Bill Text: CA SB246 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Climate change adaptation.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2015-10-08 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 606, Statutes of 2015. [SB246 Detail]
Download: California-2015-SB246-Chaptered.html
BILL NUMBER: SB 246 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 606
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE OCTOBER 8, 2015
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR OCTOBER 8, 2015
PASSED THE SENATE SEPTEMBER 10, 2015
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 8, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 4, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 1, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JULY 1, 2015
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 2, 2015
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 5, 2015
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 13, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Senator Wieckowski
FEBRUARY 18, 2015
An act to amend Section 75123 of, and to add Part 4.5 (commencing
with Section 71350) to Division 34 of, the Public Resources Code,
relating to environmental protection.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 246, Wieckowski. Climate change adaptation.
(1) The Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 designates the State
Air Resources Board as the state agency charged with monitoring and
regulating sources of emissions of greenhouse gases. The state board
is required to adopt a statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit
equivalent to the statewide greenhouse gas emissions level in 1990 to
be achieved by 2020 and to adopt rules and regulations in an open
public process to achieve the maximum, technologically feasible, and
cost-effective greenhouse gas emissions reductions. The act requires
all state agencies to consider and implement strategies to reduce
their greenhouse gas emissions. An executive order establishes a
climate action team consisting of specified ex officio members and
requires the team to make a specified biannual report to the
Legislature and Governor.
This bill would establish the Integrated Climate Adaptation and
Resiliency Program to be administered by 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, as
specified. The bill also would require, within one year of an update
to the Safeguarding California Plan, the Office of Emergency
Services, in coordination with the Natural Resources Agency, the
Office of Planning and Research, and relevant public and private
entities, to review and update, as necessary, the Adaptation Planning
Guide, as specified. The bill would establish an advisory council,
as specified, to support the goals of the Office of Planning and
Research as identified by the bill. The bill would require the Office
of Planning and Research to establish a clearinghouse for climate
adaptation information, as specified.
(2) The Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act, with specified exceptions,
requires that meetings of a state body be open and public and that
all persons be permitted to attend.
Existing law establishes the Strategic Growth Council and requires
the council, among other things, to identify and review the
activities and funding programs of member state agencies that may be
coordinated to improve air and water quality. Existing law also
requires the council's meetings be open to the public and subject to
the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act.
This bill would specify certain council meetings that are not
subject to the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Part 4.5 (commencing with Section 71350) is added to
Division 34 of the Public Resources Code, to read:
PART 4.5. Integrated Climate Adaptation and Resiliency Program
71350. For purposes of this part, "office" means the Office of
Planning and Research.
71352. The Legislature finds and declares:
(a) The state has been a leader in climate mitigation efforts to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Now, and in the coming years, it is
critical for California and the global community to continue and
intensify those efforts in order to avoid the most severe impacts
from a changing climate. However, because the global climate system
changes slowly, impacts are ongoing and will inevitably worsen. In
order to address the challenges posed by a changing climate, the
state must invest in building resiliency and strengthening adaptation
efforts at the state, regional, and local levels using the
best-available science.
(b) A principle of the state's adaptation strategy document,
Safeguarding California, is to prioritize actions that not only
reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but also help the state prepare for
climate change impacts. Improved coordination, implementation, and
integration of adaptation planning efforts and funding in the state's
climate policies can directly protect the state's infrastructure,
communities, environmental quality, public health, safety and
security, natural resources, and economy from the unavoidable impacts
of climate change for decades to come.
(c) In order to have a cohesive and comprehensive response to
climate change impacts, the state must have integrated planning with
coordinated strategies across state, regional, and local governments
and agencies.
(d) The office is established as the comprehensive state planning
agency that shall engage in the formulation, evaluation, and updating
of long-range goals for factors that shape statewide development
patterns and significantly influence the quality of the state's
environment, in addition to assisting state, regional, and local
agencies in a variety of research and planning efforts, pursuant to
Section 65040 of the Government Code. Therefore, the office is
well-positioned to work with regional and local entities across the
state, coordinating with state climate adaptation strategies.
(e) It is the intent of the Legislature, therefore, that
adaptation strategies to build resiliency to the risks and impacts
from climate change be integrated in state policies, projects, and
permitting processes, and that the office serve as a coordinating
body for adaptation projects and goals across California.
71354. The Integrated Climate Adaptation and Resiliency Program
is hereby established to be administered by the office. No later than
January 1, 2017, the Director of State Planning and Research shall
establish the program to coordinate regional and local efforts with
state climate adaptation strategies to adapt to the impacts of
climate change with, to the extent feasible, an emphasis on climate
equity considerations across sectors and regions and strategies that
benefit both greenhouse gas emissions reductions and adaptation
efforts, in order to facilitate the development of holistic,
complimentary strategies for adapting to climate change impacts. In
order to achieve these goals, the program shall include, but not be
limited to, all of the following:
(a) Working with and coordinating local and regional efforts for
climate adaptation and resilience, including, but not limited to, the
following:
(1) Developing tools and guidance.
(2) Promoting and coordinating state agency support for local and
regional efforts.
(3) Informing state-led programs, including state planning
processes, grant programs, and guideline development, to better
reflect the goals, efforts, and challenges faced by local and
regional entities pursuing adaptation, preparedness, and resilience.
This should occur through regular coordination between the office,
the Climate Action Team, which was established by Executive Order
S-3-05, the Strategic Growth Council, and other state agencies,
including, but not limited to, the Office of Emergency Services, the
California Environmental Protection Agency, the Natural Resources
Agency, the Transportation Agency, the State Department of Public
Health, and the Department of Food and Agriculture.
