Sustainable communities: Strategic Growth Council.

The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 designates the State Air Resources Board as the state agency charged with monitoring and regulating sources of emissions of greenhouse gases. The act authorizes the state board to include use of market-based compliance mechanisms. Existing law requires all moneys, except for fines and penalties, collected by the state board from the auction or sale of allowances as part of a market-based compliance mechanism to be deposited in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund and to be available upon appropriation. Existing law requires the Department of Finance, in consultation with the state board and any other relevant state agency, to develop, as specified, a 3-year investment plan for the moneys deposited in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. Existing law authorizes moneys from the fund to be allocated for the purpose of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in this state through specified investments, including funding to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through strategic planning and development of sustainable infrastructure projects. Existing law requires certain transportation planning activities by designated regional transportation planning agencies, including development of a regional transportation plan. Certain of these agencies are designated under federal law as metropolitan planning organizations. Existing law requires metropolitan planning organizations to adopt a sustainable communities strategy, subject to specified requirements, as part of a regional transportation plan, which is to be designed to achieve certain targets established by the State Air Resources Board for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles and light trucks in the region. Existing law establishes the Strategic Growth Council and requires the council to, among other things, manage and award grants and loans to support the development, adoption, or implementation of a regional plan or other planning instrument consistent with a regional plan that achieves specified objectives, including meeting the goals of the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006. Existing law specifies that the financial assistance provided shall be funded by the bond proceeds from the Safe Drinking Water, Water Quality and Supply, Flood Control, River and Coastal Protection Bond Act of 2006. This bill would additionally authorize the council to manage and award financial assistance for the purpose of supporting the implementation of sustainable communities strategies or alternative planning strategies, to be funded from moneys from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature. The bill would require the council to adopt guidelines for the use of the funds by recipients. The bill also would authorize the council to award financial assistance for the development and implementation of agricultural, natural resource, and open space land protection plans that are consistent with the implementation of sustainable communities strategies, alternative planning strategies, or other regional greenhouse gas emission reduction plans.