BILL REQ. #:  S-0280.3 

Read first time 01/15/09.   Referred to Committee on Environment, Water & Energy.

     AN ACT Relating to an integrated climate change response strategy; and adding a new chapter to Title 43 RCW.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   (1) The legislature recognizes that climate change poses a significant threat to Washington's economy, the health and welfare of its population, and its natural resources. Washington's water supply and natural resources are particularly vulnerable to temperature changes and shifts in precipitation patterns and could suffer devastating consequences if adaptive measures are not taken. Even with effective mitigation of climate changing activities, the region will experience inevitable impacts from climate change.
     (2) The science and information on the effects and impacts of climate change is continually improving and this scientific information provides the basis for planning and developing preparation and adaptation actions for climate change to ensure the economic, health, safety, and environmental well-being of the state and its citizens. It is in the public interest for the state to address the effects of climate change and to be able to plan for future climate change impacts. These impacts will affect individuals, public and private businesses, state and local agencies, as well as natural resources and the environment.
     (3) It is the purpose of this chapter to create an integrated climate change response strategy with prioritized and coordinated climate change preparation and adaptation actions that state and local agencies, public and private businesses, tribes, and individuals can use to plan and prepare for the impacts of climate change through a collaborative process of on-going research, analysis, collection, and distribution of data and information.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
     (1) "Department" means the department of ecology.
     (2) "Team" means the climate change impacts coordinating team created in section 3 of this act.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   (1) The department shall assemble a climate change impacts coordinating team to gather, assess, and distribute relevant science and information on climate change and to assist state agencies, local governments, tribes, public and private businesses, organizations, and the citizens of Washington with climate change preparation and adaptation actions.
     (2) The team is comprised of representatives from the department of community, trade, and economic development, the department of fish and wildlife, the department of natural resources, the department of health, the department of agriculture, the department of transportation, the recreation and conservation funding office, the Puget Sound partnership, the office of the insurance commissioner, the office of emergency management, and the department of general administration. The team shall invite representatives from tribes, appropriate federal agencies, local governments, and nongovernmental organizations to participate as members of the team.
     (3) The team shall serve as a central clearinghouse for relevant scientific and technical information about the impacts of climate change on Washington state's ecology, economy, and society, as well as serve as a central convener for the development of vital programs and necessary policies to help the state adapt to a rapidly changing climate.
     (4) The team may seek assistance from a science advisory group, the office of Washington state climatologist, and designate other technical advisory groups that the team feels are necessary to assist it with developing the strategy and actions.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   (1) By December 1, 2011, the team shall develop an integrated climate change response strategy to better enable state and local agencies, public and private businesses, nongovernmental organizations, and individuals to prepare for, address, and adapt to the impacts of climate change. The team shall convey and communicate recommendations so that policymakers, public and private businesses, and individuals can easily understand and recognize the implications of the climate change response strategy. The integrated climate change response strategy should address the impact of and adaptation to climate change, as well as the regional capacity to undertake actions, existing ecosystem and resource management concerns, and health and economic risks. In addition, the team should include a range of scenarios for the purposes of planning in order to assess project vulnerability and, to the extent feasible, reduce expected risks and increase resiliency to the impacts of climate change.
     (2) The integrated climate change response strategy must include climate change preparation and adaptation actions that ensure collaborative and cooperative activities.
     (a) The team shall develop an integrated climate change response strategy that: Summarizes the best known science on climate change impacts to Washington; assesses Washington's vulnerability to the identified climate change impacts; prioritizes solutions that can be implemented within and across state agencies; and identifies recommended funding mechanisms and technical and other essential resources for implementing solutions. The strategy must include adaptation plans of action to address:
     (i) Water resources;
     (ii) Ocean and coastal resources;
     (iii) Infrastructure requirements;
     (iv) Biodiversity;
     (v) Public health risks and consequences; and
     (vi) Working landscapes, such as forest and agricultural lands.
