I

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 3611

To establish the California Urban Environmental Research and Education

Center.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

NOVEMBER 21, 1993

Mr. STARK (for himself, Mr. DELLUMS, Ms. PELOSI, Mr. HORN, Mr. MATSUI,

Mr. LANTOS, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. HAMBURG, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. MILLER

of California, Mr. FAZIO, Mr. GALLEGLY, and Mr. MINETA) introduced

the following bill; which was referred jointly to the Committees on

Science, Space, and Technology and Education and Labor

A BILL

To establish the California Urban Environmental Research

and Education Center.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

4 The Congress finds the following:

5 (1) California rapid population growth and the

6 lack of understanding about the environmental im7 pacts of this growth have caused a number of seri8 ous present and potential barriers to future eco9 nomic development of California.
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1 (2) California has great environmental complex2 ity and diversity and a great variety of human inter3 ventions in its ecosystem.

4 (3) Future environmental policies for California

5 must be informed by careful cost-benefit analysis

6 that considers the serious risks, and the benefits, of

7 environmental policy.

8 (4) The establishment of a California Urban

9 Environmental Research and Education Center

10 would promote environmentally sound economic de11 velopment in California and ensure that continued

12 sustainable economic development can occur.

13 (5) Due to the closing of many military facili14 ties and installations in California, such a Center

15 can provide important assistance to the process of

16 converting defense resources to non-defense uses.

17 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT.

18 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator of the En19 vironmental Protection Agency shall establish the Califor20 nia Urban Environmental Research and Training Center.

21 (b) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT.—

22 (1) AUTHORITY.—If the California State Uni23 versity, Hayward consents to the agreement and

24 provides the matching funds required by paragraph

25 (2), the Administrator shall enter into a cooperative
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1 agreement with the California State University,

2 Hayward to establish the Center. The California

3 State University, Hayward shall work in close co4 operation with other universities of the California

5 State University system (including the California

6 State Universities at Sacramento, San Jose, San

7 Francisco, and Sonoma) in the research and policy

8 analysis performed under any such cooperative

9 agreement.

10 (2) MATCHING FUNDS.—In order to receive the

11 cooperative agreement described in paragraph (1),

12 the California State University, Hayward, shall

13 guarantee matching funds or in-kind resources equal

14 to 20 percent of the funds received from the Center.

15 The Center and the California State University,

16 Hayward shall, to the maximum extent practicable,

17 solicit additional funds or in-kind contributions from

18 State, local, and private sources to increase the abil19 ity of the Center to conduct research and education

20 projects under this Act.

21 (3) MEMBERSHIP.—A university in the Califor22 nia State University system or a university in Cali23 fornia which is not a university in the California

24 State University system may become a member of

25 the Center under such guidelines and conditions as
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1 are reasonable and mutually agreeable to the Center

2 and the university.

3 (c) GOVERNING BOARD.—

4 (1) INITIAL APPOINTMENTS.—For the two-year

5 period beginning on the date of the establishment of

6 the Center, the Center shall have a Governing Board

7 composed of the following:

8 (A) The Executive Director of the Center.

9 (B) One member appointed by the Presi10 dent of the California State University, Hay11 ward.

12 (C) One member appointed by the Presi13 dent of the California State University, Sac14 ramento.

15 (D) One member appointed by the Presi16 dent of the California State University, San

17 Jose.

18 (E) One member appointed by the Presi19 dent of the California State University, San

20 Francisco.

21 (F) One member appointed by the Presi22 dent of the California State University,

23 Sonoma.

24 (2) SUBSEQUENT APPOINTMENTS.—After the

25 two-year period referred to in paragraph (1), the
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1 composition of the Governing Board shall be deter2 mined by the sitting members of the Governing

3 Board, in consultation with the Presidents of each

4 university of the California State University system.

5 (3) DUTIES.—It shall be the duty of the Gov6 erning Board—

7 (A) to establish criteria for membership in

8 the Center;

9 (B) to establish criteria and requirements

10 for the contribution of Matching funds or in

11 kind contributions by member universities and

12 those applying for membership in the Center;

13 (C) to establish guidelines for fair rep14 resentation on the Governing Board of univer15 sities that are not universities of the California

16 State University system;

17 (D) to establish how scholarships, fellow18 ships, and grants will be awarded by the Cen19 ter; and

20 (E) to perform such other duties as the

21 Governing Board considers necessary to carry

22 out the functions of the Center under this Act.

