[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1276 Introduced in House (IH)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1276

    To amend the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 to require the 
Secretary of Commerce to establish a coastal climate change adaptation 
         planning and response program, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 4, 2015

  Mrs. Capps introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 to require the 
Secretary of Commerce to establish a coastal climate change adaptation 
         planning and response program, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Coastal State Climate Change 
Planning Act''.

SEC. 2. PLANNING FOR CLIMATE CHANGE IN THE COASTAL ZONE.

    (a) In General.--The Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 
1451 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

                  ``climate change adaptation planning

    ``Sec. 320.  (a) In General.--The Secretary shall establish 
consistent with the national policies set forth in section 303 a 
coastal climate change adaptation planning and response program to--
            ``(1) provide assistance to coastal states to voluntarily 
        develop coastal climate change adaptation plans pursuant to 
        approved management programs approved under section 306, to 
        minimize contributions to climate change and to prepare for and 
        reduce the negative consequences that may result from climate 
        change in the coastal zone; and
            ``(2) provide financial and technical assistance and 
        training to enable coastal states to implement plans developed 
        pursuant to this section through coastal states' enforceable 
        policies.
    ``(b) Guidelines.--Within 180 days after the date of enactment of 
this section, the Secretary, in consultation with the coastal states, 
shall issue guidelines for the implementation of the grant program 
established under subsection (c).
    ``(c) Climate Change Adaptation Planning Grants.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary, subject to the 
        availability of appropriations, may make a grant to any coastal 
        state for the purpose of developing climate change adaptation 
        plans pursuant to guidelines issued by the Secretary under 
        subsection (b).
            ``(2) Plan content.--A plan developed with a grant under 
        this section shall include the following:
                    ``(A) Identification of public facilities and 
                public services, working waterfronts, coastal resources 
                of national significance, coastal waters, energy 
                facilities, or other land and water uses located in the 
                coastal zone that are likely to be impacted by climate 
                change.
                    ``(B) Adaptive management strategies for land use 
                to respond or adapt to changing environmental 
                conditions, including strategies to protect 
                biodiversity, protect water quality, and establish 
                habitat buffer zones, migration corridors, and climate 
                refugia.
                    ``(C) Requirements to initiate and maintain long-
                term monitoring of environmental change to assess 
                coastal zone adaptation and to adjust when necessary 
                adaptive management strategies and new planning 
                guidelines to attain the policies under section 303.
                    ``(D) Other information considered necessary by the 
                Secretary to identify the full range of climate change 
                impacts affecting coastal communities.
            ``(3) State hazard mitigation plans.--Plans developed with 
        a grant under this section shall be consistent with State 
        hazard mitigation plans and natural disaster response and 
        recovery programs developed under State or Federal law.
            ``(4) Allocation.--Grants under this section shall be 
        available only to coastal states with management programs 
        approved by the Secretary under section 306 and shall be 
        allocated among such coastal states in a manner consistent with 
        regulations promulgated pursuant to section 306(c).
            ``(5) Priority.--In the awarding of grants under this 
        subsection the Secretary may give priority to any coastal state 
        that has received grant funding to develop program changes 
        pursuant to paragraphs (1), (2), (3), (5), (6), (7), and (8) of 
        section 309(a).
            ``(6) Technical assistance.--The Secretary may provide 
        technical assistance to a coastal state consistent with section 
        310 to ensure the timely development of plans supported by 
        grants awarded under this subsection.
            ``(7) Federal approval.--In order to be eligible for a 
        grant under subsection (d), a coastal state must have its plan 
        developed under this section approved by the Secretary.
    ``(d) Coastal Adaptation Project Grants.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary, subject to the 
        availability of appropriations, may make grants to any coastal 
        state that has a climate change adaptation plan approved under 
        subsection (c)(7), in order to support projects that implement 
        strategies contained within such plans.
            ``(2) Program requirements.--The Secretary within 90 days 
        after approval of the first plan approved under subsection 
        (c)(7), shall publish in the Federal Register requirements 
        regarding applications, allocations, eligible activities, and 
        all terms and conditions for grants awarded under this 
        subsection. No less than 30 percent, and no more than 50 
        percent, of the funds appropriated in any fiscal year for 
        grants under this subsection shall be awarded through a merit-
        based competitive process.
            ``(3) Eligible activities.--The Secretary may award grants 
        to coastal states to implement projects in the coastal zone to 
        address stress factors in order to improve coastal climate 
        change adaptation, including the following:
                    ``(A) Activities to address physical disturbances 
                within the coastal zone, especially activities related 
                to public facilities and public services, tourism, 
                sedimentation, ocean acidification, and other factors 
                negatively impacting coastal waters, and fisheries-
                associated habitat destruction or alteration.
                    ``(B) Monitoring, control, or eradication of 
                disease organisms and invasive species.
                    ``(C) Activities to address the loss, degradation, 
                or fragmentation of wildlife habitat through projects 
                to establish or protect marine and terrestrial habitat 
                buffers, wildlife refugia, other wildlife refuges, or 
                networks thereof, preservation of migratory wildlife 
                corridors and other transition zones, and restoration 
                of fish and wildlife habitat.
                    ``(D) Implementation of projects to reduce, 
                mitigate, or otherwise address likely impacts caused by 
                natural hazards in the coastal zone, including sea 
                level rise, coastal inundation, coastal erosion and 
                subsidence, severe weather events such as cyclonic 
                storms, tsunamis and other seismic threats, and 
                fluctuating Great Lakes water levels.
                    ``(E) Provide technical training and assistance to 
                local coastal policy makers to increase awareness of 
                science, management, and technology information related 
                to climate change and adaptation strategies.
            ``(4) Promotion and use of national estuarine research 
        reserves.--The Secretary shall promote and encourage the use of 
        National Estuarine Research Reserves as sites for pilot or 
        demonstration projects carried out with grants awarded under 
        this section.''.
    (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--Section 318(a) of the Coastal 
Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1464) is further amended by 
striking ``and'' after the semicolon at the end of paragraph (1), by 
striking the period at the end of paragraph (2) and inserting ``; 
and'', and by adding at the end the following:
            ``(3) for grants under subsections (c) and (d) of section 
        320, such sums as are necessary.''.
    (c) Intent of Congress.--Nothing in this section shall be construed 
to require any coastal state to amend or modify its approved management 
program pursuant to section 306(e) of the Coastal Zone Management Act 
of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1455(e)), or to extend the enforceable policies of a 
coastal state beyond the coastal zone as identified in the coastal 
state's approved management program.
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