As amended:
Existing law establishes the Ocean Protection Council (OPC) in state government to, among other things, establish policies to coordinate the collection, evaluation, and sharing of scientific data related to coastal and ocean resources among agencies.
This bill would require the council, upon an appropriation by the Legislature, to establish and oversee, in coordination with other unspecified state and federal agencies, a West Coast Offshore Wind Science Entity for the purpose of ensuring that comprehensive baseline and ongoing monitoring of the California ocean ecosystem as well as targeted research are available and used to inform state and federal decisions, as provided. The bill would require the entity to perform specified functions, including reviewing and incorporating existing research, monitoring, and data standardization. The bill would require the council to develop a steering committee to provide governance and oversight on the processes and procedures of the entity, as specified.