(b) Assisting the Office of Emergency Services and other relevant
state agencies with coordinating regular reviews and updates, as
needed, to the Adaptation Planning Guide, pursuant to Section 71356,
and maintaining a copy of the guide, or an electronic link to a copy
of the guide posted, at a minimum, on the state's Climate Change
Portal and the office's Internet Web site.
(c) Coordinating and maintaining the state's clearinghouse for
climate adaptation information, pursuant to Section 71360.
(d) Conducting regular meetings with the advisory council
established pursuant to Section 71358 in order to have technical
support, as well as expertise and advice from regional and local
experts working in climate adaptation throughout the research and
planning processes, as described in this section.
71356. (a) Within one year of an update to the Safeguarding
California Plan, the Office of Emergency Services, in coordination
with the Natural Resources Agency, the office, and relevant public
and private entities, shall review and update, as necessary, the
Adaptation Planning Guide to provide tools and guidance to regional
and local governments and agencies in creating and implementing
climate adaptation and community resiliency plans and projects. An
Adaptation Planning Guide update shall be informed by the climate
adaptation clearinghouse established pursuant to Section 71360 and
the scientific assessments and recommendations in the most recent
update of the Safeguarding California Plan. An Adaptation Planning
Guide update shall consider the nexus between climate adaptation,
community resiliency, public safety, and security, provide
information and planning support for assessing climate
vulnerabilities across impact sectors and regions and developing
adaptation strategies that can be tailored to meet local needs, and
include, at a minimum, all of the following:
(1) Guidance for coordinating adaptation planning activities among
state and local governments and regional collaboratives.
(2) Adaptation planning guidance and strategies for natural
hazards exacerbated by climate change.
(3) Guidance for conducting vulnerability assessments and
identifying risk reduction strategies for communities.
(4) Identification of climate impact regions and descriptions of
climate impacts to be considered for each region.
(5) Assistance with the interpretation of climate science as it
relates to local and regional impacts.
(b) As part of updating the Adaptation Planning Guide, the Office
of Emergency Services, in consultation with the office and, as
needed, with the advisory council created pursuant to Section 71358,
shall hold public meetings in the northern, southern, and central
regions of the state to obtain input from the public and leaders in
local and regional climate preparedness.
71358. (a) An advisory council to the office is hereby
established. The advisory council shall be comprised of members from
a range of disciplines, in order to provide scientific and technical
support, and from regional and local governments and entities. The
advisory council shall support the office's goals, as identified in
this part, to facilitate coordination among state, regional, and
local agency efforts to adapt to the impacts of climate change.
(b) Members of the advisory council shall have expertise in the
intersection of climate change and areas that include, but need not
be limited to, any of the following:
(1) Public health.
(2) Environmental quality.
(3) Environmental justice.
(4) Agriculture.
(5) Transportation and housing.
(6) Energy.
(7) Natural resources and water.
(8) Planning.
(9) Recycling and waste management.
(10) Local or regional government.
(11) Tribal issues.
(12) Emergency services and public safety.
(c) The advisory council shall meet with the office as needed, but
not less than three times a year.
71360. (a) (1) The office shall coordinate with appropriate
entities, including state, regional, or local agencies, to establish
a clearinghouse for climate adaptation information for use by state,
regional, and local entities.
(2) The clearinghouse shall be a centralized source of information
that provides available climate data to guide decisionmakers at
state, regional, and local levels when planning for and implementing
climate adaptation projects to promote resiliency to climate change.
The clearinghouse may include, but is not limited to, any of the
following:
(A) A collection of the best-available resources that may include
projections and models, vulnerability assessments, and downscaled
data for climate change impacts throughout the state, when available,
at statewide, regional, and local levels for both near-term and
longer term timescales, including year 2050 and year 2100
projections. Climate change impacts may include, but are not limited
to, impacts to public health, natural resources, environmental
quality, and infrastructure.
(B) Tools that allow for the visualization or identification of
regional and local impacts across the state and that integrate
best-available data on vulnerable populations and infrastructure.
(C) A library of relevant white papers, case studies, research
articles, and climate adaptation best practices that are searchable
by relevance to region, locality, and sector.
(D) Information concerning funding opportunities for adaptation
research, planning, and projects.
(E) Regionally prioritized best-practice adaptation projects that,
as appropriate, integrate efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
across the state.
(b) The clearinghouse shall be regularly updated.
SEC. 2. The Legislature finds that because the Strategic Growth
Council consists primarily of the Governor's cabinet members and
because the council is designed to facilitate communication,
coordinate policy outcomes, and improve efficiencies among member
agencies and departments, informal discussion and interaction between
and among agency secretaries and their staff should be encouraged
and is a normal function of government.
SEC. 3. Section 75123 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
75123. (a) A meeting of the council, including a meeting related
to the development of grant guidelines and policies and the approval
of grants, shall be subject to the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act
(Article 9 (commencing with Section 11120) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of
Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code), except that, for
purposes of this section, "meeting" shall not include a meeting at
which:
(1) Council members are meeting as members of the Governor's
cabinet.
(2) Council staff and member agency staff are meeting to discuss,
but not take final action on, any of the following:
(A) State agency coordination to improve air and water quality,
improve natural resource protection, increase the availability of
affordable housing, improve transportation, revitalize urban and
community centers in a sustainable manner, and other priorities
specified in subdivision (a) of Section 75125.
(B) Preliminary policy recommendations and investment strategies
to the Governor, the Legislature, and appropriate state agencies to
encourage the development of sustainable communities, as set forth in
subdivision (b) of Section 75125.
(C) Developing grant guidelines, such as those specified in
Section 75125, that are otherwise subject to public participation
process requirements.
(b) The council may sponsor conferences, symposia, and other
public forums, to seek a broad range of public advice regarding
local, regional, and natural resource planning, sustainable
development, and strategies to reduce and mitigate climate change.
