Bill Text

Bill Information


Add To My Favorites | print page

AB-1360 Environmental quality: environmental indicators. (2003-2004)

SHARE THIS: share this bill in Facebook share this bill in Twitter
AB1360:v91#DOCUMENT

Assembly Bill No. 1360
CHAPTER 664

An act to add Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 71080) to Part 2 of Division 34 of the Public Resources Code, relating to environmental quality.

[ Filed with Secretary of State  October 03, 2003. Approved by Governor  October 02, 2003. ]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 1360, Steinberg. Environmental quality: environmental indicators.
Existing law requires the Secretary for Environmental Protection, on or before January 1, 2002, to convene a Working Group on Environmental Justice to assist the California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal/EPA) in developing, on or before July 1, 2002, an agencywide strategy for identifying and addressing gaps in existing programs, policies, or activities that may impede the achievement of environmental justice.
This bill would require the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA), on behalf of the office of the Secretary for Environmental Protection, beginning on July 1, 2004, and, to the extent that funds are appropriated by the Legislature, to develop and maintain a system of environmental indicators that meets specified objectives. The bill would define the term “environmental indicator.” The bill would require the Secretary of the Cal/EPA to periodically assess the ability of the environmental indicators system to meet each of those objectives and the ability of the system to support the development and implementation of the agencywide environmental justice strategy. The bill would require the Secretary of the Cal/EPA to submit a report on those environmental indicators to the Governor and the Legislature on or before January 1, 2006, and by January 1 every two years thereafter.
The bill would require the OEHHA to be the lead agency for developing new environmental indicators, for modifying, deleting, and updating existing environmental indicators, and for developing and maintaining an environmental indicator database. The bill would require the OEHHA to consult with other state agencies, as specified and would authorize OEHHA to hold public meetings to receive comments. The bill would also require the OEHHA to lead an intra-agency workgroup consisting of representatives from each board, department, and office within the Cal/EPA. The OEHHA would be required to consult with that intra-agency workgroup regarding various activities.
The bill would state the Legislature’s intent that the Secretary for Environmental Protection, the Secretary of the Resources Agency, and the Director of the Department of Health Services in conjunction with other specified entities, use environmental indicators, where applicable, in the development of the budget proposals for 2005–06 and future budget years, and require budget change proposals to indicate how the proposals would affect specified environmental indicators.
The bill would require that a budget change proposal submitted to the Legislature by a board, department, or office within the California Environmental Protection Agency or the Resources Agency describe how the proposal would affect specified environmental indicators. The bill would require any board, department, or office within Cal/EPA to explain how their bond programs relate to or affect environmental indicators.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 71080) is added to Part 2 of Division 34 of the Public Resources Code, to read:
CHAPTER  4. Environmental Protection Indicators for California

71080.
 The Legislature finds and declares the following:
(a) Traditionally, many of California’s environmental programs have assessed their performance using measures of activity, including, for example, the number of permits granted or regulatory standards adopted. Addressing the complex environmental challenges of the 21st century will require new approaches that rely on better information from objective and scientifically based environmental indicators. Over the years, substantial efforts have been devoted toward this end, yet historically there have been very few meaningful, objective measures with which to determine the environmental impacts of these efforts.
(b) The California Environmental Protection Agency has made a commitment to move away from measures of activity, and instead focus on measurable environmental results to judge program performance. To support this commitment, the California Environmental Protection Agency established the Environmental Protection Indicators for California (EPIC) Project in 2000, and charged EPIC with developing and maintaining a comprehensive set of environmental indicators, which are scientific measurements of environmental conditions and trends. To ensure that the development of indicators was based on sound science, the California Environmental Protection Agency designated its Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment to lead the effort. The California Environmental Protection Agency, working in partnership with the Resources Agency and in cooperation with the Department of Health Services, released a report containing the initial set of 84 environmental indicators in April 2002.
(c) Objective and scientifically based environmental indicators improve our understanding of the environment and how human activities and other factors can influence it. The indicators establish a scientific basis for evaluating the effectiveness of environmental programs and identifying the need for specific actions to improve environmental conditions throughout the state and the disproportionate impact on low-income communities and communities of color. Decisions to create, modify, or eliminate California Environmental Protection Agency policies and programs need to be driven by information reflected by environmental indicators; and, to the extent feasible, budget decisions should include a reference as to how the proposed change is intended to impact a relevant environmental indicator.
(d) To ensure the credibility of objective and scientifically based environmental indicators, a qualified scientific body with expertise in environmental and public health protection should provide input into the selection and development of the indicators.
(e) To ensure the relevance of the environmental indicators, input should be sought from a broad range of stakeholders.
(f) It is the intent of the Legislature that the Secretary for Environmental Protection, the Secretary of the Resources Agency, and the Director of the Department of Health Services in conjunction with the boards, departments, and offices in their respective agencies, use environmental indicators, where applicable, in the development of the budget proposals for the 2005–06 fiscal year and each fiscal year thereafter.

