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AB-2419 Environmental justice: federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act: Justice40 Advisory Committee.(2021-2022)

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Date Published: 06/09/2022 09:00 PM
AB2419:v94#DOCUMENT

Amended  IN  Senate  June 09, 2022
Amended  IN  Assembly  May 19, 2022
Amended  IN  Assembly  April 19, 2022
Amended  IN  Assembly  April 07, 2022
Amended  IN  Assembly  March 28, 2022

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 2419

Introduced by Assembly Member Bryan
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Cristina Garcia, Stone, Bennett, and Muratsuchi)
(Coauthor: Senator Stern)

February 17, 2022

An act to add and repeal Part 3.2 (commencing with Section 71119) of Division 34 of the Public Resources Code, relating to environmental justice.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 2419, as amended, Bryan. Environmental justice: federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act: Justice40 Advisory Committee.
Existing law establishes the Strategic Growth Council consisting of specified state agency members and members of the public. Existing law requires the council, among other things, to recommend policies and investment strategies and priorities to the Governor, the Legislature, and to appropriate state agencies to encourage the development of sustainable communities, such as those communities that promote equity, strengthen the economy, protect the environment, and promote public health and safety.
The federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) provides additional federal funds to rebuild the nation’s infrastructures. Executive orders issued by President Biden established the federal Justice40 Initiative with the goal that 40% of the overall federal benefits flow to disadvantaged communities and stating that the implementation of the IIJA should prioritize investing public dollars equitably, including through the Justice40 Initiative.
This bill would require a minimum of 40% of funds received by the state under the IIJA and certain other federal funds to be allocated to projects that provide direct benefits to disadvantaged communities and disadvantaged unincorporated communities and, except as specified, a minimum of an additional 10% be allocated for projects that provide direct benefits to low-income households and low-income communities, as provided. The bill would require state agencies administering those federal funds to perform specified tasks related to the expenditure of those federal funds.
This bill would establish the Justice40 Advisory Committee in the council, as provided, to perform various actions related to the expenditure of those federal funds. The bill would require the committee, by December 31, 2024, to provide submit a report to the Legislature, and to the council at a public meeting of the council, that identifies certain recommendations it has developed, including recommending projects under any covered program for federal funding. The bill would require the council, by December 31, 2027, to submit a report to the Legislature on the expenditure of federal funds and an evaluation of the state agencies’ success in meeting the requirements of the bill. The bill would provide that those provisions would be repealed by their own terms on a specified date.
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) On January 27, 2021, President Biden signed Executive Order 14008, which established the federal Justice40 Initiative “with the goal of delivering 40 percent of the overall benefits of relevant federal investments to disadvantaged communities.”
(b) On May 28, 2021, the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Committee submitted its final recommendations on the federal Justice40 Initiative to President Biden. This included the request “that there must be a transformative and accountable process developed for the fair and just distribution of 40% or more of the benefits to be invested in frontline communities. Otherwise, the investment will not reach frontline communities, given the bias and ambivalence of many state and local governments, and the systemic racial bias, inertia, and resistance to change that we must never underestimate.”
(c) On November 15, 2021, President Biden signed into law the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Public Law 117-58), hereinafter “IIJA.”
(d) On the same day, President Biden also signed Executive Order 14052, which was published on November 18, 2021, stating that implementation of the IIJA should prioritize “investing public dollars equitably, including through the [federal] Justice40 Initiative, which is a Government-wide effort toward a goal that 40 percent of overall benefits from Federal investments in climate change and clean energy flow to disadvantaged communities.”
(e) Throughout the history of the United States, racist infrastructure policies and investments have cemented inequities in housing, education, economic opportunity, health, and environmental pollution. These inequities lock millions of Americans out of prosperity and opportunity, nowhere more so than in low-income communities of color.
(f) California has its own legacy of creating, upholding, or exacerbating inequities through infrastructure investments. California’s highway system was often built in ways that broke up Black, Indigenous, and people of color communities, forcing the destruction of homes and displacing residents.
(g) Equity should be a primary consideration in determining how to spend billions of dollars in infrastructure investments to deliver jobs and other benefits where they are needed most.
(h) This is a historic moment to seize the opportunities provided by the IIJA and the federal Justice40 Initiative to reverse inequities and build a new vision of infrastructure as the foundation for an inclusive society.
(i) States must play a crucial role in achieving the goals of the federal Justice40 Initiative by ensuring that these investments target and benefit disadvantaged communities, especially those harmed by the long history of inequitable and racist policies.
(j) On September 1, 2021, Governor Newsom joined a group of 10 governors to submit a letter to Congressional leaders requesting that “any infrastructure package ensure 40 percent of the benefits of climate and clean infrastructure investments are directed to disadvantaged communities and invests in rural communities and communities impacted by the market-based transition to clean energy.”
(k) California’s disadvantaged communities need significant improvements in the areas of public transit, broadband access, water systems, and climate resilience throughout the state.
(l) Committing to the federal Justice40 Initiative could help provide, among other things, better and less polluting public transit, reliable and affordable high-speed internet access, and clean drinking water to those communities.
(m) California is committed to being a leader in the push for a cleaner and more just future.

