AB 2645

Bill Subjects

Abstract

Existing law, the California Emergency Services Act, among other things, creates the Office of Emergency Services, which is responsible for the state's emergency and disaster response services, as specified. Existing law requires the Governor to coordinate the State Emergency Plan and those programs necessary for the mitigation of the effects of an emergency. Existing law requires the governing body of each political subdivision of the state to carry out the provisions of the State Emergency Plan. Existing law grants the Governor certain powers to be exercised in accordance with the State Emergency Plan and programs for the mitigation of the effects of an emergency, including providing for approval of local emergency plans. Existing law requires a county, upon the next update to its emergency plan, to integrate access and functional needs into its emergency plan by addressing, at a minimum, how the access and functional needs population is served by emergency communications, emergency evacuation for individuals who are dependent on public transportation, and accessible emergency sheltering. Existing law, upon appropriation as specified, makes certain funding available in the 2022–23 and 2023–24 fiscal years to the Strategic Growth Council, in coordination with the Office of Planning and Research, for the establishment of a grant program for the construction or retrofit of facilities that will serve as community resilience centers, including prescribed types of centers and other facilities to mitigate the public health impacts of extreme heat and other emergency situations exacerbated by climate change on local populations. Existing law provides that these facilities will serve as both community emergency response facilities and to build long-term resilience, preparedness, and recovery operations for local communities. This bill would require a county, pursuant to the above-described requirement to integrate access and functional needs into its emergency plan upon the plan's next update, to address specific additional plan elements. The bill would require the plan, with regard to emergency evacuation, to also integrate evacuation and transportation plans to account for local community resilience centers, to ensure that local community resilience centers, as defined, are prepared to serve as communitywide assets during extreme heat events and other disasters, to designate available locations that may be necessary to provide respite to individuals during certain environmental emergencies, and to integrate evacuation plans to account for specified state grant programs relating to community resilience. The bill would require the plan, with regard to emergency sheltering, to also integrate sheltering and transportation plans to account for transportation between community resilience centers and shelters. By increasing the duties of local officials, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.