This bill was introduced by Assembly Member Rodriguez on February 18, 2022. The California Emergency Services Act, among other provisions, establishes the Office of Emergency Services responsible for the state’s emergency and disaster response services. It mandates the Governor to coordinate the State Emergency Plan and relevant programs for mitigating emergency effects. Political subdivisions must execute the State Emergency Plan, and the Governor, following the plan, holds certain powers, including approving local emergency plans. Counties, during the next update to their emergency plans, must incorporate access and functional needs considerations, addressing aspects like emergency communication for this population, evacuation for those relying on public transportation, and accessible emergency sheltering. Existing law allocates funds, subject to appropriation, for the 2022–23 and 2023–24 fiscal years to the Strategic Growth Council. This funding, coordinated with the Office of Planning and Research, establishes a grant program for constructing or retrofitting facilities as community resilience centers. These centers, serving as emergency response facilities and promoting long-term resilience, preparedness, and recovery, specifically address public health impacts of extreme heat and other climate change-related emergencies on local communities.
This proposed legislation would mandate counties, in line with the previously mentioned requirement to incorporate access and functional needs into their emergency plans during the next update, to address specific additional elements in their plans. Concerning emergency evacuation, the bill necessitates the integration of evacuation and transportation plans to consider local community resilience centers. It aims to ensure that these centers, defined in the bill, are adequately prepared to function as communitywide assets during extreme heat events and other disasters. The plan would also need to designate available locations offering respite during specific environmental emergencies and incorporate evacuation plans aligned with specified state grant programs related to community resilience. Regarding emergency sheltering, the bill requires the integration of sheltering and transportation plans to accommodate transportation between community resilience centers and shelters. As this bill augments the responsibilities of local officials, it imposes a state-mandated local program. According to the California Constitution, the state must reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain state-mandated costs, with established procedures for reimbursement. The bill specifies that if the Commission on State Mandates determines it entails state-mandated costs, reimbursement shall be made in accordance with the statutory provisions mentioned above.