pipelines, wastewater treatment plants, schools, hospitals, and other facilities, or otherwise approving the allocation of state funds for those purposes.
(b) (1) On or before March 1, 2022, the Ocean Protection Council, in consultation with the Office of Planning and Research, shall establish a multiagency working group on sea level rise to provide recommended policies, resolutions, projects, and other actions to address sea level rise, the breadth of its impact, and the severity of its anticipated harm.
(2) The working group shall consist of all of the following:
(A) The executive director of the Ocean Protection Council, who shall be the chairperson of the working group.
(B) One or more representatives from the Office of Planning and Research.
(C) One or more representatives from the Strategic Growth Council.
(D) One or more representatives from the California Coastal Commission.
(E) One or more representatives from the State Coastal Conservancy.
(F) One or more representatives from the State Water Resources Control Board.
(G) One person, appointed by the Governor, from an academic institution, who has expertise in climate change projections and impacts across California.
(c) In consultation with the working group, the Ocean Protection Council shall, at minimum, do all of the following:
(1) On or before January 1, 2023, develop, in consultation with the Office of Planning and Research, a standardized methodology and template for conducting economic analyses of risks and adaptation strategies associated with sea level rise, including the risk of taking no action, to be shared with the Natural Resources Agency, the California Environmental Protection Agency, the State Controller, and local governments.
(2) On or before January 1, 2024, develop and publish a site-specific infrastructure resilience plan, which shall include recommendations and be focused on state roads, wastewater treatment plants, water supply facilities, ports, ocean desalination facilities, and powerplants, to prepare for projected sea level rise, based on the five-year infrastructure plan developed pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section 13100) of Chapter 2 of Part 3 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
(3) On or before January 1, 2024, submit the infrastructure resilience plan recommendations described in paragraph (2) to the Strategic Growth Council to inform its review, conducted pursuant to Section 75125, of the five-year infrastructure plan.
(4) Identify actions to protect infrastructure, as described in subdivision (a), in frontline and low-income communities from the impacts of sea level rise and coastal flooding.
(5) Integrate the State of California Sea-Level Rise Guidance document adopted by the Ocean Protection Council on March 14, 2018, and other relevant guidance tools into the Integrated Climate Adaptation and Resiliency Program established pursuant to Section 71354.
(d) A state agency shall conduct a sea level rise analysis pursuant to this section for any state-funded infrastructure project located in the coastal zone or otherwise vulnerable to flooding from sea level rise or storm surges, and restrict funding as needed, pursuant to the methodology described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (c), and shall certify to the Controller that it has completed that analysis.
(e) (1) State agencies shall annually submit a form, pursuant to paragraph (2), to the Controller that certifies that the state agency is in compliance with subdivisions (a) and (d).
(2) On or before March 1, 2022, the Controller shall develop the form described in paragraph (1).
(f) The Controller may conduct audits of state agencies to ensure compliance with subdivisions (a) and (d).