Plain English Breakdown
The official status indicates the bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, but no effective date is listed in the metadata.
AB-946: Urban Nature Projects and Outdoor Access Goals
This law asks California leaders to support nature projects in cities while working toward the state goal of protecting 30% of land and water by 2030.
What This Bill Does
- Asks the Governor, Legislature, and agencies to balance conservation goals with outdoor access for all people when spending money.
- Encourages leaders to give more funding support to historically underserved urban communities.
- Directs decisionmakers to consider city-specific issues like high land costs and health needs caused by a lack of green space.
- Asks agencies, including the Department of Toxic Substances Control, to help local groups fix damaged lands in cities.
- Requires state funding boards to let urban nature projects on damaged land compete for money if rules allow it.
Who It Names or Affects
- The Governor's office and members of the Legislature
- State agencies that manage natural resources or distribute funds
- Historically underserved communities in cities
- Local groups working to restore damaged land
Terms To Know
- 30x30 goal
- The state target to protect at least 30% of California's lands and coastal waters by the year 2030.
- Outdoors for All initiative
- A plan referenced in existing law to ensure all Californians have equitable opportunities to safe and affordable access to nature.
- Degraded lands
- Areas of land that need restoration, which the bill encourages agencies to help fix with local communities.
Limits and Unknowns
- The bill uses words like 'aspire' and 'encourage,' which means it does not force agencies to take specific actions in every case.
- Funding for urban projects is only allowed if it matches the rules of existing funding sources, authorizing statutes, and state goals.
- The text does not list a specific amount of money set aside for these new city-focused efforts.