71081.
 (a) Beginning on July 1, 2004, to the extent that funds are appropriated by the Legislature for this purpose, the office, on behalf of the office of the secretary, shall develop and maintain a system of environmental indicators. The office shall develop and maintain the system to meet all of the following objectives for using environmental indicators:
(1) Provide policymakers and the public with an improved understanding of the condition of the state’s environment and the effects of the release of contaminants on public health and the environment.
(2) Provide policymakers and the public with information to evaluate the effectiveness of the agency’s programs in improving environmental quality and protecting public health throughout the state, including environmental quality and public health in low-income communities and communities of color.
(3) Assist in the development and modification of agency programs, plans, and policies as environmental conditions change over time.
(4) Assist the agency in making budget decisions that address the most significant environmental concerns.
(b) The following definitions apply to this section:
(1) “Agency” means the California Environmental Protection Agency.
(2) “Environmental indicator” means an objective and scientifically based measure that represents information on environmental conditions, releases of contaminants into the environment, or the effects of those releases.
(3) “Office” means the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment.
(4) “Secretary” means the Secretary for Environmental Protection.
(c) The secretary shall submit a report on the environmental indicators developed pursuant to this chapter to the Governor and the Legislature on or before January 1, 2006, and by January 1 every two years thereafter. The report shall include a discussion as to the manner in which the environmental indicators are being used by the agency to meet the objectives set forth in subdivision (a). The office shall make the report available to the public on its Web site. The office shall include on its Web site any additional relevant information in support of those environmental indicators and shall update that information posted on the Web site as new information becomes available.
(d) The office shall be the lead agency for developing new environmental indicators, for modifying, deleting, and updating existing environmental indicators, and for developing and maintaining an environmental indicator database. The office shall lead an intra-agency workgroup, consisting of representatives from each of the boards, departments, and offices within the agency. The office shall consult with the intra-agency workgroup in developing and maintaining the environmental indicators, program planning, policy formulation, and other decisionmaking processes, and in drafting the report required under subdivision (c).
(e) In developing and maintaining the environmental indicators, the office shall consult with the Resources Agency, the State Department of Health Services, and other state agencies as appropriate.
(f) The office may utilize information for indicators that is not collected by other boards and departments within the agency and may identify and establish new indicators.
(h) In implementing this section, the office may hold public meetings to receive comments from a broad range of stakeholders, including, but not limited to, local government, the regulated community, nongovernmental organizations, and other groups with an interest in environmental issues.
(i) The office shall consult with the scientific review panel established pursuant to Section 50.8 of the Labor Code for the purpose of establishing, updating, and evaluating environmental indicators.
(j) The secretary shall periodically assess the ability of the environmental indicators system to meet each of the objectives cited in subdivision (a) and the ability of the system to support the development and implementation of the agencywide environmental justice strategy pursuant to Section 71113.

71082.
 (a) As appropriate, a budget change proposal submitted to the Legislature by a board, department, or office within the California Environmental Protection Agency or the Resources Agency shall describe how the proposal would affect any applicable “Type I” environmental indicator. To the extent that a budget change proposal relates to a “Type II” or “Type III” environmental indicator, the budget change proposal shall reference what data collection and further analysis is needed before the environmental status or trend that is the subject of the indicator may be presented.
(b) A board, department, or office within the California Environmental Protection Agency shall explain how its bond programs relate to or affect environmental indicators.