Environmental protection: coastal adaptation projects: natural infrastructure: regulatory review and permitting: report.

Existing law establishes the Natural Resources Agency. Existing law requires the agency, by July 1, 2017, and every 3 years thereafter, to update the state's climate adaptation strategy to identify vulnerabilities to climate change by sectors and priority actions needed to reduce the risks in those sectors. This bill would enact the Coastal Adaptation Permitting Act of 2021. The bill would require the agency to explore, and authorize it to implement, options within the agency's jurisdiction to establish a more coordinated and efficient regulatory review and permitting process for coastal adaptation projects that use natural infrastructure, as defined. The bill would require the agency to submit, by July 1, 2023, a report to the Legislature with suggestions and recommendations for improving and expediting the coordination between appropriate agencies in their regulatory review and permitting process for coastal adaptation projects that use natural infrastructure.