Climate change: plans: gender impacts., the official text

An act to amend Sections 71152, 71341, and 71361 of the Public Resources Code, relating to climate change.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

Existing law requires the Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation and the Natural Resources Agency, on or before July 1, 2026, and every 3 years thereafter, to update the Extreme Heat Action Plan to promote comprehensive, coordinated, and effective state and local government action on extreme heat.
This bill would require the office and the agency, on or before July 1, 2028, to conduct an assessment of the disparate and differentiated gendered impacts and risks of extreme heat, as provided, for purposes of integration into updates to the Extreme Heat Action Plan. The bill would require the office and the agency to post the gender assessment on their respective internet websites and to provide the assessment to the relevant policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature.
Existing law provides that it is the intent of the Legislature to prioritize the most vulnerable communities, ecosystems, and economic sectors in the state’ climate adaptation and resilience strategy set forth in the Safeguarding California Plan and that the Natural Resources Agency consider developing policies to address the impacts of climate change and climate adaptation with a focus on equity and that actions taken to address climate adaptation should be consistent with the plan and specifies that in developing these policies and taking these actions, the agency include the adoption of strategies that seek to address and, at a minimum, avoid worsening social and racial inequities.
This bill would additionally state the intent of the Legislature that those strategies shall seek to address and, at a minimum, avoid worsening gender inequities.
Existing law requires the office, through the Integrated Climate Adaptation and Resiliency Program, to develop the California Climate Change Assessment to provide an integrated suite of products that report the impacts and risks of climate change, based on the best available science, and identify potential solutions to inform legislative policy. Existing law requires the office to complete the assessment no less frequently than every 5 years. Existing law requires the products in the assessment to include, among other things, reports on issues of statewide significance, including, but not limited to, environmental justice considerations.
This bill would expressly require the reports on issues of statewide significance to include gender impact considerations.

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

SECTION 1.
Section 71152 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:
71152.
(a) It is the intent of the Legislature to prioritize the most vulnerable communities, ecosystems, and economic sectors in the state’s climate adaptation and resilience strategy set forth in the Safeguarding California Plan by ensuring that all state departments and agencies accurately identify, collaboratively prepare for, and are sufficiently resourced to adequately respond to the impacts of climate change, such as extreme weather events, the urban heat island effect, habitat loss, wildfire, sea level rise, and drought.
(b) It also is the intent of the Legislature that the agency consider developing policies to address the impacts of climate change and climate adaptation with a focus on equity and that actions taken to address climate adaptation should be consistent with the plan. In developing these policies and taking these actions, all of the following shall occur:
(1) The creation of planning processes that are transparent, fair, and inclusive in the development phases.
(2) The prioritization of resources and investments for vulnerable communities and populations.
(3) The adoption of strategies that seek to address and, at a minimum, avoid worsening social, racial, and gender inequities.

SEC. 2.
Section 71341 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:
71341.
The California Climate Change Assessment shall provide an integrated suite of products that report the impacts and risks of climate change, based on the best available science, and identify potential solutions to inform legislative policy. These products shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
(a) Downscaled climate projections that assess climate change impacts throughout the state, including at regional and local levels, for near-term, medium-term, and long-term timescales, and under varied emissions scenarios, as appropriate and supported by the availability of the data, as determined by the Office of Planning and Research.
(b) A set of research reports that examine, but need not be limited to, all of the following:
(1) How climate change will affect built systems, natural systems, and social systems, including the welfare of vulnerable communities, and the potential fiscal and economic impacts of these effects in California.
(2) Identification of potential climate adaptation and mitigation responses, including their costs and benefits.
(c) Regionally specific reports that can inform regional and local vulnerability assessments, adaptation planning, and community resilience efforts.
(d) Reports on issues of statewide significance, including, but not limited to, environmental justice considerations, gender impact considerations, impacts on the systems identified in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b), and the unique risks posed to, and research and monitoring approaches used by, tribal communities.
(e) Decision-support tools for planners, decisionmakers, and others, including organizations that serve vulnerable communities, that allow for actionable application of assessment research findings. To the extent data is available, this shall include guidance regarding assessment of the financial and economic costs and benefits of adaptation decisions.
(f) Examples of best practices for planning for future climate conditions and approaches to building adaptation and resilience, while also meeting established greenhouse gas emission reduction goals.

SEC. 3.
Section 71361 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:
71361.
(a) On or before July 1, 2026, and every three years thereafter, the office and the Natural Resources Agency, in consultation with relevant state agencies and to be integrated into the climate adaptation strategy developed pursuant to Section 71153, shall update the Extreme Heat Action Plan to promote comprehensive, coordinated, and effective state and local government action on extreme heat. Updates to the Extreme Heat Action Plan shall include all of the following:
(1) Review of relevant actions and grants that state agencies have undertaken to mitigate extreme heat and implement the Extreme Heat Action Plan, including, but not limited to, an in-depth review of select programs and actions, including, but not limited to, the ICARP Extreme Heat and Community Resilience Grant Program, as described in Item 0650-101-0001 of the Budget Act of 2022, projects that use cool and reflective surfaces, and efforts to address extreme heat on California’s school campuses.
(2) A description of the resources, budget allocations, expenditures, and staff dedicated to addressing extreme heat.
(3) A review of state programs that address extreme heat to identify potential gaps or unmet needs in the state’s approach and that includes recommendations on ways to improve policies, programs, and interagency coordination.
(4) Recommendations on additional measures to protect vulnerable populations, such as pupils and students, from the impacts of extreme heat, including, but not limited to, community cooling strategies.
(b) (1) On or before July 1, 2028, the office and the Natural Resources Agency shall conduct an assessment of the disparate and differentiated gendered impacts and risks of extreme heat for purposes of integration into updates to the Extreme Heat Action Plan developed pursuant to subdivision (a). The assessment shall be known as the “gender assessment.” In conducting the gender assessment, intersectional and systemic inequities shall be considered. The gender assessment shall include all of the following:
(A) An analysis of the disparate and differentiated gendered impacts and risks of extreme heat to identify gaps or unmet needs in the state’s approach to addressing extreme heat.
(B) An analysis of sex- or gender-disaggregated data, where available, on workers in relevant sectors, including, but not limited to, health care and care workers, outdoor workers, and others, to identify those substantially responsible for protecting community health and supporting community resilience in response to extreme heat, as well as those substantially in danger of negative impacts at work from extreme heat.
(C) Recommendations on additional measures or priority actions to address the disparate and differentiated gendered impacts of extreme heat to improve policies, programs, and interagency coordination. State agencies may consider these recommendations in developing their policies and programs.
(2) The gender assessment shall be posted on the office’s and the Natural Resources Agency’s internet websites and shall be provided to the relevant policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature, consistent with the requirements of Section 9795 of the Government Code.
(c) The Extreme Heat Action Plan and subsequent updates shall be posted on the office’s and the Natural Resources Agency’s internet websites and, notwithstanding Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, shall be provided to the relevant policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature.
(d) For purposes of this section, “Extreme Heat Action Plan” means the April 2022 plan entitled “Protecting Californians From Extreme Heat: A State Action Plan to Build Community Resilience.”