Bill Text: CA AB57 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: California Pocket Forest Initiative.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 8-0)
Status: (Vetoed) 2024-01-30 - Consideration of Governor's veto stricken from file. [AB57 Detail]
Download: California-2023-AB57-Enrolled.html
|
Enrolled
September 14, 2023 |
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Passed
IN
Senate
September 11, 2023 |
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Passed
IN
Assembly
September 12, 2023 |
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Amended
IN
Senate
September 06, 2023 |
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Amended
IN
Senate
June 20, 2023 |
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Amended
IN
Assembly
May 18, 2023 |
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Bill
No. 57
| Introduced by Assembly Member Kalra (Coauthors: Assembly Members Mike Fong, Lee, Pellerin, Wicks, and Wilson) (Coauthors: Senators Cortese and Stern) |
December 06, 2022 |
An act to add and repeal Chapter 2.1 (commencing with Section 4799.12.2) of Part 2.5 of Division 4 of the Public Resources Code, relating to forests.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 57, Kalra.
California Pocket Forest Initiative.
Existing law establishes the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection within the Natural Resources Agency. Existing law vests the department with specified responsibilities, including providing fire protection, fire prevention, pest control, and forest and range protection and enhancement implements and apparatus as necessary. Existing law, the California Urban Forestry Act of 1978, has as a stated purpose the promotion of the use of urban forest resources for purposes of increasing integrated projects with multiple benefits in urban communities.
This bill would establish the California Pocket Forest Initiative in the department and would authorize the department to coordinate implementation of the initiative in conjunction with the act. The bill would authorize the department to offer grants to cities, counties, districts, nonprofit
organizations, the California Conservation Corps or certified community conservation corps, public universities, public community colleges, and public schools to establish pocket forests on public lands, as provided. The bill would require the department to prioritize disadvantaged communities and communities that lack publicly accessible green space for these grants. The bill would require the department to partner with one or more academic institutions to test, and submit a report on or before January 1, 2030, to the Legislature that evaluates, the applicability and effectiveness of the Miyawaki method, as defined, to restore degraded lands and reforest urban areas in multiple regions throughout California. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2031.
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.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:(a) California is home to a wide variety of rich, biodiverse natural habitats.
(b) Natural habitats offer many benefits, including groundwater recharge.
(c) According to the Department of Fish and Wildlife, California hosts 464 rare, threatened, and endangered species of plants and animals. It is also home to thousands of other species that fill crucial roles in the state’s ecosystems. Many of these species require access to natural habitats in order to survive.
(d) Access to natural green
spaces is beneficial to human health and happiness, especially for children and economically disadvantaged communities.
(e) According to the United States Census, 95 percent of California’s population lives in urban areas, making it the most urban state in the nation.
(f) Pocket forests can benefit society in a number of ways. First, they can confer some of the benefits of natural habitat onto urban areas. Second, they can attract and sustain species that may otherwise struggle to thrive in highly developed, low biodiversity regions. Third, they can provide easy access to natural green spaces for the growing number of urban-dwelling Californians.
(g) California works diligently to conserve its unique, biodiverse natural habitats and improve the health and happiness of its residents. Therefore, it is in the state’s
interest to promote the creation of pocket forests.
SEC. 2.
Chapter 2.1 (commencing with Section 4799.12.2) is added to Part 2.5 of Division 4 of the Public Resources Code, to read:CHAPTER 2.1. California Pocket Forest Initiative
4799.12.2.
For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply:(a) “Initiative” means the California Pocket Forest Initiative.
(b) “Miyawaki method” means a method of planting that first analyzes and improves a plot’s soil conditions, then densely plants the plot with native main tree species, subspecies, shrubs, and ground-covering herbs. The trees planted through this method should, if possible, be grown from seeds, not grafts or clones.
(c) “Pocket forest” means a small plot of urban land that has been planted according to the Miyawaki method.
4799.12.3.
The California Pocket Forest Initiative is hereby established in the department. The department may coordinate implementation of the initiative in conjunction with the California Urban Forestry Act of 1978 (Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 4799.06)).4799.12.4.
The department shall partner with one or more academic institutions to test the applicability and effectiveness of the Miyawaki method to restore degraded lands and reforest urban areas in multiple regions throughout California.4799.12.5.
(a) The department may offer grants to cities, counties, districts, nonprofit organizations, the California Conservation Corps or certified community conservation corps, public universities, public community colleges, and public schools to establish pocket forests on public lands in order to test and demonstrate the applicability and effectiveness of the Miyawaki method in California.(b) The department shall prioritize disadvantaged communities and communities that lack publicly accessible green space for these demonstration grants.
(c) For public school grantees, the grant may include funding to develop and offer grade-appropriate urban forestry and ecology
curriculum.
4799.12.6.
(a) Notwithstanding Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, on or before January 1, 2030, the department shall submit a report to the Legislature that evaluates the applicability and effectiveness of the Miyawaki method to restore degraded lands and reforest urban areas in multiple regions throughout California. The report shall include an assessment of the costs and benefits of the Miyawaki method, a discussion of appropriate species for different regions of the state, and recommendations for any modifications to the method that may be appropriate for its use in California. The department may contract with academic institutions to prepare the report, which shall be subject to the peer review process.(b) The report to be
submitted pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
