Proposition 4 - Authorizes Bonds for Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, and Protecting Communities and Natural 4 Lands from Climate Risks. Legislative Statute.

SECTION 1. The people of California find and declare all of the following: (a) Every human being has the right to safe, clean, affordable drinking water. California was the first state in the nation to legally declare this right. (b) More than 60 percent of California's rivers and streams fail to meet federal clean water standards, and more than 1,000,000 Californians still lack easy access to safe, affordable, and clean drinking water. California must make needed investments to keep toxic pollution out of our water and ensure every person in the state has clean water to drink. (c) In recent years, California has experienced the deadliest and most destructive wildfires on record. Fifteen of the 20 most destructive wildfires in state history have occurred in the last decade alone, including the deadliest, the 2018 Campfire. These wildfires have claimed more than 100 lives, tens of thousands of homes and structures lost, and more than 2,000,000 acres burned. (d) California's changing climate creates increased risk of catastrophic wildfires, drought, severe heat events, and sea level rise, as well as impacts to agriculture, water supply and water quality, and the health of the forests, watershed, and wildlife. (e) These risks and impacts vary by region and can overwhelm the resources of local governments that must cope with severe climate change-related events. (f) Reducing vulnerability to fire, flood, drought, and other climate change-related events requires a statewide investment to increase climate resilience of communities and natural systems. (g) Planning, investment, and action to address current and future climate change impacts must be guided by the best available science, including local and traditional knowledge. (h) Governor Gavin Newsom has issued several reports and executive orders that have created a roadmap to climate resiliency in California that will help guide and direct investments. (i) California's Water Supply Strategy Adapting to a Hotter, Drier Future outlines actions needed in order to recycle and reuse at least 800,000 acre-feet of water per year by 2030, make available up to 500,000 acre feet of water through more efficient water use and conservation, and make new water available for use by capturing stormwater and desalinating brackish water in groundwater basins. (j) The Water Resilience Portfolio serves as a blueprint for equipping California to cope with more extreme droughts and floods and rising temperatures, while addressing longstanding challenges that include declining fish populations, over-reliance on groundwater and lack of safe drinking water in many communities. (k) California's Wildfire and Forest Resilience Action Plan outlines a strategy to increase the pace and scale of forest health projects, strengthen protection of communities, and manage forests, to achieve the state's economic and environmental goals and drive innovation and measure progress. (l) The Extreme Heat Action Plan outlines a strategy to protect communities from rising temperatures in order to accelerate readiness and protection of communities most impacted by extreme heat, including through cooling schools and homes, supporting community resilience centers, and expanding nature-based solutions. (m) California's strategy for achieving the first-in-the nation 30x30 conservation goal is described in the Pathways to 30x30: Accelerating Conservation of California's Nature report, which outlines a vision to conserve an additional 6,000,000 acres of lands and 500,000 acres of coastal waters needed to reach 30-percent conservation goals by 2030. (n) Executive Order No. N-82-20 outlines a strategy to expand nature-based solutions across California. The executive order calls for restoring nature and landscape health to deliver on our climate change goals and other critical priorities, including improving public health and safety, securing our food and water supplies, and achieving greater equity across California. (o) California Salmon Strategy for a Hotter, Drier Future outlines a path to a healthier, thriving salmon population in California, actions state agencies are already taking to stabilize and recover salmon populations, and additional or intensified actions needed in coming years. (p) Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 1 of the 2021–22 Regular Session (Chapter 236 of the Statutes of 2021) that directed the California Coastal Commission to take sea level rise into account in its planning, policies, and activities, and established a cross-government group tasked with educating the public and advising local, regional, and state government on feasible sea level rise mitigation efforts. (q) California's Natural and Working Lands Climate Smart Strategy showcases that sustainable agricultural practices have important implications for equity and public health, and can promote economic resilience, buffer communities from extreme heat, improve air and water quality, and provide local food sources. These outcomes benefit all Californians, and are particularly important for rural, vulnerable communities. (r) The 2022 Scoping Plan for Achieving Carbon Neutrality focuses on the importance of investing in strategies for reducing California's dependency on petroleum, including transitioning to clean energy options that address climate change, improve air quality, and support economic growth and clean sector jobs. (s) Without intervention, the cost of climate change to California is estimated to reach $113,000,000,000 annually by 2050, according to the Natural Resources Agency's California's Fourth Climate Change Assessment. (t) The Federal Emergency Management Agency estimates that every dollar spent on resiliency saves $6 in disaster relief. A $10,000,000,000 investment could help avoid $60,000,000,000 in disaster relief. (u) Providing a source of funding for comprehensive investment in climate resilience in all regions of the state is cost effective and in the public interest. These investments will result in public benefits that will address the most critical statewide needs and priorities for public funding. (v) The Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparedness, and Clean Air Bond Act of 2024 provides a comprehensive and fiscally responsible approach for addressing the varied challenges facing California's current and future climate impacts. (w) Investing in water infrastructure will provide jobs, improve resiliency, and reduce local government spending. (x) Continued investments in California's parks, trails, natural and working lands, and greening urban areas will help mitigate the impacts of climate change, making cities more livable, and will protect California's natural resources for future generations. (y) The expenditure of funds from the Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparedness, and Clean Air Bond Act of 2024 will help communities avoid and recover from the impacts of wildfire, flood, drought, or other climate-related events, and help restore and protect natural systems from the impacts of wildfire, flooding, drought, or other climate-related events. SEC. 2. Division 50 (commencing with Section 90000) is added to the Public Resources Code, to read: DIVISION 50. SAFE DRINKING WATER, WILDFIRE PREVENTION, DROUGHT PREPAREDNESS, AND CLEAN AIR BOND ACT OF 2024 Chapter 1. General Provisions 90000. This division shall be known, and may be cited, as the Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparedness, and Clean Air Bond Act of 2024. 90050. (a) In expending funds pursuant to this division, an administering state agency shall give priority to projects that leverage private, federal, and local funding or produce the greatest public benefit. (b) To the extent practicable, a project funded pursuant to this division shall include signage informing the public that the project received funding from the Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparedness, and Clean Air Bond Act of 2024. (c) Projects funded pursuant to this division shall, where appropriate, include the planning, monitoring, and reporting necessary to ensure successful implementation of this division's objectives. 90100. For purposes of this division, the following definitions apply: (a) "Committee" means the Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparedness, and Clean Air Bond Finance Committee created pursuant to Section 95002....