State Policy Engagement

ARCCA has played a pivotal role in creating a unified voice and elevating the regional approach in climate adaptation discourse, as well as in advocating for greater coordination and integration across sectors, across jurisdictions, and through the vertical hierarchy of government. Through our work with our member regional collaboratives and key state agencies, such as the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research and the California Natural Resources Agency, ARCCA has become a trusted voice in the adaptation space and frequently relied upon for subject-matter expertise, policy recommendations, stakeholder engagement, and to bring attention to important considerations that have been overlooked, such as the urban-rural interface for climate impacts and adaptation.

Legislative Tracking and Resources

Although ARCCA does not directly engage in legislative advocacy, we help our members keep track of legislation in a streamlined manner. We also develop legislative update fact sheets each year as an easy way for local government staff and adaptation practitioners to stay informed:

Comment Letters

ARCCA has developed comment letters for 28 key policy documents and funding guidelines, providing over 157 pages of robust, detailed recommendations to help improve state guidance documents, policies, and programs. We employ a collaborative process for developing these comment letters, creating multiple opportunities for engagement from local and regional members who represent municipalities, regional agencies, non-profit organizations, academic institutions, community-based organizations, foundations, consulting firms, and other supporting organizations working in various sectors. This process enables us to create a unified voice that accurately reflects local and regional interests and concerns. ARCCA provided comment letters in response to the following publications and programs:

High-level recommendations echoed in multiple comment letters include:

Adopting a regional approach to climate adaptation, recognizing that climate impacts will vary in severity and nature between regions, as well each region’s ability to cope and approach to adapting, making regional efforts more likely have a more holistic impact that addresses the region’s specific needs and shared goals;
Prioritizing strategies that produce co-benefits to enable the state to achieve multiple goals with limited resources, particularly by employing landscape- or watershed-scale analyses and including greenhouse gas reduction strategies;
Prioritizing investments to support rural areas that steward important resources that the state relies upon, such as clean water, clean air, carbon storage, and recreation; and
Fostering cross-sectoral collaboration and integration to properly address the interdisciplinary nature of adaptation planning.

ARCCA’s presence in these dialogues directly resulted in the inclusion of ARCCA as an example or resource in several state policies and guidance documents including:

OPR’s Statewide General Plan Guidelines
Safeguarding California Plan: 2017 Update
Safeguarding California: Implementation Action Plans
Executive Order B-30-15
Climate Change Research Plan for California