(a) For purposes of this part, the following definitions apply:

(1) “Agency” means the California Environmental Protection Agency.

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(2) “Disadvantaged community” means a community identified pursuant to § 39711 of the Health and Safety Code.

(3) “Extreme heat” means increasing temperatures or other meteorological conditions that could result in any of the following:

(A) Extreme heat wave.

(B) Heat health event.

(C) Heat watch, warning, or advisory from the National Weather Service, the Office of Emergency Services, or a county health officer.

(D) A proclamation of a state of emergency by the Governor pursuant to § 8625 of the Government Code.

(4) “ICARP” means the Integrated Climate Adaptation and Resiliency Program, established pursuant to Section 71354, at the Office of Planning and Research.

(5) “Vulnerable community” has the same meaning as defined in subdivision (d) of Section 71340.

(b) On or before January 1, 2025, the agency, in coordination with the ICARP, the State Department of Public Health, and the Department of Insurance, shall develop a statewide extreme heat ranking system to be based upon, but not limited to, all of the following:

(1) Available meteorological data from government and academic sources, including maximum temperature, minimum temperature, and duration of extreme heat events.

(2) Information and data on health impacts of heat established through best available science or data from past heat and extreme heat events, including available mortality and morbidity information.

(3) Measures of extreme heat severity, including the severity of the outcome of extreme heat on human health.

(4) Locally relevant information, such as urban heat island effects, or cooling effects from urban tree canopies or other cooling measures.

(5) Comments and suggestions obtained from public input received at a minimum of one public workshop, as appropriate.

(c) The statewide extreme heat ranking system shall include all of the following:

(1) Recommendations on thresholds or triggers for public policies that reduce the risk of extreme heat impacts and prioritize reducing the impacts of extreme heat to human health.

(2) Recommendations for metrics to measure the short-term and long-term impacts of extreme heat on human health.

(3) A consideration of the information reported by the Department of Insurance, including the results of the study prepared pursuant to subdivision (f).

(d) The statewide extreme heat ranking system shall be adaptable for use at locally relevant scales.

(e) After the statewide extreme heat ranking system is finalized, the ICARP shall do all of the following:

(1) Develop, in consultation with the Office of Emergency Services, the State Department of Public Health, the Department of Insurance, and other state agencies, and with input from local governments, local health departments, tribal organizations, labor organizations, environmental organizations, and community groups from disadvantaged and vulnerable communities, a public communication plan for the statewide extreme heat ranking system with a focus on strategies that target communications to populations that are most at risk of public health and emergency impacts from extreme heat events, including, but not limited to, the most vulnerable populations. The communication plan shall include both of the following:

(A) Outreach plans for reaching diverse and vulnerable populations.

(B) Recommendations for targeted communications by local governments that include the use of culturally appropriate materials translated into multiple languages based on the common languages spoken in the locality.

(2) Recommend partnerships with local health departments and local and tribal governments, and develop statewide guidance for local and tribal governments in the preparation and planning for extreme heat events.

(3) Review the extreme heat ranking system and, in consultation with the State Department of Public Health, recommend to local governments specific and locally relevant heat adaptation, preparedness, and resilience measures that could be linked to the statewide extreme heat ranking system and identify how the statewide extreme heat ranking system aligns with additional extreme heat adaptation policies pursuant to Section 71354.

(f) The Department of Insurance shall develop a study that does all of the following:

(1) Identifies past extreme heat events with differing duration, maximum temperature, humidity, and measurable health impacts.

(2) Examines the past extreme heat events identified pursuant to paragraph (1) to determine uninsured and insured economic costs, the insurance gaps among racial and socioeconomic groups that face disproportionate impacts from extreme heat, and the effectiveness of insurance coverages, including among different types of insurance policies and their costs and payouts, to prevent losses or help communities plan public health initiatives related to combating the effects of extreme heat.

(3) Identifies insurance options that will support the specific adaptation, preparedness, and resilience measures developed pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (e).

(4) Draws information from local and regional heat mitigation plans and initiatives.

(5) Incorporates local input to identify local heat risks that are or have historically been uninsured and determine the barriers encountered by local governments that are trying to use insurance or other financing tools, including, but not limited to, heat-index-triggered parametric insurance, catastrophe bonds, and resilience bonds, to fund or support heat risk mitigation or adaptation strategies.

(6) Includes recommendations for overcoming the barriers identified pursuant to paragraph (5) and details key elements of potential model local heat risk transfer mechanisms.

(g) On or before July 1, 2024, the Department of Insurance shall transmit the results of the study prepared pursuant to subdivision (f) to the agency, the ICARP, and the legislative policy committees with jurisdiction over natural resources, environmental quality, insurance, and the budget, and shall post the study on its internet website.

(h) The requirement for submitting a study imposed under subdivision (g) is inoperative on January 1, 2028, pursuant to § 10231.5 of the Government Code.

(i) The agency, in coordination with the ICARP, the State Department of Public Health, and the Department of Insurance, shall periodically review and update the extreme heat ranking system, as appropriate.

(Added by Stats. 2022, Ch. 264, Sec. 2. (AB 2238) Effective January 1, 2023.)