California State Laws
This tab features executive orders and laws passed in California that are relevant to climate adaptation.
Resources are automatically presented by date, but you may also sort by network rating or title. Apply additional filters to narrow the list by sector or climate impact.
45 results are shown below.
Resource
September 21, 2018
AB 3012 authorizes the State Coastal Conservancy to address climate change impacts on California’s coastal resources through funding projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, address extreme weather events, sea level rise, storm surge, beach and bluff erosion, salt water intrusion, flooding, and other coastal hazards that threaten coastal communities, infrastructure, and natural resources.
Resource Category: Law and Governance
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September 13, 2018
California SB 1072 establishes a program to build and support existing regional climate collaboratives across the state that will assist "under-resourced communities" to access state funding for climate change mitigation and adaptation projects. California’s Strategic Growth Council (SGC) is required to develop best practices and technical assistance guidelines, and will award annual grants to collaboratives for capacity building. After passing the law in 2018, the state immediately allocated funding for implementation.
Resource Category: Law and Governance
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September 7, 2018
California Governor Brown’s Executive Order (EO) directs the state Department of Food and Agriculture and Department of Fish and Wildlife to work together to protect ecosystems, plants and wildlife while restoring and building climate resilience in habitats across the state. The order also supports the state's new California Biodiversity Initiative, an action plan to protecting the state's ecosystems and diversity of wildlife and plants. The Executive Order and Initiative will improve understanding of the state’s biological diversity, and identify and implement strategies to protect the state’s biodiversity from climate change.
Resource Category: Law and Governance
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May 31, 2018
California Senate Bill 606 - Water Management planning was enacted with contingency on the passage of Assembly Bill 1668, both addressing water conservation and drought resilience across the state. Both respond to Governor Brown’s 2016 Executive Order B-37-16 - “Making Water Conservation a California Way of Life” which directs permanent changes to use water more wisely, eliminate water waste, strengthen local drought resistance, and improve agricultural water use efficiency and drought planning.
Resource Category: Law and Governance
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May 31, 2018
California Assembly Bill 1668 was enacted with contingency on the passage of SB 606 - both addressing water conservation and drought resilience across the state. Both were adopted in response to Governor Brown’s Executive Order B-37-16 - “Making Water Conservation a California Way of Life” which directs permanent changes to use water more wisely, eliminate water waste, strengthen local drought resistance, and improve agricultural water use efficiency and drought planning.
Resource Category: Law and Governance
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October 11, 2017
The California legislature passed AB 733 specifically authorizing the creation of enhanced infrastructure financing districts for climate change adaptation projects, and the legislation was signed into law by Governor Brown on October 11, 2017.
Resource Category: Law and Governance
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October 6, 2017
SB 667 updates the California Water Code requiring the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) to establish a program to implement watershed-based riverine and riparian stewardship improvements through technical and financial assistance. The program will support projects that “reduce flood risk, restore and enhance fish populations and habitat, improve water quality, achieve climate change benefits, and in general ensure resilient ecological function within areas that include, but are not limited to, urban or urbanizing areas of the state.
Resource Category: Law and Governance
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May 1, 2017
In May 2017 California approved Senate Bill 1 which allocated $52.3 billion for a new Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Program, up to $20 billion of which was designated to support climate change adaptation planning at a local or regional level. While the law primarily focuses on reducing emissions, it also addresses the need for adaptation by requiring agencies and localities receiving funding to implement adaptive efforts, where cost-effective and feasible.
Resource Category: Funding
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September 27, 2016
California Assembly Bill 2480 formally recognizes the state’s watersheds as water infrastructure. The law makes it possible to funnel infrastructure financing towards the restoration of five watersheds that feed Northern California’s primary reservoirs, along with the state’s traditional water infrastructure like dams, canals and levees. Watersheds - which include forests, meadows, streams and rivers - are cited for their significance as key water supply assets in the face of climate change.
Resource Category: Law and Governance
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September 26, 2016
The California legislature passed legislation (AB 2800) to ensure that the planning and design of state infrastructure projects consider future climate change impacts -- citing prolonged heat waves, extreme precipitation events, severe drought, increasing wildfires, and other potentially dangerous climate impacts on critical infrastructure. Assembly Bill 2800 requires the California Natural Resources Agency to create a Climate-Safe Infrastructure Working Group, and for state agencies to take into account the current and future impacts of climate change when planning, designing, building, operating, maintaining, and investing in state infrastructure.
Resource Category: Law and Governance
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