Bill Text: CA AB2371 | 2019-2020 | Regular Session | Amended

California Assembly Bill 2371 (Prior Session Legislation)

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

Bill Title: Climate change: Office of Planning and Research: science advisory team: climate adaptation and hazard mitigation.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2020-07-08 - From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on EQ. [AB2371 Detail]

Download: California-2019-AB2371-Amended.html

Amended IN Assembly June 04, 2020

Amended IN Assembly May 04, 2020

Amended IN Assembly March 16, 2020

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 2371

Introduced by Assembly Member Friedman
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Boerner Horvath, Eduardo Garcia, and Mullin)

February 18, 2020

An act to add Section ~~71157~~ 71359 to the Public Resources Code, relating to climate change.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 2371, as amended, Friedman. Climate change: ~~Strategic Growth Council:~~ Office of Planning and Research: science advisory team: climate adaptation and hazard mitigation.

Existing law requires the Natural Resources Agency every 3 years to update the state’s climate adaptation strategy, known as the Safeguard California ~~Plan,~~ Plan (plan), including addressing certain topics. As part of the update, existing law requires the agency to coordinate with other state agencies to identify a lead agency or group of agencies to lead adaptation efforts in each sector. Existing law requires state agencies to work to maximize specified ~~objectives.~~ objectives related to climate change.

Existing law establishes the Office of Planning and Research (office) in state government in the Governor’s office. Existing law establishes the Integrated Climate Adaptation and Resiliency Program (ICARP), to be administered by the office, to coordinate regional and local efforts with state climate adaptation strategies to adapt to the impacts of climate change, as prescribed.
Existing law establishes the Strategic Growth Council (council) in state government and assigns to the council certain duties, including providing funding and distributing data and information to local governments and regional agencies that will assist in the development and planning of sustainable communities.

This bill would require the ~~Strategic Growth Council,~~ office, by July 1, 2021, to convene a climate science advisory team of distinguished scientists to advise on climate planning and adaptation efforts in the state and to, among other things, ~~review and make recommendations~~ provide input to improve climate adaptation and hazard mitigation ~~planning,~~ planning across state agencies, including the plan. The bill would require the team to serve as a working group of a specified ICARP advisory group. The bill would require the team to provide recommendations to inform certain activities of the council regarding climate change and sustainable communities. The bill would require, by January 1, 2022, the ~~council~~ office to produce, in consultation with the ~~science advisory~~ team and relevant state agencies and using the best available science, a list of recommended existing projects and potential projects of statewide significance and urgency that should be prioritized in order to advance the state’s climate resilience, including projects that improve community resilience and hazard mitigation through natural infrastructure. The bill would require the ~~council,~~ office, by July 1, 2024, to submit to the relevant policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature a report summarizing the actions of the ~~science advisory~~ team, the team’s contribution to climate resiliency and adaptation planning, and the office’s recommendations to improve the effectiveness of the team.

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) California’s changing climate increases the ~~risks~~ risk of catastrophic ~~wildfire, drought,~~ wildfires, droughts, floods, severe heat events, intense rain events, and sea level rise. These changes will impact California’s residents, agriculture, water supply, water quality, and the health of forests, watersheds, fish and wildlife, biodiversity, and the economy. Already many lives and even whole communities have been lost or destroyed.

(b) Rising average temperatures, destructive fires, higher sea levels, and more severe ~~drought and flood~~ droughts and floods put state residents in danger.

(c) The risks associated with a changing climate vary by region and may disproportionately harm vulnerable communities. Local and regional governments may not have the resources to cope with changing conditions and severe climate change-related events.

(d) The state has taken bold leadership to create the Safeguarding California Plan and other adaptation frameworks. The state must now translate ~~the~~ this plan and other frameworks into action to prepare our built and natural infrastructure to withstand the forecasted impacts of climate change.

