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<ns0:Id>20250SB__087298AMD</ns0:Id>
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<ns0:History>
<ns0:Action>
<ns0:ActionText>INTRODUCED</ns0:ActionText>
<ns0:ActionDate>2026-01-06</ns0:ActionDate>
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<ns0:Action>
<ns0:ActionText>AMENDED_SENATE</ns0:ActionText>
<ns0:ActionDate>2026-02-18</ns0:ActionDate>
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<ns0:SessionYear>2025</ns0:SessionYear>
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<ns0:MeasureNum>872</ns0:MeasureNum>
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<ns0:AuthorText authorType="LEAD_AUTHOR">Introduced by Senator McNerney</ns0:AuthorText>
<ns0:Authors>
<ns0:Legislator>
<ns0:Contribution>LEAD_AUTHOR</ns0:Contribution>
<ns0:House>SENATE</ns0:House>
<ns0:Name>McNerney</ns0:Name>
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<ns0:Title>An act to amend Section 39719.4 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to climate change, and making an appropriation therefor.</ns0:Title>
<ns0:RelatingClause>climate change, and making an appropriation therefor</ns0:RelatingClause>
<ns0:GeneralSubject>
<ns0:Subject>Climate change: funding priorities.</ns0:Subject>
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<html:p>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 in its regulation of those emissions the 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. Existing law requires, beginning with 2026–27 fiscal year, that funds be allocated according to a specified priority, including, among other things, that the sum of $1,000,000,000 be reserved for appropriation by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act or
other statute.</html:p>
<html:p>This bill would require, of that amount, beginning with the 2026–27 fiscal year and continuing through the 2046–47 fiscal year, the sum of $150,000,000 be appropriated annually, to the Department of Water Resources for the purposes of supporting capital improvements to restore the original design water conveyance capacity for state water conveyance systems impacted operationally by land subsidence, and the sum of $150,000,000 be appropriated annually to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy for projects in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to improve existing levees, as specified, thereby making an appropriation. The bill would prohibit funds provided by these provisions from being expended to pay the costs of the design, construction, operation, mitigation, or maintenance of any additional Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta conveyance facilities, as provided. </html:p>
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<ns0:VoteRequired>TWO_THIRDS</ns0:VoteRequired>
<ns0:Appropriation>YES</ns0:Appropriation>
<ns0:FiscalCommittee>YES</ns0:FiscalCommittee>
<ns0:LocalProgram>NO</ns0:LocalProgram>
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<ns0:ImmediateEffect>NO</ns0:ImmediateEffect>
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<ns0:Preamble>The people of the State of California do enact as follows:</ns0:Preamble>
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<ns0:Num>SECTION 1.</ns0:Num>
<ns0:Content>
<html:p>The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:</html:p>
<html:p>
(a)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
Climate change continues to have an immense impact on California’s water systems and changing precipitation patterns, increasing flood and drought risks, sea level rise, and aging infrastructure are all combining to cause significant risks to our ability to protect water quality in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Delta), protect flood-vulnerable communities, maintain water deliveries, and ensure climate-responsive water operations.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(b)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
Before passage of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (Part 2.74 (commencing with Section 10720) of Division 6 of the Water Code), groundwater pumping and other factors resulted in significant land subsidence in the San Joaquin Valley. According to the State Water Project Adaptation Strategy, this subsidence threatens to reduce the water carrying capacity of the State Water Project by 87 percent by 2040 if not repaired, putting drinking water for 27,000,000 residents and 750,000 acres of farmland in California at risk.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(c)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
The State Water Project is the single largest energy user in state, using about 3 percent of total statewide consumption, and with subsided canals increasing the energy it takes to move water, if these subsidence impacts to the State Water Project are not addressed, there will be unnecessary increased energy usage and associated costs.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(d)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
Each public water agency contracted with the Department of Water Resources is obligated to pay the capital and operation and management costs of the State Water Project in order to participate in the State Water Project, and the Department of Water Resources is authorized to issue bonds for the capital costs under the Central Valley Project (Part 3 (commencing with Section 11100) of Division 6 of the Water Code) that each state water contractor repays along with other expenses billed by the Department of Water Resources, including annual operation and maintenance costs.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(e)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
Damage to the State Water Project due to subsided canals is largely caused by groundwater pumping actions done outside of the public water agencies’ service areas. Obligations to pay the costs of repair of the canals would significantly increase annual costs to public water agencies and their ratepayers.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(f)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
The Delta supports local communities, businesses, and more than 400,000 acres of farmland, 80 percent of which is considered United States Department of Agriculture prime farmland, and it is also a national heritage site, a site of critical cultural importance to several indigenous tribes, and a thriving ecosystem supporting several native species of plants and animals.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(g)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
The Delta is also experiencing the impacts of climate change, including, but not limited to, increasing droughts, more extreme precipitation events, earlier snowmelt, and sea level rise that all create concerns for how to manage the dynamic ecosystem in a way that continues to support human life and natural ecosystems.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(h)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
The Delta is supported by 1,100 miles of levees that provide protection to residences, businesses, agricultural lands, tribal cultural sites, and infrastructure and help
