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AB-3142 Los Angeles Community College District: California Center for Climate Change Education.(2023-2024)

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Date Published: 08/22/2024 09:00 PM
AB3142:v96#DOCUMENT

Enrolled  August 22, 2024
Passed  IN  Senate  August 20, 2024
Passed  IN  Assembly  May 21, 2024
Amended  IN  Assembly  May 16, 2024
Amended  IN  Assembly  April 04, 2024

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 3142

Introduced by Assembly Member Jones-Sawyer

February 16, 2024

An act to add Article 7.5 (commencing with Section 78085) to Chapter 1 of Part 48 of Division 7 of Title 3 of the Education Code, and to amend Section 61 of Chapter 54 of the Statutes of 2022, relating to public postsecondary education.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 3142, Jones-Sawyer. Los Angeles Community College District: California Center for Climate Change Education.
Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, as one of the 3 segments of public postsecondary education in this state. Existing law establishes community college districts throughout the state, and authorizes them to provide instruction to students at community college campuses. One of these districts is the Los Angeles Community College District.
Existing law appropriates $5,000,000 to the Los Angeles Community College District for the development and initial operations of the California Center for Climate Change Education at the West Los Angeles College with the mission to promote climate change education at the California Community Colleges and establish opportunities for students to engage in hands-on internships and other learning opportunities.
This bill would codify the establishment of the center. This bill would also establish the California Mobile Unit for Climate Change Education with a mission to assist the center in fulfilling the center’s requirement to explore and expand internships, preapprenticeships, apprenticeships, and other work-based learning opportunities in the equity, environmental justice, and green jobs sectors.
This bill would, on or before January 1, 2028, require the district to prepare and submit to the Assembly Committee on Higher Education, the Senate Committee on Education, and the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges a summary report that includes an evaluation of the Mobile Unit, as provided.
The provisions of this bill related to the Mobile Unit would only be implemented upon an appropriation by the Legislature for its purposes.
To the extent the bill would impose additional obligations on the Los Angeles Community College District, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Los Angeles Community College District.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: YES  

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


SECTION 1.

 The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) The 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, more commonly referred to as COP26, was held in Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom, from October 31, to November 12, 2021, inclusive.
(b) A goal of the COP26 is to secure net-zero carbon emissions globally by 2050, work together to ensure that the 1.5 degrees Celsius global warming threshold is not exceeded, facilitate all countries to protect and restore ecosystems already impacted by climate change, and enhance the world’s resiliency and adaptation towards the future expected impacts of climate change.
(c) In November 2023, the Fifth National Climate Assessment was released. This federal report provides the scientific foundation to support informed decisionmaking on climate change across the United States.
(d) The report states: “Actions that acknowledge the differences in peoples’ understanding of climate change and incorporate diverse histories, cultures, and forms of knowledge can promote climate justice.”
(e) Global climate change is an immediate threat to the United States’ national security, public health, national economy, and the legacy we will leave to our children.
(f) The most vulnerable communities, including communities of color, women, children, the elderly, persons with disabilities, low-income communities, and those with underlying health conditions, face even greater health risks as a result of climate change.
(g) The United States can lead the world in innovating and manufacturing clean energy technologies, creating good-paying jobs, modernizing the energy grid, and growing new companies that will be the titans of a new, clean energy economy.
(h) On July 8, 2020, the Board of Trustees of the Los Angeles Community College District adopted the Clean Energy and Sustainability Resolution, which directs the district’s staff to develop and implement a Sustainability Vision 2040 Plan for the district that establishes a pathway to achieving the 100 percent carbon-free energy goal by 2040.
(i) The people of the state and across the United States overwhelmingly support teaching students about the causes, consequences, and potential solutions to global climate change.
(j) The Budget Act of 2022 established the California Center for Climate Change Education at the Los Angeles Community College District, West Los Angeles College campus.

SEC. 2.

 Article 7.5 (commencing with Section 78085) is added to Chapter 1 of Part 48 of Division 7 of Title 3 of the Education Code, to read:
Article  7.5. The California Center for Climate Change Education

