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AB 2139
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ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 2139 (Williams)
As Amended May 31, 2016
Majority vote
Committee
Votes
Ayes
Noes
Natural Resources
5-1
Williams, Cristina Garcia,
Gomez, Mark Stone, Wood
Harper
Appropriations
14-6
Gonzalez, Bloom, Bonilla,
Bonta, Calderon, Daly,
Eggman, Eduardo Garcia,
Roger Hernández, Holden,
Quirk, Santiago, Weber, Wood
Bigelow, Chang, Gallagher,
Jones, Obernolte, Wagner
SUMMARY: Requires the Ocean Protection Council (OPC) to coordinate and facilitate
research with other relevant public agencies on the causes, effects, and management of ocean
acidification. Requires, beginning on January 1, 2018, OPC to annually adopt recommendations
for further actions to address ocean acidification.
EXISTING LAW:
1) Requires OPC to support state agencies' use and sharing of scientific and geospatial
information for coastal- and ocean-relevant decision making relating to coastal and ocean
ecosystems, including the effects of climate change.
2) Pursuant to Executive Order B-30-15 (Brown), in addition to establishing a 40% greenhouse
gas emission reduction goal by 2030, requires several actions on adaptation, including:
a) Requires Natural Resources Agency (NRA) to update the strategy every three years and
ensure that its provisions are fully implemented. Requires the strategy to:
i) Identify vulnerabilities to climate change by sector and region, including, at a
minimum, the following sectors: water, energy, transportation, public health,
agriculture, emergency services, forestry, biodiversity and habitat, and ocean and
coastal resources;
ii) Outline primary risks to residents, property, communities, and natural systems from
these vulnerabilities, and identify priority actions needed to reduce these risks; and,
iii) Identify a lead agency or group of agencies to lead adaptation efforts in each sector.
b) Requires each sector lead to prepare an implementation plan by September 2015 to
outline the actions that will be taken as identified in the strategy, and report back on those
actions to the NRA.
c) Requires state agencies to take climate change into account in their planning and
investment decisions and employ full life-cycle cost accounting to evaluate and compare
infrastructure investments and alternatives.
AB 2139
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d) Requires state agencies' planning and investment to be guided by the principles of climate
preparedness for uncertain climate impacts, protective of vulnerable populations, and
prioritization of natural infrastructure solutions.
e) Requires the state's Five-Year Infrastructure Plan to take current and future climate
change impacts into account in all infrastructure projects.
3) Requires the NRA to update its climate adaptation strategy, the Safeguarding California Plan
(Plan), by July 1, 2017, and every three years thereafter by coordinating adaption activities
among lead state agencies in each sector.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee:
1) Unknown, potentially significant cost pressures to implement any executive or legislative
recommendations resulting from the research and compilation of data.
2) No additional state funds for OPC to conduct research and compile data. The OPC is
currently involved in similar activities with plans to expend Proposition 84 of 2006 bond
funds for the research necessary to implement the report.
COMMENTS: The Ocean absorbs about a third of the carbon dioxide that is released into the
atmosphere each year from the burning of fossil fuels and other human activities. As the carbon
dioxide levels in the atmosphere increase, so do the levels in the ocean. This changes the
chemistry of the water and threatens marine ecosystems and coastal communities dependent on
the health of the sea. Ocean acidification is the lowering of the pH of the ocean and changing of
the ocean’s chemistry, which can lead to low dissolved oxygen water (hypoxia) in ocean
ecosystems. Ocean acidification will likely have major impacts on the fisheries and aquaculture
industries in California. It could also have a profound effect on marine ecosystems leading to
large-scale die-offs and over the long term reduced biodiversity. Record hot temperatures in the
Pacific Ocean caused by global warming and a powerful El Niño have fueled the worst coral
bleaching event ever seen in portions of Australia's famed Great Barrier Reef. According to the
author’s office, "Ocean acidification has cost the oyster industry in the Pacific Northwest $110
million and jeopardized 3,200 jobs."
The Plan includes a sector on Oceans and Coastal Resources and Ecosystems. That sector
released a sector plan that discusses ocean acidification, but there are no specific
recommendations for legislative or executive action. On April 4, 2016, the West Coast Ocean
Acidification and Hypoxia Science Panel (Panel) released a synthesis of the current state of
scientific knowledge about ocean acidification and hypoxia in California, Oregon, Washington,
and British Columbia. The Panel's final report included what management options might be used
to address ocean acidification on the west coast. This bill would require OPC to develop
California-specific recommendations on how the state can address ocean acidification.
Analysis Prepared by: Michael Jarred / NAT. RES. / (916) 319-2092
FN: 0003326