ensure fresh drinking water supply to millions of Californians. However, many levees date back to the 1800s and no longer meet the United States Army Corps of Engineers’ standards. If levees are breached, human life and property in the Delta would be at risk, and saltwater intrusion into the fresh water that feeds the state and federal water projects could threaten the drinking water sources for over one-half of the people in the state.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(i)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Reform Act of 2009 required, among other things, that the Delta Stewardship Council establish a plan to reduce flood risk and guide prioritization of state investments in the Delta. The resulting Delta Levees Investment Strategy (DLIS) is a risk-based prioritization for levee investments in the Delta adopted by the Delta Stewardship Council as part of the Delta Plan on January 1, 2024. The goal is to maximize flood protection for people, property, water supply, the delta
ecosystem, and infrastructure, for the benefit of all Californians. While the strategy provides a risk-based prioritization of levee repairs in the Delta, it does not currently have funding sources to meet its goals.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(j)
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The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Reform Act of 2009 also established that it is state policy to reduce reliance on the Delta in meeting the state’s future water supply needs by investing in improved water use efficiency, water recycling, advanced water technologies, and other regional water supply projects. These alternative water supplies will continue to be critical to protecting and preserving the overall health of the Delta, and critical to the protection of a diverse clean water supply for the people of California.
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<ns0:Num>SEC. 2.</ns0:Num>
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Section 39719.4 of the
<ns0:DocName>Health and Safety Code</ns0:DocName>
is amended to read:
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<ns0:Num>39719.4.</ns0:Num>
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<html:p>Beginning with the 2026–27 fiscal year, moneys in the funds shall be allocated in the following priority:</html:p>
<html:p>
(a)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
(1)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
Amounts described in Sections 4210 to 4214, inclusive, of the Public Resources Code to replace the revenues generated by the State Responsibility Area fire prevention fee authorized by Section 4212 of the Public Resources Code.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(2)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
Amounts appropriated by subparagraph (A) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (g) of Section 6377.1 of the Revenue and Taxation Code.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(3)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
The sum of three million dollars ($3,000,000) for the establishment of the Legislative Counsel Climate Bureau.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(b)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
After the amounts specified in subdivision (a) are fully allocated, as determined by the Department of Finance, the remaining moneys in the fund shall be allocated as follows:
</html:p>
<html:p>
(1)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code and subject to Section 39719.3, the sum of one billion dollars ($1,000,000,000) is continuously appropriated without regard to fiscal year to the High-Speed Rail Authority for the following components of the initial operating segment and Phase I Blended System as described in the 2012 business plan adopted pursuant to Section 185033 of the Public Utilities Code:
</html:p>
<html:p>
(A)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
Acquisition and
construction costs of the project.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(B)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
Environmental review and design costs of the project.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(C)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
Other capital costs of the project.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(D)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
Repayment of any loans made to the authority to fund the project.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(2)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
(A)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
The sum of one billion dollars ($1,000,000,000) is reserved for appropriation by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act or other statute.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(B)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
It is the intent of the Legislature that the amount reserved pursuant to subparagraph (A) is allocated in the following amounts for the 2026—27 fiscal year:
</html:p>
<html:p>
(i)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
The sum of one hundred twenty-five million dollars ($125,000,000) for transit passes.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(ii)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
The sum of twenty-five million dollars ($25,000,000) for seed funding for a University of California Climate Research Center.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(iii)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
The sum of fifteen million dollars ($15,000,000) for rebuilding Topanga Park.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(iv)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
The sum of eighty-five million dollars ($85,000,000) for an entity chosen by the Legislature to support climate-focused technological innovation, related research, and the deployment of climate solutions identified in the scoping plan prepared pursuant to Section 38561.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(C)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
Notwithstanding subparagraph (A) and of the amount described in therein, both of the following are appropriated annually, beginning with the 2026–27 fiscal year and continuing through the
2046–47 fiscal year:
</html:p>
<html:p>
(i)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
The sum of one hundred fifty million dollars ($150,000,000) to the Department of Water Resources for the purposes of supporting capital improvements to restore the original design water conveyance capacity for state water conveyance systems impacted operationally by land subsidence. The department shall prioritize projects based on the volume of water capacity they can restore to the state water system, and shall provide priority to projects where the surrounding groundwater basin is implementing best management practices aligned with the goals of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (Part 2.74 (commencing with Section 10720) of Division 6 of the Water Code), or the equivalent as determined by the department, to manage land subsidence, as determined by the department.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(ii)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
