Bill > SB286

This bill establishes several key provisions related to offshore wind energy projects in California: 1. It requires the California Coastal Commission to process a consolidated coastal development permit for any new development associated with offshore wind energy projects and related transmission facilities located in the coastal zone, while ensuring public participation is not substantially impaired. 2. It designates the State Lands Commission as the lead agency under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) for offshore wind energy projects and requires coordination between the Coastal Commission, State Lands Commission, and other relevant agencies to encourage the preparation of joint environmental documents under CEQA and the National Environmental Policy Act. 3. It establishes the California Offshore Wind Energy Fisheries Working Group to develop a statewide strategy for avoiding, minimizing, and mitigating impacts to ocean fisheries, as well as for fairly and reasonably compensating the commercial, recreational, and tribal fishing industries for economic impacts resulting from offshore wind energy projects. 4. It requires the Coastal Commission to adopt the statewide strategy developed by the working group, which includes best practices and a framework for reasonable compensatory mitigation for unavoidable impacts, and requires project applicants to comply with the strategy. 5. It creates the Offshore Wind Energy Resiliency Fund and allows the State Lands Commission to deposit revenue from offshore wind energy project leases into the fund, which can be used for the purposes of the compensatory mitigation framework. 6. It requires the Coastal Commission to consult with labor organizations when reviewing workforce development plans for offshore wind energy projects to provide for career and workforce training and retraining for individuals whose livelihoods are disrupted.

Agriculture and Natural Resources, Budget and Finance, Transportation and Infrastructure

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billStatusClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB286