Part 5Community Resilience Center Program.

Section § 75250

Explanation

This law creates the Community Resilience Center Program, which is overseen by the Strategic Growth Council. The program funds the building or updating of facilities to act as community resilience centers, helping local communities during emergencies like extreme heat and power outages. Eligible parties, such as nonprofits and local agencies, can apply for competitive grants if they collaborate with the community, include various stakeholders, and provide year-round services.

The council awards grants, prioritizing projects in under-resourced areas and ensuring a diverse geographic spread. They will also set guidelines and criteria for grant selection through a public process. Only up to 8% of funds can go toward program administration. Starting January 1, 2025, the council must report to the Legislature annually on the program's progress, including outreach efforts and detailed project information.

(a)CA Public Resources Code § 75250(a) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:
(1)CA Public Resources Code § 75250(a)(1) “Council” means the Strategic Growth Council established pursuant to Section 75121.
(2)CA Public Resources Code § 75250(a)(2) “Disadvantaged community” means a community identified pursuant to Section 39711 of the Health and Safety Code.
(3)CA Public Resources Code § 75250(a)(3) “Disadvantaged unincorporated community” means the same as defined in Section 65302.10 of the Government Code.
(4)CA Public Resources Code § 75250(a)(4) “Eligible entities” include, but are not limited to, nonprofit organizations, community-based organizations, coalitions or associations of nonprofit organizations, local agencies, or a tribal government.
(5)CA Public Resources Code § 75250(a)(5) “Eligible services and amenities” means services and amenities offered by community resilience centers, including, but not limited to, hydration stations, electric charging stations, backup power, public health and mobile health services, cooling, clean air, respite, community evacuation and emergency response, and other services to mitigate the public health impacts of extreme heat and other emergency situations exacerbated by climate change, such as wildfire, poor air quality, power outages, or flooding, on local populations.
(6)CA Public Resources Code § 75250(a)(6) “Program” means the Community Resilience Center Program established pursuant to this section.
(7)CA Public Resources Code § 75250(a)(7) “Under-resourced community” means the same as defined in Section 71130.
(b)CA Public Resources Code § 75250(b) The Community Resilience Center Program is hereby established, to be administered by the Strategic Growth Council, in coordination with the Office of Planning and Research, to provide funding for the construction of new, or the retrofitting of existing, facilities that will serve as community resilience centers. Community resilience centers shall serve as community emergency response facilities and aid in building long-term resilience, preparedness, and recovery operations for local communities.
(c)Copy CA Public Resources Code § 75250(c)
(1)Copy CA Public Resources Code § 75250(c)(1) The council shall award competitive grants to eligible entities through an application process. To be eligible for a grant award, eligible entities shall demonstrate that the proposed project has all of the following attributes:
(A)CA Public Resources Code § 75250(c)(1)(A) Collaboration with community members that will utilize and benefit from the project.
(B)CA Public Resources Code § 75250(c)(1)(B) Involvement of community-based organizations and community residents within governance and decisionmaking processes, including in the selection and planning of the project.
(C)CA Public Resources Code § 75250(c)(1)(C) Multistakeholder partnerships.
(D)CA Public Resources Code § 75250(c)(1)(D) The proposed community resilience center will be accessible and offer eligible services and amenities year round to community residents.
(2)CA Public Resources Code § 75250(c)(2) The council may award grants that include funding for technical assistance, including, but not limited to, grant writing support and other application assistance.
(3)CA Public Resources Code § 75250(c)(3) Grants for community resilience centers may also be awarded for comprehensive upgrades to model integrated delivery of services.
(4)CA Public Resources Code § 75250(c)(4) The council shall publicly announce grant award recipients during a public council meeting.
(d)Copy CA Public Resources Code § 75250(d)
(1)Copy CA Public Resources Code § 75250(d)(1) The council shall adopt guidelines and selection criteria for the awarding of grants under the program. The guidelines and selection criteria shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
(A)CA Public Resources Code § 75250(d)(1)(A) Prioritization of projects that are located in and benefit under-resourced communities.
(B)CA Public Resources Code § 75250(d)(1)(B) Prioritization of projects that represent the statewide geographic diversity and that are inclusive of both rural and urban communities in incorporated and unincorporated areas.
(C)CA Public Resources Code § 75250(d)(1)(C) The minimum number of years that each grant award recipient must offer community resilience services.
(2)CA Public Resources Code § 75250(d)(2) Guideline and selection criteria development and adoption shall go through a public process that allows for transparency and stakeholder feedback.
(3)CA Public Resources Code § 75250(d)(3) In developing draft guidelines and selection criteria, the council shall conduct outreach to disadvantaged communities, disadvantaged unincorporated communities, or low-income communities and encourage comments on the draft guidelines and selection criteria from those communities.
(e)CA Public Resources Code § 75250(e) The council shall use not more than 8 percent of the moneys appropriated for purposes of the program for the costs of administering the program.
(f)Copy CA Public Resources Code § 75250(f)
(1)Copy CA Public Resources Code § 75250(f)(1) Notwithstanding Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, on or before January 1, 2025, and annually thereafter until the funds for the program are fully expended, the council shall prepare and submit a report on the program to the relevant budget subcommittees of the Legislature and to the Legislative Analyst’s Office. The council shall design the program to enable the collection of necessary data to complete the report, including, but not limited to, collecting outcome information from grant award recipients.
(2)CA Public Resources Code § 75250(f)(2) The report shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
(A)CA Public Resources Code § 75250(f)(2)(A) Detailed information regarding how the program conducted outreach to raise awareness of grant opportunities for stakeholders in heat-vulnerable communities, which organizations and projects applied for funding, and what selection criteria the council used to award the grants.
(B)CA Public Resources Code § 75250(f)(2)(B) A summary of the selected projects, including project costs, locations, and descriptions.
(C)CA Public Resources Code § 75250(f)(2)(C) A description of the specific, measurable outcomes achieved by the program, including data on the utilization of the centers including during extreme heat events.
(D)CA Public Resources Code § 75250(f)(2)(D) Lessons learned and potential recommendations for improving the program.
Community Resilience Center Program Strategic Growth Council emergency response facilities competitive grants community collaboration stakeholder partnerships year-round services under-resourced communities geographic diversity grant administration public process measurable outcomes extreme heat events program reporting funding guidelines
(Added by Stats. 2022, Ch. 574, Sec. 28. (AB 211) Effective September 27, 2022.)

Section § 75250.1

Explanation

This law allows the Strategic Growth Council to make advance payments for grants, and this provision will no longer be effective after July 1, 2025, and will be officially removed on January 1, 2026.

(a)CA Public Resources Code § 75250.1(a) The Strategic Growth Council may authorize advance payments on a grant awarded under Section 75250 in accordance with Section 11019.1 of the Government Code.
(b)CA Public Resources Code § 75250.1(b) This section shall become inoperative on July 1, 2025, and, as of January 1, 2026, is repealed.
Strategic Growth Council advance payments grant funding Section 75250 Government Code Section 11019.1 inoperative date repeal date grant awards funding procedures program eligibility prospective grantees repeal clause fund distribution grant management financial provisions
(Amended by Stats. 2023, Ch. 45, Sec. 46. (AB 127) Effective July 10, 2023. Inoperative July 1, 2025, by its own provisions. Repealed as of January 1, 2026, by its own provisions.)