(e) Hazard mitigation provides the context for many effective climate adaptation strategies, making communities better prepared for increasing intensity and frequency of natural disasters. The federal 2018 Disaster Recovery Reform Act places a greater emphasis on proactive investment before disasters ~~occur~~ occur, including significantly increasing the amount of funding available annually for predisaster mitigation nationwide, and California is expected to receive a large portion of those funds. California has a unique opportunity to prepare for the impacts of climate change while leveraging federal funds to do so.

(f) Climate adaptation and hazard mitigation planning and action must be guided by the best available science. The direct involvement of the state’s distinguished scientists will help ensure that state and federal resources are invested in transformative, cost-effective projects that will produce the greatest benefits to the state in the long term.

SEC. 2.Section 71157 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:
71157.

SEC. 2.

Section 71359 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:

71359.

(a) (1) On or before July 1, 2021, the ~~council~~ office shall establish a climate science advisory team of distinguished scientists to advise on climate planning and adaptation efforts in the state. The team shall provide independent and timely advice to guide climate change planning and adaptation based on the best available science by drawing on state, national, and international experts.

(2) For purposes of this section, “team” means the climate science advisory team established pursuant to this subdivision.

(b) The ~~science advisory~~ team shall include scientists from geographically diverse institutions in California with expertise in a range of disciplines related to the study of climate change, climate impacts, and adaptation. Scientists from institutions outside of California may be selected to participate on the team if they have relevant expertise that is not available within the state.

(d) Based on the best available science and relevant policy, the ~~science advisory~~ team shall ~~review and make recommendations~~ provide input to improve climate adaptation and hazard mitigation planning across state agencies, including the ~~plan.~~ plan developed pursuant to Section 71153. The team shall convene to make recommendations ~~to prioritize and improve~~ regarding state ~~expenditures on~~ priorities for climate adaptation based on the best available science. The team may also recommend new scientific studies and improvements to models for purposes of predicting climate impacts on statewide, regional, and local scales.

(e) By January 1, 2022, the ~~council~~ office shall, in consultation with the ~~science advisory~~ team and relevant state agencies and based on the best available science, produce a list of recommended projects and potential projects of statewide significance and urgency that should be prioritized in order to advance the state’s climate resilience. These recommendations shall include projects that improve community resilience and hazard mitigation through natural infrastructure.

(f) To the extent authorized by law, the ~~science advisory~~ team shall do both of the following:

(1) Review and comment on guidelines of public agencies related to the allocation and administration of state-funded programs and ~~projects funded by a climate-related bond measure or other major climate resilience investments,~~ projects, based on the best available science. At a minimum, the team shall focus on making recommendations to agencies to assist them in soliciting projects that will be strategically deployed, science-based, and likely to advance the state’s resiliency to climate change and climate change driven natural disasters.

(2) Assist ~~public~~ state agencies in selecting metrics for measuring the success of programs funded by any climate-related bond measure or other major climate resilience ~~investment.~~ investments. This includes advising on the development of standards and metrics for the monitoring and adaptive management of state climate adaptation and hazard mitigation programs and projects, and to measure progress in advancing regional climate resilience.

(g) The team shall serve as a working group of the Integrated Climate Adaptation and Resiliency Program advisory council established pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 71358.
~~(g)~~

(h) The ~~science advisory~~ team shall also provide recommendations to the ~~council on the design and implementation of experimental adaptation and resiliency projects that will further~~ Strategic Growth Council to inform activities carried out by the council pursuant to Section 75125, including evaluation of projects and investments for consistency with the state’s ~~understanding of mitigation of~~ strategy to mitigate climate change impacts and climate change driven natural disasters.

~~(h)~~

(i) (1) On or before July 1, 2024, the ~~council~~ office shall submit to the relevant policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature a report, consistent with Section 9795 of the Government Code, that summarizes the actions of the ~~science advisory~~ team, the team’s contributions to climate resiliency and adaptation planning, and the ~~council’s~~ office’s recommendations to improve the effectiveness of the team.

(2) Pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, this subdivision shall become inoperative on July 1, 2028.