Sea level rise: working group: economic analysis.

Existing law requires 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. Existing law requires specified entities to submit to the Natural Resources Agency sea level rise planning information, as provided. This bill would require a state agency to take into account the current and future impacts of sea level rise based on projections provided by the Ocean Protection Council when planning, designing, building, operating, maintaining, and investing in infrastructure located in the coastal zone, within the jurisdiction of the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, or otherwise vulnerable to flooding from sea level rise or storm surges, or when otherwise approving the allocation of state funds, including, but not limited to, bonds, grants, and loans, for those purposes. The bill would provide that new or expanded infrastructure built pursuant to the above-described provision shall only qualify for state funds if the project is not anticipated to be vulnerable to sea level rise risks during the life of that project. The bill would provide that specified projects may be exempt from the above-described analysis so long as the project design is resilient to mid-century sea level rise projections provided by the Ocean Protection Council and consistent with relevant state and local agency policies. The bill would require, by March 1, 2022, the Ocean Protection Council, in consultation with the Office of Planning and Research, to establish a multiagency working group, consisting of specified individuals, on sea level rise to provide recommended policies, resolutions, projects, and other actions to address sea level rise, the breadth of its impact, and the severity of its anticipated harm. The bill would require the council, in consultation with the working group, to, among other things, develop a standardized methodology and template for conducting economic analyses of risks and adaptation strategies associated with sea level rise, as provided. The bill would require a state agency to conduct a sea level rise analysis for any state-funded infrastructure project located in the coastal zone, within the jurisdiction of the commission, or otherwise vulnerable to flooding from sea level rise or storm surges, and restrict funding as needed, pursuant to that methodology. The bill would authorize the Controller to conduct audits of state agencies and consult with working group member agencies, as necessary, to verify and ensure compliance with certain of the above-described provisions.