Bill Text: CA SB1072 | 2017-2018 | Regular Session | Chaptered

California Senate Bill 1072 (Prior Session Legislation)

Bill Title: Regional Climate Collaborative Program: technical assistance.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Passed) 2018-09-13 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 377, Statutes of 2018. [SB1072 Detail]

Download: California-2017-SB1072-Chaptered.html

Senate Bill No. 1072

CHAPTER 377

An act to add and repeal Section 71131 of, and to add Part 3.6 (commencing with Section 71130) to Division 34 of, the Public Resources Code, relating to climate change.

[ Approved by Governor September 13, 2018. Filed with Secretary of State September 13, 2018. ]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 1072, Leyva. Regional Climate Collaborative Program: technical assistance.

Existing law creates the Transformative Climate Communities Program, which is administered by the Strategic Growth Council. Existing law requires the council to award competitive grants to specified eligible entities for the development and implementation of neighborhood-level transformative climate community plans that include greenhouse gas emissions reduction projects that provide local economic, environmental, and health benefits to disadvantaged communities, as defined. Existing law requires the California Environmental Protection Agency to provide assistance in performing outreach to disadvantaged communities and assessing the environmental justice benefits of project awards.

The Administrative Procedure Act generally governs the procedure for the adoption, amendment, or repeal of regulations by state agencies and for the review of those regulatory actions by the Office of Administrative Law.

This bill, until October 1, 2029, would establish a regional climate collaborative program, to be administered by the council, to assist under-resourced communities, as defined, in a region to access statewide public and other grant moneys, as specified, for climate change mitigation and adaptation projects by establishing collaboratives, as specified. The bill would authorize the council to award specified annual grants to collaboratives for specified activities.

This bill, by July 1, 2020, would require the council to develop technical assistance guidelines that a state agency would be authorized to use in delivering its technical assistance resources or in developing additional technical assistance policies, standards, or guidelines, as specified.

This bill would exempt the above-described provisions from the Administrative Procedure Act.

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NO

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

SECTION 1.

The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(a) The state is creating a national model for prioritizing investments in communities most impacted by pollution and poverty and most vulnerable to the effects of climate change.

(b) The state recognizes that under-resourced communities, rural, urban, and suburban, have a large potential to contribute to the state’s goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, transitioning away from fossil fuels, and reaping economic development and jobs through renewable energy, energy efficiency, and other sustainable infrastructure investments.

(c) As the state pursues multiple strategies to meet its greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals while advancing social equity, it becomes increasingly necessary to coordinate and align technical assistance resources to ensure that every community has the same opportunity to compete for the funding that is available to meet those goals.

(d) Local municipalities, nonprofits, and other eligible entities in under-resourced communities often lack the resources, staff capacity, implementation experience, and technical expertise to apply for and secure competitive statewide targeted grant funding.

(e) In managing programs that allocate funding to under-resourced communities, state agencies and departments often lack the budget, staff, or guidance to provide the technical assistance necessary to support funding applications from under-resourced communities. Under-resourced communities should have access to capacity building and technical assistance to develop competitive funding proposals that will maximize multiple benefits, including climate adaptation benefits, for each dollar requested.

(f) Some regions and jurisdictions have existing programs and organizations in place to build local capacity, leadership, and technical expertise for multibenefit community projects, and any additional investments should support and leverage existing efforts to be effective and efficient.

SEC. 2.

Part 3.6 (commencing with Section 71130) is added to Division 34 of the Public Resources Code, to read:

PART 3.6. Regional Climate Collaborative Program

71130.

For purposes of this part, the following terms have the following meanings:

(a) “Capacity building” is the process of strengthening local coordination, leadership, knowledge, skills, expertise, and access to resources in under-resourced communities with the goal of helping to develop or increase the ability of that community to independently compete for grants and implement projects in the future. Capacity building activities include, but are not limited to, identifying and planning for needed climate change mitigation and adaptation projects in a given region and identifying the tools and resources needed to successfully access, apply for, and receive grant funding.

(b) “Collaborative” means a coordinated body of regional stakeholder groups that are located in, serve, and represent the needs of the under-resourced communities within that region and that provide capacity building to those under-resourced communities within its region to access statewide public and other grant moneys for climate change mitigation and adaptation projects that maximize the benefits for the region.

(d) “Nonprofit organization” means a nonprofit corporation qualified to do business in the state and qualified under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

(e) “Stakeholder” includes, but is not limited to, community-based organizations, nonprofits, businesses, faith-based organizations, interested individuals, elected officials, and local government agencies.

(f) “Technical assistance” means the process of providing the necessary education and resources for climate change mitigation and adaptation projects for any of the following:

(1) Project development.

(2) Grant development and writing for state and federal grant programs.

(3) The successful and appropriate expenditure of grant moneys for the successful completion of climate change mitigation and adaptation projects.

(4) Post-application and project implementation assistance.

(g) “Under-resourced community” means a community identified pursuant to Section 39711 of the Health and Safety Code, subdivision (d) of Section 39713 of the Health and Safety Code, or subdivision (g) of Section 75005.

71131.

(a) A regional climate collaborative program is hereby established to be administered by the council to assist under-resourced communities within a region to access statewide public and other grant moneys.

