Amended  IN  Senate  July 03, 2023
Amended  IN  Senate  June 26, 2023
Amended  IN  Assembly  May 18, 2023
Amended  IN  Assembly  April 07, 2023
Amended  IN  Assembly  March 22, 2023

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 277

Introduced by Assembly Member Rodriguez

January 23, 2023

An act to add Section 347.5 to the Water Code, relating to state government.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 277, as amended, Rodriguez. Extreme Weather Forecast and Threat Intelligence Integration Center.
Existing law, the California Emergency Services Act, establishes, within the office of the Governor, the Office of Emergency Services, under the Director of Emergency Services for the purpose of mitigating the effects of natural, human-made, or war-caused emergencies.
Existing law establishes the Department of Water Resources within the Natural Resources Agency and sets forth its powers and duties relating to water resources. Existing law establishes the Atmospheric Rivers: Research, Mitigation, and Climate Forecasting Program within the department to, upon appropriation of special fund moneys, research climate forecasting and the causes and impacts that climate change has on atmospheric rivers, to operate reservoirs in a manner that improves flood protection in the state, and to reoperate flood control and water storage facilities to capture water generated by atmospheric rivers.
This bill would establish the State-Federal Flood Operations Center within the Department of Water Resources and would authorize the department to administer the center in the department’s divisions, offices, or programs. The bill would provide that the purpose of the center is to function as the focal point for gathering, analyzing, and disseminating flood and water-related information to stakeholders and would authorize the center to take specified actions for that purpose, including to function during emergency situations to enable the department to centrally coordinate statewide emergency responses.
This bill would require the center department and the Office of Emergency Services, in consultation with cooperating agencies, as defined, to develop and submit a report to the Legislature, as specified, on or before June October 1, 2025, that outlines necessary technological advancements for agile forecasting and identifies regions that are and were underserved, gaps in data that would improve flood response, and strategies for improving communication and emergency response to identified regions. response.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) Extreme weather incidents, including excessive heat and atmospheric rivers, pose an urgent threat to lives, property, and resources in California.
(b) The escalating frequency and devastation caused by extreme weather events, including excessive heat and atmospheric rivers, demand heightened levels of coordination, intelligence sharing, and utilization of technologies among agencies and organizations to monitor weather conditions and assess risk in order to protect lives and property from the effects of extreme weather incidents.
(c) Investor-owned utilities and communications providers are likely to experience a greater frequency of disruptions in service due to extreme weather incidents.
(d) The California Emergency Services Act (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 8550) of Division 1 of Title 2) authorizes the Governor to take actions to prepare for, respond to, and mitigate the effects of natural or human-caused emergencies that endanger life, property, and the state’s resources, and further authorizes the Office of Emergency Services, established within the Governor’s office, and its director to take actions to coordinate emergency planning, preparedness, and response activities.

SEC. 2.

 Section 347.5 is added to the Water Code, to read:

347.5.
 (a) There is within the Department of Water Resources, the State-Federal Flood Operations Center, which may be administered within the department’s divisions, offices, or programs.
(b) The purpose of the center is to function as the focal point for gathering, analyzing, and disseminating flood and water-related information to stakeholders. To achieve this purpose, the center may do, but is not limited to doing, all of the following:
(1) Function during emergency situations to enable the department to centrally coordinate statewide emergency responses.
(2) Coordinate with the National Weather Service to provide river forecasts based on expected precipitation and reservoir operations.
(3) Declare flood alerts and support those activities in coordination with relevant cooperating agencies and academic partners, including the Atmospheric Rivers: Research, Mitigation, and Climate Forecasting Program, or its successor.
(4) Provide timely updates on activities relevant to cooperating agencies.
(c) (1) The center department and the Office of Emergency Services, in consultation with cooperating agencies, shall develop and submit a report to the Legislature on or before June October 1, 2025, that outlines necessary technological advancements for agile forecasting and identifies all of the following:

(A)Regions that are and were underserved.

(B)Gaps gaps in data that would improve flood response.

(C)Strategies for improving communication and emergency response to identified regions.

(2) (A) The requirement for submitting a report imposed under paragraph (1) is inoperative on June 1, 2026, pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code.
(B) A report submitted pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
(d) For the purposes of this section, all of the following definitions apply:
(1) “Center” means the State-Federal Flood Operations Center.
(2) “Cooperating agencies” means federal, state, and local agencies that engage in water and emergency management, including, but not limited to, the University of California, San Diego Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes, the United States Bureau of Reclamation, the State Water Project, the Central Valley Flood Protection Board, the Office of Emergency Services, and the Department of Insurance.
(3) “Department” means the Department of Water Resources.