BILL NUMBER: AB 2045 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member De La Torre
FEBRUARY 15, 2008
An act to amend Sections 4799.07, 4799.08, 4799.09, 4799.10,
4799.11, and 4799.12 of the Public Resource Code, relating to
forestry.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2045, as introduced, De La Torre. California Urban Forestry Act
of 1978.
Existing law, the California Urban Forestry Act of 1978,
authorizes the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to
implement a program in urban forestry to, among other things,
encourage better management and planting of trees in urban areas and
assist cities in innovative solutions to problems such as tree
maintenance and vandalism. In implementing the program the department
and the Director of Forestry and Fire Protection are given certain
powers and duties, including, but not limited to, entering into
agreements with public and private organizations and state agencies
to carry out the goals of the program, taking steps necessary to
eradicate Dutch elm disease, providing prescribed technical
assistance to urban areas, assisting local tree maintenance programs,
and providing assistance grants for 25% to 90%, inclusive, of
project costs for urban forestry projects meeting certain guidelines.
This bill would expand the scope of the program to, among other
things, include increasing integrated, multibenefit projects by
assisting urban areas with innovative solutions to problems including
greenhouse gas emissions, public health impacts of poor air and
water quality, urban heat island effect, stormwater management, and
lack of green space. The bill would also expand the powers and duties
of the department by requiring the department to cooperate with
urban forestry organizations or associations and additional state
agencies and provide additional technical assistance to urban areas.
The bill would remove the percentage limitations on project costs for
urban forestry projects for which the director may provide
assistance grants.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 4799.07 of the Public Resources Code is amended
to read:
4799.07. The Legislature finds and declares that:
(a) Trees serve as a vital resource in the urban environment and
as an important psychological link with nature for the urban dweller.
(b) Trees are a valuable economic asset in our cities. They help
maintain or increase property values and attract business and new
residents in urban areas.
(c) Trees play an important role in energy conservation by the
modification of temperature extremes, humidity, and winds. This role
is particularly important in reducing the amount of energy consumed
in heating and cooling buildings and homes, and potentially in
producing a local fuel and energy source.
(d) Trees directly reduce air pollution by removing airborne
particulates from the atmosphere and helping to purify the air.
(e) Trees also help reduce noise, provide habitat for songbirds
and other wildlife, reduce surface runoff and protect urban water
resources, and enhance the aesthetic quality of life in the city.
(f) Trees planted in urban settings play a significant role in
meeting the state's greenhouse gas emission reduction targets by
sequestering carbon as well as reducing energy consumption.
(g) Planting trees to maximize their multiple benefits is critical
to meeting the needs of many local agencies.
(f)
(h) Growing conditions in urban areas for trees and
associated plants have worsened so that many California cities are
now losing more trees than are replaced.
SEC. 2. Section 4799.08 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
4799.08. The purpose of this chapter is to:
(a) Promote the use of urban forest resources for purposes of
increasing integrated, multibenefit projects in urban communities.
(a)
(b) Arrest the decline of our urban forest resources,
facilitate the planting of trees in the city
urban communities , and improve the quality of the environment
in urban areas through the establishment and improved
management of urban forest resources.
(b)
(c) Facilitate the creation of permanent jobs in tree
maintenance and related urban forestry activities in neighborhood,
local, and regional urban areas.
(c) Maximize
(d) Optimize the potential of
tree and vegetative cover in reducing energy consumption and
producing fuel and other products.
(d)
(e) Encourage the coordination of state and local
agency activities in urban forestry and related programs and
encourage maximum citizen participation in their development and
implementation.
(e)
(f) Prevent the introduction and spread within this
state of the Dutch elm disease caused by the fungus Ceratocystis ulmi
and to reduce or eliminate the loss of elm trees resulting from the
disease.
(f)
(g) Prevent infestations and spread of pine pitch
canker within this state, and to reduce the loss of pine trees
resulting from the pitch canker disease.
SEC. 3. Section 4799.09 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
4799.09. As used in this chapter:
(a) "Urban forestry" means the cultivation and management of trees
in urban areas for their present and potential contribution to the
ecological, physiological, sociological, and economic
well-being of urban society.
(b) "Urban forest" means those native or introduced trees and
related vegetation in the urban and near-urban areas including, but
not limited to, street trees, park trees, residential trees, natural
riparian habitats, and trees on other private and public properties.
(c) "Urban area" means an urban place, as that term is defined by
the United States Department of Commerce, of 2,500 or more persons.