(b) The council shall do all of the following in identifying eligible under-resourced communities and in selecting collaboratives:

(1) Adopt program guidelines that establish criteria for the selection of communities eligible for assistance in developing a collaborative. The program guidelines shall prioritize statewide geographic diversity and shall consider the region’s proportion of under-resourced communities and the region’s previous success in receiving competitive state climate change mitigation and adaptation moneys.

(2) Post the guidelines outlining the criteria on the council’s Internet Web site and solicit public comment.

(3) Hold at least one public hearing before selecting a community.

(4) Allow at least three months between the solicitation announcement and the selection of a collaborative by the council.

(5) Perform at least three outreach activities between the solicitation announcement and the selection of a collaborative by the council to provide information and assistance to a potential collaborative. The outreach activities shall be made available using advanced forms of technology to the extent possible.

(6) Establish collaboratives a minimum of two times over the course of the program established pursuant to this section.

(c) After selecting communities for collaboratives, the council shall award annual grants as moneys are appropriated by the Legislature to the council for the purposes of this part.

(d) Eligible applicants for a collaborative include, but need not be limited to, any of the following:

(1) Community-based organizations.

(2) Nonprofits and foundations.

(3) Small businesses.

(4) Local government agencies.

(5) Joint powers authorities.

(6) Tribal governments.

(7) Other organizations with a history of providing community-based outreach and technical assistance.

(e) Eligible applicants shall form a regional collaborative stakeholder structure and shall collectively submit one application based on a shared vision. With the application, the applicants shall collectively submit a memorandum of understanding that describes the governance and organization of the collaborative stakeholder structure.

(f) In selecting a collaborative, the council shall give priority to proposals that demonstrate strong and diverse partnerships, including with community-based organizations and other stakeholder groups.

(g) After being selected by the council, a collaborative shall provide capacity building services to assist in building the community-driven leadership, knowledge, skills, experience, and resources to identify and access public funding for climate change mitigation and adaptation projects within the under-resourced community. Where feasible, a collaborative shall leverage, complement, and build on existing regional efforts and resources for capacity building and technical assistance. Except if the council, in consultation with a collaborative, determines that an activity is unnecessary, a collaborative shall conduct at least all of the following activities for the region it serves:

(1) Conduct outreach and build awareness of competitive grant programs.

(2) Convene stakeholders to discuss community needs regarding potential climate change mitigation and adaptation projects eligible for statewide competitive grant programs with specific allocations for under-resourced communities.

(3) Develop community and project plans, including climate action plans, demonstrating local needs and identifying multiple-benefit projects for implementation.

(4) Support the development of partnerships between stakeholders and potential public and private funding sources.

(5) Provide policy, program, and technical advice to stakeholders to develop and align multibenefit projects with potential funding sources.

(6) Serve as an intermediary between community stakeholders and technical assistance programs within relevant agencies and coordinate scientific and technical support from outside experts.

(7) Coordinate and implement assistance and training to stakeholders in grant application development, project management, implementation, and monitoring.

(8) Assist in the development of local job training and anti-displacement programs and policies.

(h) Each collaborative shall select a managing stakeholder that can demonstrate the organizational capacity to complete projects and the financial capacity to receive and be accountable for moneys provided pursuant to this part. A managing stakeholder may include, but need not be limited to, a local government agency, community-based organization, foundation, small business, joint powers authority, tribal government, or other organization with a history of providing community-based outreach and technical assistance.

(i) The council shall provide advance payments of grant awards, over a period of not more than three years, to recipients to initiate and implement the collaboratives in a timely manner. In consultation with the Department of Finance, the council shall adopt guidelines imposing additional requirements relating to the provision of advance payments and the use of the advance payments by the grant recipient to ensure that the moneys are used properly.

(j) (1) Collaboratives shall submit to the council an annual report that includes, but need not be limited to, all of the following:

(A) The members of the collaborative.

(B) Populations served.

(i) Technical assistance.

(ii) Capacity building.

(iii) Project and grant development, application, and completion.

(D) Meetings and actions taken by the collaborative.

(E) An accounting of the administration of and expenditures made by the collaborative.

(F) The outcome of each activity, including, but not limited to, all of the following:

(i) The efficacy of capacity building within the region.

(ii) Technical assistance provided.

(iii) Success of grants applied for.

(iv) Projects commenced and completed.

(2) (A) The council shall post the annual reports on its Internet Web site and provide the reports to the relevant policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature.

(B) A report to be submitted pursuant to this subdivision shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.

(k) (1) By October 1, 2019, the council shall adopt guidelines implementing this section.

(2) The Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code) shall not apply to this section.

(l) This section shall become inoperative on October 1, 2029, and, as of January 1, 2030, is repealed.

71132.

(a) By July 1, 2020, the council shall develop technical assistance guidelines that a state agency may use in delivering its technical assistance resources or in developing additional internal technical assistance policies, standards, or guidelines specific to the agency’s programs. The technical assistance guidelines may support established technical assistance programs and build upon best practices. The council’s technical assistance guidelines shall include, but need not be limited to, all of the following:

(1) Procedures and standards for state agencies providing direct technical assistance to under-resourced communities.

(2) Measures to provide efficient technical assistance across multiple programs, where applicable.

(b) The council shall consult with relevant state entities during the development of the technical assistance guidelines required pursuant to subdivision (a).

(c) The technical assistance guidelines required pursuant to subdivision (a) shall identify grants that would benefit from technical assistance policies, standards, or guidelines.

(d) The Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code) shall not apply to this section.