Existing law establishes the Department of Transportation to, among other things, plan, design, construct, operate, and maintain the state highway system, as provided. Pursuant to that authority, the department developed 12 district-based Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment reports designed to provide the department with a comprehensive database to help in evaluating, mitigating, and adapting to the effects of increasing extreme weather events on the state transportation system.
This bill would require the department, on or before January 1, 2027, to identify key community resilience indicators for measuring the impacts of climate-induced transportation disruptions. The bill would also require the department, on or before January 1, 2028, to include in the Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment reports an evaluation of the broader social and economic impacts on communities connected to the evaluated infrastructure risks, as specified.