Bill Text: CA SB1320 | 2019-2020 | Regular Session | Enrolled

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

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Bill Title: Climate change: California Climate Change Assessment.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 7-0)

Status: (Passed) 2020-09-24 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 136, Statutes of 2020. [SB1320 Detail]

Download: California-2019-SB1320-Enrolled.html

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Enrolled  September 04, 2020

Passed  IN  Senate  August 30, 2020

Passed  IN  Assembly  August 26, 2020

Amended  IN  Assembly  August 24, 2020

Amended  IN  Assembly  August 11, 2020

Amended  IN  Assembly  July 27, 2020

Amended  IN  Senate  June 18, 2020

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill

No. 1320

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Introduced by Senator Stern
(Coauthors: Senators Allen, Durazo, Jackson, and Wiener)
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Friedman and Limón)

February 21, 2020

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An act to add Part 4.4 (commencing with Section 71340) to Division 34 of the Public Resources Code, relating to climate change.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 1320, Stern. Climate change: California Climate Change Assessment.

Existing law requires the Director of State Planning and Research to establish the Integrated Climate Adaptation and Resiliency Program under the administration of the Office of Planning and Research to coordinate regional and local efforts with state climate adaptation strategies to adapt to the impacts of climate change. Existing law requires the office, in coordination with appropriate entities, to establish a clearinghouse for climate adaptation information for use by state, regional, and local entities.

This bill would require the office, through the Integrated Climate Adaptation and Resiliency Program, to develop the California Climate Change Assessment, in coordination with the Natural Resources Agency, the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, and the Strategic Growth Council, and in consultation with partner public agencies designated by the office. The bill would require the office to complete the assessment no less frequently than every 5 years. The bill would require the assessment to provide an integrated suite of products that report the impacts and risks of climate change, based on the best available science, and identify potential solutions to inform legislative policy, as provided. The bill would require the products to include, among other things, downscaled climate projections that assess climate change impacts throughout the state, including at regional and local levels, for near-term, medium-term, and long-term timescales, and under varied emissions scenarios, as provided. The bill would require the office to engage with regional and local governments, tribes, vulnerable communities, businesses, and members of the public, as necessary, in determining the scope of the assessment and would require all final assessment products to be posted on or accessible through a state internet website. The bill would make the implementation of these provisions contingent upon an appropriation of funds by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act or another statute for these purposes.

Digest Key

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

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Bill Text

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

SECTION 1.

 Part 4.4 (commencing with Section 71340) is added to Division 34 of the Public Resources Code, to read:

PART 4.4. California Climate Change Assessment

71340.

 (a) The Office of Planning and Research, through the Integrated Climate Adaptation and Resiliency Program established pursuant to Part 4.5 (commencing with Section 71350), shall develop the California Climate Change Assessment, in coordination with the Natural Resources Agency, the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, and the Strategic Growth Council, and in consultation with partner public agencies designated by the Office of Planning and Research. The Office of Planning and Research may also contract with outside entities, including public universities, research institutions, organizations that serve vulnerable communities, and other technical experts to produce the assessment.

(b) The Office of Planning and Research shall complete the assessment no less frequently than every five years, and may release components of the assessment on a rolling basis as they become available.

(c) The Office of Planning and Research shall consider research from independent, scientifically peer-reviewed panels, financial reports, and other relevant and reasonably accessible data.

(d) For purposes of this part, “vulnerable communities” has the same meaning as the definition of “vulnerable communities” that was adopted by the Integrated Climate Adaptation and Resiliency Program Technical Advisory Council at the council’s April 2, 2018, meeting and recorded in “Defining Vulnerable Communities in the Context of Climate Adaptation,” the resource guide published by the Office of Planning and Research in July 2018.

71341.

 The California Climate Change Assessment shall provide an integrated suite of products that report the impacts and risks of climate change, based on the best available science, and identify potential solutions to inform legislative policy. These products shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:

(a) Downscaled climate projections that assess climate change impacts throughout the state, including at regional and local levels, for near-term, medium-term, and long-term timescales, and under varied emissions scenarios, as appropriate and supported by the availability of the data, as determined by the Office of Planning and Research.

(b) A set of research reports that examine, but need not be limited to, all of the following:

(1) How climate change will affect built systems, natural systems, and social systems, including the welfare of vulnerable communities, and the potential fiscal and economic impacts of these effects in California.

(2) Identification of potential climate adaptation and mitigation responses, including their costs and benefits.

(c) Regionally specific reports that can inform regional and local vulnerability assessments, adaptation planning, and community resilience efforts.

(d) Reports on issues of statewide significance, including, but not limited to, environmental justice considerations, impacts on the systems identified in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b), and the unique risks posed to, and research and monitoring approaches used by, tribal communities.

(e) Decision-support tools for planners, decisionmakers, and others, including organizations that serve vulnerable communities, that allow for actionable application of assessment research findings. To the extent data is available, this shall include guidance regarding assessment of the financial and economic costs and benefits of adaptation decisions.

(f) Examples of best practices for planning for future climate conditions and approaches to building adaptation and resilience, while also meeting established greenhouse gas emission reduction goals.

71342.

 (a) The Office of Planning and Research shall engage with regional and local governments, tribes, vulnerable communities, businesses, and members of the public, as necessary, in determining the scope of the assessment.

(b) All final assessment products shall be posted on or accessible through a state internet website in an accessible format.

(c) Upon completion of the assessment, the Office of Planning and Research shall make accessible to the Department of Finance for purposes of assessing liabilities in the state budget, and to regional and local governments, tribes, and vulnerable communities, the contents and application of the assessment, including the downscaled projections specified in subdivision (a) of Section 71341 and the decision-support tools specified in subdivision (e) of Section 71341.

(d) Development of the assessment shall not be subject to Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.

71343.

 (a) The implementation of this part is contingent upon an appropriation of funds by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act or another statute for purposes of this part.

(b) (1) The Office of Planning and Research may receive and accept gifts, donations, contributions, or bequests of money from public, nonprofit, or philanthropic sources for purposes of this part.

(2) The expenditure of all moneys received for purposes of this part shall be subject to an appropriation by the Legislature.