Today's Law As Amended


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AB-1922 California Conservation Corps: Green Collar Certification Program.(2023-2024)



As Amends the Law Today


SECTION 1.

 Section 14300 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:

14300.
 Young adults participating in the corps program shall generally be engaged in projects that do any of  the following:
(a) Preserve, maintain, and enhance environmentally important lands and waters.
(b) Accomplish useful and needed public works projects in both urban and rural areas.
(c) Conserve, maintain, improve, and develop natural resources in both urban and rural areas.
(d) Provide opportunities for public use of, or education in, the areas, projects, and resources described in subdivisions (a), (b), and (c).
(e) Assist in emergency operations, such as natural disaster relief and the rescue of lost and injured persons.
(f) Assist in fire prevention and suppression.
(g) Directly contribute to and promote  the conservation of energy. clean energy, enhance climate resilience, and develop sustainable climate infrastructure. 
(h) Contribute toward making public facilities accessible to persons with disabilities.
(i) Assist departments within the Natural  Resources Agency in developing, rehabilitating, and restoring parklands, recreational facilities, and historical resources; restoring salmon and steelhead spawning, nursery, and rearing habitat; restoring and preserving wildlife habitat; and enhancing reforestation in both urban and rural areas.

SEC. 2.

 Section 14307.5 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:

14307.5.
 (a) The director shall establish a Green Collar Certification Program that provides young persons participating in the corps with skills and education relating to reducing carbon emissions in residential and nonresidential buildings, preparing communities for environmental disasters, and developing conservation infrastructure projects that stabilize shorelines and restore ecological habitats.
(b) The director shall issue a Green Collar Certificate to a corpsmember who successfully completes the Green Collar Certification Program.
(c) The Green Collar Certification Program shall prepare corpsmembers to enter the workforce, apply for an apprentice program, or pursue higher education.
(d) In developing and administering the Green Collar Certification Program, the director may partner with local builders, the Interagency Advisory Committee on Apprenticeship, environmental organizations, and community colleges to provide relevant training and experience to corpsmembers.
(e) (1) The director may apply for and accept grants or donations of funds from any public or private source that are provided for the specific purpose of purchasing, renting, or otherwise acquiring or obtaining necessary property, supplies, instruments, tools, equipment, and conveniences for the Green Collar Certification Program.
(2) Any moneys received pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be deposited into the Green Collar Certification Program Fund, which is hereby created in the State Treasury. Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code or any other law, all moneys deposited into the fund shall be continuously appropriated, without regard to fiscal years, to the director for purposes of paragraph (1). Only those grants or donations described in paragraph (1) may be deposited into the fund and General Fund moneys shall not be deposited into the fund.