SEC. 4. Section 4799.10 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
4799.10. (a) (1) The department may
implement a program in urban forestry to encourage better tree
management and planting in urban areas , to assist the
cities in seeking ; to increase integrated,
multibenefit projects by assisting urban areas with innovative
solutions to problems such as including
greenhouse gas emissions, public health impacts of poor
air and water quality, urban heat island effect, stormwater
management, lack of green space, tree maintenance ,
and vandalism , ; to encourage
demonstration projects to maximize the benefits of urban forests
, in conjunction with state and local agency
programs to improve water conservation, energy conservation,
stormwater capture and reuse, urban parks and river parkways, school
construction and improvements, air quality, water quality, flood
management, urban revitalization, and other projects; and to
otherwise accomplish the purposes of this chapter.
(2) The department shall assume the primary
responsibility in carrying out the intent of this chapter in
cooperation with urban forestry organizations or associations
and other private and public entities or persons and
appropriate local, state, and federal agencies such as
including the Department of Water Resources, the
California Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Fish
and Game, state water quality control boards, local air districts,
the Cooperative Extension, the Department of Parks and
Recreation, the Department of Transportation, resource conservation
districts, and the United States Forest Service.
(b) (1) The department shall be the agent of
the state and shall have full power to cooperate with those agencies
of the federal government which that
have powers and duties concerning urban forestry ,
and shall perform all things necessary to secure for this
state the benefits of federal urban forestry programs.
(2) To facilitate implementation of this
chapter, the director may enter into agreements and contracts with
any a public or private organization
including a local agencies having
agency that has forestry-related jurisdictional
responsibilities and an established and operating urban
forestry programs program . The
director shall consult with those agencies when carrying out this
chapter in their respective areas.
(c) The director shall take all steps necessary to prevent or
retard the introduction, establishment, and spread of the Dutch elm
disease including the detection and removal of infected and
high-hazard elm trees.
(d) The director may enter into agreements with any
a local agency to prevent or retard the
introduction, establishment, and spread of the eucalyptus longhorn
borer and pine pitch canker, including the detection and removal of
infected and high-hazard eucalyptus and pine trees. The agreements
shall assure that the department will not need additional funds to
participate in the program.
(e) The department and the Department of Food and Agriculture
shall cooperate in setting quarantine boundary lines and in enforcing
the provisions relating to quarantine and pest abatement contained
in Division 4 (commencing with Section 5001) of the Food and
Agricultural Code when a quarantine is established with regard to the
Dutch elm disease.
(f) The department may use available recipients of the Aid to
Families with Dependent Children or General Assistance Program who
are participating in state or county work experience programs for
carrying out the purposes of this chapter. The participation of
registrants for the Greater Avenues of Independence
welfare-to-work program under the CalWORKs
program, under Article 3.2 (commencing with Section 11320) of Chapter
2 of Part 3 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code,
shall be consistent with their participant contract requirements.
Persons A person being used by the
department pursuant to this subdivision shall not be in the same crew
as persons being used pursuant to subdivision (g).
(g) Whenever it is feasible to do so, the department may utilize
inmates and wards assigned to conservation camps in implementing this
chapter.
SEC. 5. Section 4799.11 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
4799.11. (a) The department shall provide technical assistance to
urban areas with respect to:
(1) Planning for regional, county, and local land use analysis
projects related to urban forestry.
(2) Preparation of urban tree plans and the selection of trees in
large-scale landscaping and reforestation efforts.
(3) Development and coordination of training programs for
neighborhood and local agency tree planting and maintenance crews.
(4) Advice to cities, counties, districts, and regional entities,
homeowner neighborhood groups, and nonprofit organizations on tree
disease, insect problems, tree planting, and maintenance.
(5) The role of forest ecology in planning for the future of urban
areas, including climate change and greenhouse gas emission
reductions, air quality, watershed problems, and energy
conservation.
(6) Retention of native trees and riparian habitats.
(7) Any other matter relating to the purposes of this chapter.
(b) The department and other state agencies are also authorized to
assist local tree maintenance programs by making surplus equipment
available on loan where feasible for regional and local urban
forestry, including nonprofit organizations involved in urban tree
care.
SEC. 6. Section 4799.12 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
4799.12. The director, with advice from other appropriate state
agencies and interested parties, may make grants to provide
assistance of 25 to 90 percent of for
project cost costs for projects meeting
guidelines established by the board upon recommendation by the
director. The board shall establish such guidelines by
December 31, 1979. Grants may be made to cities, counties,
districts, and nonprofit organizations. Contributions required as a
condition of grants made pursuant to this section may be made in the
form of material, services, or equipment, as well as funds.
Authorized assistance shall include:
(a) Funding for development of urban tree plans which
that include coordination of local agency
efforts and citizen involvement.
(b) Provision of Providing seedling
and tree stock.
(c) Funding and other assistance for demonstration projects in
urban forestry with special attention given to energy conservation
and wood and fiber utilization projects.
(d) Other categories of projects recommended by the director and
approved by the board.