SEC. 2.

 Part 3.2 (commencing with Section 71119) is added to Division 34 of the Public Resources Code, to read:

PART 3.2. California Justice40 Act

71119.
 This part shall be known, and may be cited, as the California Justice40 Act.

71119.1.
 (a) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:
(1)  “Committee” means the Justice40 Advisory Committee established pursuant to subdivision (h).
(2) “Construction” means construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, modernization, alteration, conversion, extension, repair, or improvement of buildings, structures, highways, or other real property.

(2)

(3) “Council” means the Strategic Growth Council established pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 75121.

(3)

(4) “Covered program” means a federal government program, as outlined in the Interim Implementation Guidance for the Justice40 Initiative (Justice40 Initiative) released by the Office of Management and Budget (M-21-28), that makes covered investment benefits in one or more of the following areas:
(A) Climate change.
(B) Clean energy and energy efficiency.
(C) Clean transportation.
(D) Affordable and sustainable housing.
(E) Training and workforce development related to climate, natural disasters, environment, clean energy, clean transportation, housing, water and wastewater infrastructure, and legacy pollution reduction, including in energy communities.
(F) Remediation and reduction of legacy pollution.
(G) Critical clean water and waste infrastructure.

(4)

(5) “Disadvantaged community” means a community identified as disadvantaged pursuant to Section 39711 of the Health and Safety Code or an alternate alternative definition historically used by a state agency for its programs to equitably reach communities, geographic areas, or individuals most in need of investment. authorized pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (b).
(6) “Disadvantaged unincorporated community” has the same meaning as defined in Section 65302.10 of the Government Code.

(5)

(7) “Federal act” means the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Public Law 117-58).

(6)

(8) “Federal funds” means moneys received by the state under the federal act for any programs and other federal moneys for covered programs that fall under the Justice40 Initiative.
(9) “Historically used” means a definition that a state agency has used to allocate funding, resources, or technical assistance for a given program and has either given the public the opportunity to submit public comment on the definition or has been codified in statute or adopted through program guidelines or regulatory processes.

(7)

(10) “Infrastructure” means all sectors included in the federal act, including, but not limited to, transportation, water, energy, broadband, and resilience and rehabilitation of the nation’s natural resources.

(8)

(11) “Low-income communities” are census tracts with median household incomes at or below 80 percent of the statewide median income or with median household incomes at or below the threshold designated as low income by the Department of Housing and Community Development’s list of state income limits adopted pursuant to Section 50093 of the Health and Safety Code or an alternate alternative definition historically used by a state agency for its programs to equitably reach communities, geographic areas, or individuals most in need of investment. authorized pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (b).

(9)