78085.
 This article shall be known, and may be cited, as the California Center for Climate Change Education.

78086.
 (a) The California Center for Climate Change Education is hereby established in the Los Angeles Community College District. The center shall be located at the West Los Angeles College.
(b) The mission of the center is to promote climate change education at the California Community Colleges and establish opportunities for students to engage in hands-on internships and other learning opportunities. The center shall do all of the following:
(1) Serve as a resource for community colleges on climate change education with the understanding that at its core climate change is a global issue of equity and social justice.
(2) Build a clear climate change pathway that leads to appropriate certificates, degrees, and employment opportunities.
(3) Enhance partnerships with nonprofit organizations that encourage the development of student internships and work-based learning opportunities.
(4) Explore and expand internships, preapprenticeships, apprenticeships, and other work-based learning opportunities in the equity, environmental justice, and green jobs sectors.
(5) Partner with local and regional entities to support the workforce training needed in the greening of the energy grid and other industries.
(6) Develop and sustain an annual urban climate change and sustainability conference.
(c) When developing a clear climate change pathway as required by paragraph (2) of subdivision (b), the center shall consult with relevant faculty and administrative groups of the California Community Colleges, the California State University, and the University of California, including, but not limited to, the Academic Senates of the California Community Colleges, the California State University, and the University of California, and the Intersegmental Committee of the Academic Senates.
(d) On or before January 1, 2027, the district shall prepare a summary report that includes an evaluation of the center in accomplishing the mission of the center as described in paragraphs (1) to (6), inclusive, of subdivision (b), recommendations for improving programs offered by the center, and an accounting of how the funds appropriated in Section 61 of Chapter 54 of the Statutes of 2022 were used for the purposes described in paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 61 of Chapter 54 of the Statutes of 2022.

78087.
 (a) The California Mobile Unit for Climate Change Education is hereby established as part of the California Center for Climate Change Education established pursuant to Section 78086. The Mobile Unit shall be located at West Los Angeles College and shall provide learning opportunities throughout the region.
(b) The mission of the Mobile Unit is to assist the California Center for Climate Change Education in fulfilling the requirement of paragraph (4) of subdivision (b) of Section 78086 by creating opportunities for students to engage in hands-on internships and other learning opportunities. In collaboration with the California Center for Climate Change Education, the Mobile Unit shall do all of the following:
(1) Provide students with the opportunity to actively participate in the development of exhibits, hands-on learning experiences, and outreach programs.
(2) Partner with local and regional entities to support the workforce training needed in greening the energy grid and other industries.
(c) It is the intent of the Legislature that through the Mobile Unit, students will gain invaluable proficiencies in research, develop presentation skills, and gain a better understanding of the interdisciplinarity of climate change, thus leading to improvements in critical thinking and problem solving.
(d) In developing the mission of the Mobile Unit, as described in subdivision (b), the California Center for Climate Change Education shall consult with relevant faculty and administrative groups of the California Community Colleges, the California State University, and the University of California, including, but not limited to, the Academic Senates of the California Community Colleges, the California State University, and the University of California, and the Intersegmental Committee of the Academic Senates.
(e) On or before January 1, 2028, the district shall prepare and submit to the Assembly Committee on Higher Education, the Senate Committee on Education, and the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges a summary report that includes an evaluation of the Mobile Unit’s contribution to accomplishing the mission of the California Center for Climate Change Education as described in subdivision (b), recommendations for improving programs offered by the Mobile Center, and an accounting of how funds appropriated for purposes of the Mobile Unit were used.
(f) This section shall be implemented only upon an appropriation by the Legislature for its purposes in the annual Budget Act or another statute.

SEC. 3.

 Section 61 of Chapter 54 of the Statutes of 2022 is amended to read:

Sec. 61.

 (a) (1) The sum of five million dollars ($5,000,000) is hereby appropriated from the General Fund to the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges for allocation to the Los Angeles Community College District for the development and initial operations of the California Center for Climate Change Education established pursuant to Section 78086 of the Education Code.
(2) The money appropriated pursuant to paragraph (1) may be encumbered for up to a five-year period.
(3) The money appropriated pursuant to paragraph (1) may be used for any of the following purposes:
(A) To develop curricula related to climate change education for community colleges.
(B) To establish opportunities for students to engage in hands-on internships and other learning opportunities.
(C) To hire staff to develop the center.
(b) For purposes of making the computations required by Section 8 of Article XVI of the California Constitution, the appropriations made pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be deemed to be “General Fund revenues appropriated for community college districts,” as defined in subdivision (d) of Section 41202 of the Education Code, for the 2021–22 fiscal year, and included within the “total allocations to school districts and community college districts from General Fund proceeds of taxes appropriated pursuant to Article XIII B,” as defined in subdivision (e) of Section 41202 of the Education Code, for the 2021–22 fiscal year.

SEC. 4.

 The Legislature finds and declares that a special statute is necessary and that a general statute cannot be made applicable within the meaning of Section 16 of Article IV of the California Constitution because of the unique circumstances regarding the Los Angeles Community College District.

SEC. 5.

 If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.