     (b) The strategy must include information about the latest research and projects, including:
     (i) Risk assessment models and data, including evaluations of the consequences, magnitude, and probability of climate change impacts;
     (ii) Comprehensive impact assessments that examine how climate change is likely to affect the natural environment and physical infrastructure, as well as the economic impacts on municipal and rural operations;
     (iii) Efforts to identify priority planning areas for action, based on vulnerability and risk assessments;
     (iv) Efforts to identify economic and other social costs and benefits, both market and nonmarket, of alternative adaptation strategies;
     (v) Barriers challenging state and local governments to take action, such as laws, policies, regulations, rules, and procedures that require revision to adequately address adaptation to climate change;
     (vi) Opportunities to integrate climate science and projected impacts into planning and decision making;
     (vii) Methods to strengthen community partnerships that reduce vulnerabilities and risks to climate change;
     (viii) Methods to increase public awareness of climate change, its projected impacts on the community, and to build support for meaningful adaptation policies and strategies; and
     (ix) Methods to increase surveillance to ensure early detection of subtle changes that can inform interventions and adaptation measures.
     (3) The team shall complete a climate impacts assessment report that includes the status of the integrated climate change response strategy and provide it to the appropriate committees of the legislature by December 1, 2010.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   (1) The science advisory group shall provide independent, nonrepresentational scientific advice to the team. The science advisory group members shall assist the team in: (a) Identifying the timing and extent of impacts from climate change; (b) assessing the effects of climate variability and change in the context of multiple interacting stressors or impacts; (c) developing forecasting models; (d) determining the resilience of the environment, natural systems, communities, and organizations to deal with potential or actual impacts of climate change and the vulnerability to which a natural or social system is susceptible to sustaining damage from climate change impacts; and (e) identifying other issues, as determined by the team, necessary to develop policies and actions for the integrated climate change response strategy.
     (2) The chair of the science advisory group must be a scientist with recognized expertise in a field or fields of science essential to preparing for and adapting to climate change. The chair serves for a term of three years. The chair shall: (a) Select experts from scientific disciplines as needed to assist the team with developing an integrated climate change response strategy; and (b) coordinate the science advisory group activities to ensure the priorities and goals of the team are met.
     (3) The state climatologist shall serve as the initial chair of the science advisory group. The governor or the governor's designee shall either reappoint the chair of the science advisory group or appoint a successor to assume the duties of the chair after the initial term.
     (4) In establishing the science advisory group, the team shall request that the Washington academy of sciences provide a list of candidates to the chair of the science advisory group. The list of candidates should reflect the full range of scientific disciplines involved in climate change, including scientists associated with federal, state, and local agencies, tribes, business and environmental communities, colleges, and university communities. The chair of the science advisory group may also seek advice from the scientific community to develop membership for the science advisory group.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6   State agencies shall strive to incorporate adaptation plans of action as priority activities when planning or designing agency policies and programs. Agencies shall consider: The integrated climate change response strategy when designing, planning, and funding infrastructure projects; and incorporating natural resource adaptation actions and alternative energy sources when designing and planning infrastructure projects.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 7   (1) The office of Washington state climatologist is created within the University of Washington.
     (2) The office of Washington state climatologist consists of the director of the office, who is the state climatologist, and appropriate staff and administrative support as necessary to carry out the powers and duties of the office as enumerated in this section.
     (3) The director of the office must be appointed by the president of the University of Washington.
     (4) The office of Washington state climatologist has the following powers and duties:
     (a) To serve as a credible and expert source of climate and weather information for state and local decision makers and agencies working on drought, flooding, climate change, and other related issues;
     (b) To gather and disseminate, and where practicable archive, in the most cost-effective manner possible, all climate and weather information that is or could be of value to policy and decision makers in the state;
     (c) To act as the representative of the state in all climatological and meteorological matters, both within and outside of the state, when requested by the legislative or executive branches of the state government;
     (d) To prepare, publish, and disseminate climate summaries, including annual climate impact assessments for those individuals, agencies, and organizations whose activities are related to the welfare of the state and are affected by climate and weather;
     (e) To supply critical information for drought preparedness and emergency response as needed to implement the state's drought contingency response plan maintained by the department under RCW 43.83B.410, and to serve as a member of the state's drought water supply and emergency response committees as may be formed in response to a drought event;
     (f) To conduct and report on studies of climate and weather phenomena of significant socioeconomic importance to the state; and
     (g) To evaluate the significance of natural and man-made changes in important features of the climate affecting the state, and to report this information to those agencies and organizations in the state who are likely to be affected by these changes.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 8   Sections 1 through 7 of this act constitute a new chapter in Title 43 RCW.