The sum of one hundred fifty million dollars ($150,000,000) to the
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy for projects in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to improve existing levees, including multibenefit levee projects that protect, enhance, or restore habitat, and improve water quality. The Conservancy shall prioritize projects that improve the sustainability of local or state water supplies, and projects that improve instream, riparian, flood plain, and wetland habitat. For purposes of this subdivision, “Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta” has the same meaning as described in Section 12220 of the Water Code.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(D)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
Funds provided by this subdivision shall not be expended to pay the costs of the design, construction, operation, mitigation, or maintenance of any additional Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta conveyance facilities. Those costs shall be the responsibility of the water agencies that benefit from the design, construction, operation, mitigation, or maintenance of those facilities.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(c)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
(1)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
After the amounts specified in subdivisions (a) and (b) are fully allocated, as determined by the Department of Finance, the remaining moneys in the fund, notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code, are continuously appropriated, without regard to fiscal year, as follows:
</html:p>
<html:p>
(A)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
The sum of eight hundred million dollars ($800,000,000) to the Strategic Growth Council for the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program created by Part 1 (commencing with Section 75200) of Division 44 of the Public Resources Code. Of the amount appropriated in this subparagraph, no less than 10 percent of the annual proceeds of the fund shall be expended for affordable housing, consistent with the provisions of that program.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(B)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
The sum of four hundred million dollars ($400,000,000) to the
Transportation Agency for the Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program created by Part 2 (commencing with Section 75220) of Division 44 of the Public Resources Code.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(C)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
The sum of two hundred fifty million dollars ($250,000,000) to the State Air Resources Board for community air protection programs and allocated for financial incentives to reduce mobile and stationary sources of criteria air pollutants or toxic air contaminants consistent with community emissions reduction programs developed pursuant to Section 44391.2 and for support for local air districts’ implementation of Chapter 136 of the Statutes of 2017.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(D)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
The sum of two hundred million dollars ($200,000,000) to the Transportation Agency for the Low Carbon Transit Operations Program created by Part 3 (commencing with Section 75230) of Division 44 of the Public Resources Code. Moneys shall be allocated by the
Controller, according to requirements of the program, and pursuant to the distribution formula in subdivision (b) or (c) of Section 99312 of, and Sections 99313 and 99314 of, the Public Utilities Code.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(E)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
The sum of two hundred million dollars ($200,000,000) to the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and allocated as follows:
</html:p>
<html:p>
(i)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
Eighty-two and one-half percent for healthy forest and fire prevention programs and projects that improve forest health and reduce emissions of greenhouse gases caused by uncontrolled wildfires.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(ii)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
Seventeen and one-half percent for the completion of prescribed fire and other fuel reduction projects through proven forestry practices consistent with the recommendations of the California Forest Carbon Plan, including the operation of year-round prescribed fire crews and
implementation of a research and monitoring program for climate adaptation.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(F)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
The sum of one hundred thirty million dollars ($130,000,000) is transferred to the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund established pursuant to Section 116766 for the purposes of Chapter 4.6 (commencing with Section 116765) of Part 12 of Division 104.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(2)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
(A)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
Moneys appropriate pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be used for the purpose of facilitating the achievement of reductions of greenhouse gas emissions in this state in accordance with the requirements of Section 39712 or to improve climate change adaptation and resiliency of disadvantaged communities or low-income households or communities, consistent with Division 25.5 (commencing with Section 38500).
</html:p>
<html:p>
(B)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
For purposes of the moneys appropriated pursuant to
paragraph (1), a state agency may comply with the requirements of paragraphs (2) and (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 16428.9 of the Government Code by describing how each proposed expenditure will improve climate change adaptation and resiliency of disadvantaged communities or low-income households or communities.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(3)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
If, for any fiscal year the Department of Finance determines that, after fully allocating the amounts pursuant to subdivisions (a) and (b), there are insufficient annual proceeds to fully provide for the appropriations specified in paragraph (1) in addition to any state operations costs appropriated in the annual Budget Act, the amounts specified in paragraph (1) shall be proportionally reduced as determined by the Department of Finance.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(d)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
Any amounts in the fund not needed to fully fund the amounts pursuant to subdivisions (a), (b), and (c) in a fiscal year are
available to be appropriated by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act or other statute.
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