(12) “Low-income households” are those with household incomes at or below 80 percent of the statewide median income or with household incomes at or below the threshold designated as low income by the Department of Housing and Community Development’s list of state income limits adopted pursuant to Section 50093 of the Health and Safety Code or an alternate alternative definition historically used by a state agency for its programs to equitably reach communities, geographic areas, or individuals most in need of investment. authorized pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (b).
(13) “Project labor agreement” has the same meaning as defined in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 2500 of the Public Contract Code.
(14) “State agency” means any agency, board, commission, department, or political subdivision of the state.
(b) (1) In administrating administering federal funds appropriated by the Legislature, a state agency shall, to the extent applicable and not in conflict with federal law and funding guidelines, allocate a minimum of 40 percent of those funds to projects that provide direct benefits to disadvantaged communities and disadvantaged unincorporated communities in the state.
(2) In administrating administering federal funds appropriated by the Legislature, a state agency shall, to the extent applicable and not in conflict with federal law and funding guidelines, allocate a minimum of an additional 10 percent of those funds to projects that provide direct benefits to low-income households in the state or to projects that provide direct benefits to low-income communities in the state. This paragraph does not apply to funds that are subject to a state agency’s definition of “disadvantaged community” that is based only on household income level.
(3) To equitably reach communities, geographic areas, or individuals most in need of investment, a state agency may use an alternative definition for “disadvantaged community,” “low-income communities,” and “low-income households” that the state agency has historically used for the type of program that is similar to the program for which federal funds are sought.
(c) When a state agency makes a budget request to the Legislature to expend federal funds for a covered program, funds, the state agency shall submit to the appropriate subcommittees of the Budget Committees of each house of the Legislature a plan on how the state agency will meet the requirements of subdivision (b), including the definitions of “disadvantaged community,” “low-income households,” and “low-income communities” the state agency intends to use. If the state agency is using an alternative definition for a program for which federal funds are appropriated, the state agency shall post the alternative definition on its internet website.
(d) (1) Each state agency receiving federal funds appropriated by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act shall annually provide an update to the appropriate subcommittees of the Budget Committees of each house of the Legislature on, and make available to the public the update on its internet website, how the state agency is implementing the requirements of subdivision (b), including the definitions of “disadvantaged community,” “low-income households,” and “low-income communities” the state agency used, how the state agency is considering the committee’s recommendations once released, and the entities or projects that received federal funds, until the appropriated moneys are fully expended.
(2) A state agency using an alternative definition pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) shall solicit public comment on the annual update provided and posted pursuant to paragraph (1) by providing a minimum of a 30-day comment period and holding at least one public hearing with a minimum 14-day notice.
(e) It is the intent of the Legislature that each state agency receiving federal funds appropriated by the Legislature should, to the best of its ability and to the extent applicable and not in conflict with federal law or funding guidelines, ensure that any federal funds administered by that state agency avoids substantial burdens to disadvantaged communities, disadvantaged unincorporated communities, low-income communities, and low-income households, including physical or economic displacement of low-income households and small businesses in disadvantaged communities and low-income communities, increased local exposure to toxics or other health risks, or other substantial economic, environmental, or public health burdens.
(f) (1) It is the intent of the Legislature that each state agency receiving federal funds appropriated by the Legislature should, to the best of its ability and to the extent applicable and not in conflict with federal law or funding guidelines, ensure that any federal funds administered by that state agency maximizes economic cobenefits by including labor and workforce standards, and give preference to projects that include wage standards, targeted hire provisions for disadvantaged and underrepresented workers, project labor agreements, community workforce agreements, and community benefits agreements.
(2) To the extent permitted by federal law, federal funds may be allocated or used to support a construction project that will cost in excess of five million dollars ($5,000,000) only if the construction work will be performed pursuant to a project labor agreement that includes provisions to encourage apprenticeship training and the hiring of disadvantaged workers.
(g) A state agency administering federal funds appropriated by the Legislature shall, to the extent applicable and not in conflict with federal law and funding guidelines, do all of the following:
(1) Maximize benefits Provide direct, meaningful, and assured benefits that address an important community need for disadvantaged communities, disadvantaged unincorporated communities, low-income households, and low-income communities in alignment with the framework established by the investment plan Funding Guidelines for Agencies that Administer California Climate Investments developed by the State Air Resources Board pursuant to Chapter 4.1 (commencing with Section 39710) of Part 2 of Division 26 Section 39715 of the Health and Safety Code.
(2) Conduct, or participate in, outreach and engagement with disadvantaged communities communities, disadvantaged unincorporated communities, and low-income communities and prioritize projects that demonstrate community support.
(3) Consider a project’s potential impacts on goals that include, but are not limited to, advancing environmental justice, reducing emissions of greenhouse gases, promoting climate adaptation and resilience, meaningfully consulting with and incorporating input from communities, promoting registered apprenticeship and preapprenticeship programs, and creating high-road jobs.
(h) The Justice40 Advisory Committee is hereby established in the Strategic Growth Council. The committee may do all of the following:
(1) Identify infrastructure deficiencies in disadvantaged communities communities, disadvantaged unincorporated communities, and low-income communities throughout the state.
(2) Recommend projects under any covered program for federal funding.
(3) Recommend guidelines for how state agencies can use federal funds to achieve better climate, labor, and equity outcomes.
(i) (1) The committee shall consist of not less than eight members appointed by the council as follows:
(A) At least one representative of a Native American tribal community.
(B) At least one representative of a local or regional group that works on environmental issues affecting frontline communities.
(C) A representative of a local or regional group that works on transportation equity.
(D) A representative of an environmental justice organization.
(E) At least one representative of an equity- or racial justice-focused organization that works with a disadvantaged community.
(F) At least one representative of a local or regional group that works with a low-income community.
(G) A representative of a public sector labor union.
(H) A representative from a labor union that represents building and construction trades.
(2) Committee members shall serve on the committee without compensation, but may be reimbursed for their actual expenses incurred in connection with their duties as members of the committee.
(j) A state agency administering federal funds shall coordinate with the council’s Community Assistance for Climate Equity Program to assist communities in applying for, and accessing, federal funds for infrastructure projects.
(k) (1) On or before December 31, 2024, the committee shall submit a report to the Legislature, and to the council at a public meeting of the council, that identifies any recommendations it has developed pursuant to subdivision (h).
(2) On or before December 31, 2027, the council shall submit a report to the Legislature on the expenditure of federal funds and an evaluation of state agencies’ success in meeting the requirements of subdivision (b).
(3) The reports submitted to the Legislature pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (2) shall be submitted in accordance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
(4) The council shall make available to the public on its internet website the reports required pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (2).
(l) This part shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2031, or January 1 of the year following the date of the submission of the report required pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (k), whichever is earlier, and as of that date is repealed.