Bill Text: CA SB262 | 2017-2018 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Climate change: climate adaptation: advisory council.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2018-08-16 - August 16 hearing: Held in committee and under submission. [SB262 Detail]
Download: California-2017-SB262-Amended.html
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Amended
IN
Assembly
June 14, 2018 |
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Amended
IN
Assembly
May 17, 2018 |
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2017–2018 REGULAR SESSION
| Senate Bill | No. 262 |
| Introduced by Senator Wieckowski |
February 08, 2017 |
An act to amend Sections 71350, 71354, 71356, 71358, and 71360 of the Public Resources Code, relating to climate change.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 262, as amended, Wieckowski.
Climate change: climate adaptation: advisory council.
Existing law requires the Director of the Office of Planning and Research to establish the Integrated Climate Adaptation and Resiliency Program to coordinate regional and local efforts with state climate adaptation strategies to adapt to the impacts of climate change. Existing law requires the Office of Planning and Research to administer the program. 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. Existing law requires the office to establish an advisory council, comprised of members for a range of disciplines, to support the office’s goals to facilitate coordination among state, regional, and local agency efforts to adapt to the impacts of climate change.
This bill would recast the advisory council as
the California Council for Adaptation and Resiliency. The bill would transfer the office’s functions, regarding the program and the clearinghouse, to the council. The bill would require the council to take certain actions related to climate adaptation, as specified. The bill would require the council to make publicly available certain information on its Internet Web site. The bill would specify that the members on the council serve staggered terms of 4 years. The bill would require the director of the office, or his or her designee, to serve as the chair of the
council.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NOBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:(1) 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 and scale those investments using the best available policy, financial, and regulatory tools and mechanisms.
(2) 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 designed to reduce the costs of future climate disaster and protect local, state, and regional infrastructure assets, including natural infrastructure systems.
(3) The Office of Planning and Research 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.
(4) Over the last two years, the office has diligently implemented the Integrated Climate Adaptation and Resiliency Program.
(5) Given a predicted shortfall of at least one trillion dollars ($1,000,000,000,000) for needed infrastructure by 2080 at the state and local levels, new state incentives that encourage and promote the use of life-cycle asset management, resilience best practices, and innovative partnerships
at the local level are critical.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature, therefore, that adaptation strategies to build resiliency against the risks and impacts of climate change be integrated across government into all state, regional, and local policies, projects, and permitting processes to ensure a resilient California.
SEC. 2.
Section 71350 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:71350.
For purposes of this part, the following definitions apply:(a) “Council” means the California Council for Adaptation and Resiliency.
(b) “Office” means the Office of Planning and Research.
SEC. 3.
Section 71354 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:71354.
The Integrated Climate Adaptation and Resiliency Program is hereby established to be administered by the council. No later than January 1, 2017, the Director of the Office of 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 council, 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. Agriculture, and relevant subdivisions of these state entities working on adaptation.
(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 meetings that are made remotely accessible, to the extent feasible, 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.
SEC. 4.
Section 71356 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read: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 and the California Council for Adaptation and Resiliency, 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 meetings that are made remotely accessible, to the extent feasible, in the northern, southern, and central regions of the state to obtain input from the public and leaders
in local and regional climate preparedness.
SEC. 5.
Section 71358 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:71358.
(a) The California Council for Adaptation and Resiliency within the office is hereby established. The council shall be comprised of the director of the office, or his or her designee, and members from a range of disciplines, in order to provide scientific and technical support, and from regional and local governments and entities. The council members and staff shall facilitate coordination among state, regional, and local agency efforts to adapt to the impacts of climate change.(b) Members of the council shall have expertise in the intersection of climate change or climate science 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.
(13) Procurement.
(14) Innovative
finance and life-cycle asset management.
(c) The director of the office, or his or her designee, shall serve as chair.
(d) Beginning January 1, 2019, members of the council shall serve staggered terms of four years.
(e) The council shall meet with the office as needed, but not less than three times a year.
(f) Staff of the council shall have relevant
expertise in the areas specified in subdivision (b) to facilitate the responsibilities of the council.
(g) (1) The council shall be charged with all of the following:
(A) Develop guidance documents for the integration of adaptation and resiliency into the state’s sustainability roadmap and into local general plans updates to provide guidance for state and local agencies to plan for changing climate.
(B) Coordinate with the Natural Resources Agency and the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission on the California climate
change assessment.
(C) Develop and track metrics to measure the efficacy of adaptation and resiliency at the state level.
(D) Develop and make available tools through the clearinghouse to evaluate local adaptation and resiliency efforts.
(E) Develop and mobilize strategies to build partnerships between all levels of government and the private sector, where appropriate.
(F) Identify, in consultation with the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, vulnerable communities and regions, publish and develop, as needed, tools for vulnerability assessments, and
publish tools for addressing those vulnerabilities. vulnerabilities, and provide state, regional, and local agencies with guidance implementing these analytical approaches as related to planning, investment, and decisionmaking, as applicable.
(G) Publish the relevant state policies related to climate change and adaptation in the clearinghouse.
clearinghouse established pursuant to Section 71360.
(H) Develop strategies for new financing mechanisms.
(I) Communicate with state agencies on ongoing efforts related to adaptation and resiliency in order to update the clearinghouse pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 71360 and to prevent duplication of efforts.
(2) The council shall review, on a biennial basis, and update, as needed, the information specified in paragraph (1).
(3) The council shall make publicly available on its Internet Web site
the meeting notes of the council’s meetings following each meeting.
(4) By January 1, 2020, and by January 1 of each subsequent year, the council shall make publicly available on its Internet Web site a summary of its activities during the preceding calendar year and the outcomes of those activities.
SEC. 6.
Section 71360 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:71360.
(a) (1) The council 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.
