Council Endorses Legislation for $6.7 Billion Climate Resilience Bond

Assemblymember Kevin Mullin (San Mateo) joined the Bay Area Council’s Water and Climate Resilience Committee recently for a discussion on AB 1500, the Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparation, Flood Protection, Extreme Heat Mitigation, and Workforce Development Bond Act of 2022. If passed, the bond measure would invest $6.7 billion to respond to a range of climate change impacts. The Committee commended Assemblymember Mullin for including $300 million for the San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority, an allocation the Bay Area Council advocated for in last year’s legislative session. In addition to endorsing AB 1500, the Committee also approved supporting two other water and climate resilience bills:

• AB 271 (R. Rivas) Santa Clara Valley Water District: contracts: best value procurement: authorizes the Santa Clara Valley Water District to award contracts to assist the revitalization and earthquake retrofitting of the Anderson Dam project located in Morgan Hill.
• AB 585 (Luz Rivas) Climate change: Extreme Heat and Community Resilience Program: establishes the Extreme Heat and Community Resilience Program to enhance the State’s existing efforts to address extreme heat.

To participate in the Water and Climate Resilience Committee’s policy work, please contact Policy Associate Anna Sciaruto.