BOARD LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE Friday, January 17, 2020 12:30 P.M
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BOARD LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE Friday, January 17, 2020 12:30 p.m. EBRPD – Administrative Headquarters 2950 Peralta Oaks Court Oakland, California 94605 The following agenda items are listed for Committee consideration. In accordance with the Board Operating Guidelines, no official action of the Board will be taken at this meeting; rather, the Committee’s purpose shall be to review the listed items and to consider developing recommendations to the Board of Directors. A copy of the background materials concerning these agenda items, including any material that may have been submitted less than 72 hours before the meeting, is available for inspection on the District’s website (www. ebparks.org), the Headquarters reception desk, and at the meeting. Public Comment on Agenda Items If you wish to testify on an item on the agenda, please complete a speaker’s form and submit it to the recording secretary. Your name will be called when the item is announced for discussion. Accommodations and Access District facilities and meetings comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. If special accommodations are needed for you to participate, please contact the Clerk of the Board at 510-544-2020 as soon as possible, but preferably at least three working days prior to the meeting. AGENDA TIME ITEM STATUS STAFF 12:30 I. STATE LEGISLATION / OTHER MATTERS A. NEW LEGISLATION R Doyle/Pfuehler 1. Other Matters B. OTHER STATE MATTERS I Doyle/Pfuehler 1. Governor Newsom’s State Budget 2. New Laws 3. Climate and Resources Bond 4. Sacramento Legislative Meetings I Pfuehler/Hoffman 5. Other Matters II. FEDERAL LEGISLATION / OTHER MATTERS A. NEW LEGISLATION R Doyle/Pfuehler 1. H.R. 5435 (Grijalva D-AZ) – American Public Lands and Water Climate Solution Act 2. S. 2882 (Harris D-CA and H.R. 5091 (Huffman D-CA) – Wildfire Defense Act 3. S. 2975 (Bennet D-CO) – Stop the Speed of Invasive Mussels Act 4. Other Matters B. OTHER FEDERAL MATTERS I Doyle/Pfuehler 1. Other Matters III. WASHINGTON D.C. LEGISLATIVE MEETINGS I Pfuehler/Baldinger IV. ALAMEDA COUNTY SPECIAL DISTRICTS ASSOCIATION R Pfuehler/Hoffman 30TH ANNIVERSARY V. ARTICLES VI. OPEN FORUM PUBLIC COMMENT Individuals wishing to address the Committee on a topic not on the agenda may do so by completing a speaker’s form and submitting it to the recording secretary. VII. BOARD COMMENTS (R) Recommendation for Future Board Consideration Future Meetings: (I) Information January 17 July 17 (D) Discussion February – NO MTG August 21 March 27 September – NO MTG Legislative Committee Members April 17 October 16 Dennis Waespi (Chair); Beverly Lane, Elizabeth Echols May 15 November – NO MTG Ellen Corbett, Alternate June – NO MTG *December 11 Erich Pfuehler, Government Affairs Manager TO: Board Legislative Committee (Chair Dennis Waespi, Beverly Lane, Elizabeth Echols, Alt. Ellen Corbett) FROM: Robert E. Doyle, General Manager Erich Pfuehler, Government Affairs Manager SUBJECT: Board Legislative Committee Meeting WHEN: Friday, January 17, 2020 12:30 PM Lunch will be served WHERE: Board Room, Peralta Oaks _______ Items to be discussed: I. STATE LEGISLATION / OTHER MATTERS A. NEW LEGISLATION – N/A 1. Other Matters B. OTHER STATE MATTERS 1. Governor Newsom’s State Budget On Friday, January 10th, Governor Newsom introduced his second state budget. He held a near three-hour news conference to unveil the $222 billion budget. Big picture items included education, early childhood programs, health care, housing and homelessness, and adding to the state’s reserves. Resources related highlights include: • $4.75 billion climate resilience bond for the November 2020 ballot – including $500 million for hardening critical community infrastructure, $250 million for forest health, $320 million for coastal wetland restoration, $130 million for nature-based flood protection and resilience, and $200 million for urban greening. • $965 million in Cap-and-Trade funds – including $165 million for Healthy and Resilient Forests. • $65.1 million to advance the Parks for All initiative. • $20 million in the General Fund for a new state park. • $20 million for Outdoor Equity Grants Program. • $11.8 million for access to parks and programming. • $8.7 million in Proposition 68 funds for urban parks – including $2.6 million for Candlestick Point and $4.9 million for deferred maintenance projects in non-profit operated parks. • $4.6 million bond funds to acquire inholding properties to expand existing state parks. 2. New Laws With the beginning of the year, several new laws have gone into effect which are of interest to the District. Among them are a one dollar increase in the minimum wage (SB 3) and extension of paid family leave from six to eight weeks (SB 83). District supported 1 Assembly Member Monique Limón’s (D-Santa Barbara) Outdoor Equity Grants Program (AB 209) goes into effect and the Governor’s budget includes $20 million to implement. A bill from 2018 requiring State Parks to keep an updated website about dog friendly park areas also goes into effect. 3. Climate and Resources Bond The three State bond measure bills brought forth during the 2019 legislative session – SB 45 (Allen), AB 352 (Garcia) and AB 1298 (Mullin) – were designed to provide for critical investments in climate change adaptation and resilience. While all three contain important initiatives, the District is especially appreciative of the outstanding leadership demonstrated by Bay Area Caucus Member, Kevin Mullin, for authoring AB 1298. Some of the investment priorities identified by Bay Area land management agencies include: • Wildfire and Vegetation Management ($200 million) • State Coastal Conservancy ($500 million with a minimum of $100 million dedicated to the Bay Area Program) • Nature-based Infrastructure prioritization • Community Access (5% of all funds) • Active Transportation ($75 million) • Disadvantaged Communities (use Under-Resourced Communities definition) District staff participated in a meeting with Assembly Member Mullin recently and identified wildfire vegetation management and equipment as high priorities. Mullin has proposed up to $12 billion in bond priorities. There has also been a renewed call for recommendations on SB 45 and Assembly Member Garcia is engaged. District staff and Advocate Houston will provide additional updates. 4. Sacramento Legislative Meetings On Wednesday, January 22nd, District Board Members and staff will be meeting with the East Bay legislative delegation. The main issues to be discussed are: • Wildfire Protection • Climate and Resources Bond • ADA Accessibility • Public Safety Infrastructure • California Plastic Reduction Initiative Staff will provide a brief PowerPoint to run through the proposed day of meetings. 5. Other Matters II. FEDERAL LEGISLATION / OTHER MATTERS A. NEW LEGISLATION 1. H.R. 5435 (Grijalva D-AZ) – American Public Lands and Water Climate Solution Act Representative Raul Grijalva’s bill directs the Department of the Interior (DoI) and the United States Forest Service (USFS) to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions from public lands and waters by 2040. The bill temporarily pauses new fossil fuel leases while the agencies develop a plan to reach the 2040 goal. DoI and USFS must meet climate pollution reduction targets at specific intervals starting in 2025. They must also publish strategic plans every four years detailing how the agencies will meet the pollution 2 reduction targets established by the legislation. The bill also increases royalties on fossil fuel extraction by oil, gas and coal corporations. It uses the proceeds to support workers and communities impacted by a transition away from energy extraction. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, climate-harming pollution from fossil fuel development on public lands and waters account for nearly a quarter of the U.S. total, while public land ecosystems absorb the equivalent of only about three percent of U.S. emissions each year. The American Public Lands and Waters Climate Solution Act seeks to balance that out by 2040. The bill encourages the development of more renewable energy on public lands, better land management techniques to increase the amount of carbon absorbed by public lands ecosystems, and the use of public lands for geologic sequestration or negative-emissions technologies, while limiting the growth of new fossil fuel development and helping communities achieve a just transition. Other major provisions of the bill include: • Calculating Net Emissions: Makes the U.S. Geological Survey responsible for tracking emissions from the development and combustion of oil, gas and coal produced on federal leases, as well as the emissions avoided by renewable energy generation on public lands, the amount of carbon absorbed by ecosystems on public lands, and any carbon dioxide captured and permanently sequestered on public lands. • Enforcement: If at any point the climate pollution reduction targets are not being met, no new fossil fuel permits or leases may be issued until compliance is reached. • Fee Increases on Fossil Fuel Extraction: Increases the minimum royalty rate for onshore coal, oil and gas from 12.5 percent to 18.75 percent. The bill also establishes new fees on producing and nonproducing oil and gas leases, to be paid by the fossil fuel industry. • Economic Development for Fossil Fuel Communities: Dedicates the new funds collected from the above fees to fossil fuel-dependent regions. The funds can be used for reclamation and restoration of land and water, transition assistance, worker retraining, economic diversification and other purposes. The bill is supported by The Wilderness Society, Natural Resources Defense Council, Earthjustice, Oceana and Earthworks Staff recommendation: Support 2. S. 2882 (Harris D-CA) and H.R. 5091 (Huffman D-CA) – Wildfire Defense Act Senator Kamala Harris and Representative Jared Huffman have introduced legislation to expand a grant program within the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), in consultation with the U.S. Forest Service, to carry out projects that support a diverse portfolio of community wildfire defense strategies. It would set aside $1 billion each year to pay for better infrastructure, land-use and evacuation route planning in fire- prone communities.