23 (d) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR; STAFF.—

24 (1) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.—The Center shall

25 have an Executive Director who shall be appointed
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1 for a five-year term. The President of the California

2 State University, Hayward shall make the initial ap3 pointment of an Executive Director for a five-year

4 term beginning on the date of the establishment of

5 the Center. The Governing Board shall appoint each

6 Executive Director appointed after the initial ap7 pointment.

8 (2) STAFF.—The Executive Director shall an9 nually submit to the Governing Board a budget. The

10 Governing Board shall approve the budget each

11 year.

12 (e) PRINCIPAL OFFICE.—A principal office and edu13 cation conference facility for the Center may be located

14 in the Presidio in San Francisco, California. The use of

15 the Presidio as a pricipal office and education conference

16 facility for the Center should be considered as part of the

17 planning process for uses for the Presidio.

18 (f) Before the end of the two-year period beginning

19 on the date of the establishment of the Center, the Gov20 erning Board shall establish a second office and facility

21 to be located in Southern California, convenient to mem22 ber universities.

23 SEC. 3. FUNCTIONS.

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Center shall have the follow25 ing functions:
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1 (1) To develop an ongoing program of environ2 mental research, education, and outreach that can

3 be used by the Federal Government, State and local

4 governments, and the private sector to ensure that

5 future government policies to encourage economic

6 development in California are grounded on sound,

7 sustainable environmental and economic principles.

8 (2) To foster public-private partnerships to find

9 solutions to the environmental problems of Califor10 nia.

11 (3) To bring together researchers from the

12 members of the Center to focus on the most impor13 tant environmental problems of California related to

14 sustainable economic development, with the aim of

15 analysis and synthesis of policy implications and dis16 semination of research findings.

17 (4) To support the following activities:

18 (A) The coordination and funding of re19 search activities of universities for collaborative

20 collection and evaluation of data on Californias

21 geology, hydrology, soils, biology, weather and

22 climate, natural hazards, demography, infra23 structure, resource use, land-use patterns, land24 ownership patterns, business development, envi25 ronmental equity, and regulatory zones.
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1 (B) The analysis of public policy implica2 tions of economic development programs that

3 affect the ecology of California.

4 (C) The conduct of seminars and other

5 educational programs for policy makers in the

6 Federal Government, State and local govern7 ments, and the private sector on the implica8 tions of the findings and conclusions derived

9 from the Center’s activities. The Center shall

10 use electronic technology, such as computer net11 works and video conferencing, to convey the cu12 mulative findings and conclusions derived from

13 the Center’s activities and to foster an exchange

14 of ideas.

15 (D) The conduct, not more than once each

16 year, of a national conference on ecology and

17 sustainable economic development for business

18 and labor leaders to foster an exchange of ideas

19 and information.

20 (E) The provision of ready access to the

21 Center’s collective expertise for policy makers in

22 the Federal Government and State and local

23 governments, and for representatives of private24 and public-sector organizations, through meet25 ings, publications, special reports, video, elec-
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1 tronic mail, computer networks, and other

2 means to share up-to-date information on re3 search findings and policy development for sus4 tainable economic development.

5 (F) The development of educational pro6 grams, curricula, and instructional materials for

7 colleges, universities, and other educational in8 stitutions to impart the knowledge and skills re9 quired to implement environmentally sustain10 able economic development.

11 (G) The development of bachelors and

12 masters degree programs for individuals who

13 have lost or may lose employment as a result of

14 cutbacks in defense spending to prepare such

15 individuals for employment as environmental

16 professionals, and the development of certifi17 cation programs in environmental sciences and

18 studies for such individuals.

19 (H) The preparation of minority students

20 for environmental professions, including the de21 velopment of an enriched curriculum in the en22 vironmental sciences at the baccalaureate and

23 post-graduate levels for underrepresented mi24 nority students to prepare such students for ca25 reers in various environmental areas, such as
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1 environmental health and the clean-up of mili2 tary installations and facilities.

3 (I) The development and administration of

4 a national repository of information on key en5 vironmental and related economic development

6 issues that can be readily accessed by private7 and public-sector entities, including the imposi8 tion, if necessary, of a fee for users of the re9 pository to cover the cost of its operation.

10 (5) To work closely with other university re11 search centers for which funds have been provided

12 by the Environmental Protection Agency to help es13 tablish a National Environmental Outreach Program

14 to assist the Federal Government, State and local

15 governments, and the private sector in programs and

16 projects designed to promote environmentally sound

17 economic development.

18 (6) To work closely with Federally-funded re19 search centers, such as the Lawrence-Livermore Na20 tional Research Laboratory, to foster the transfer

21 and application of environmental technology to the

22 private sector.

23 (7) To assist small businesses in meeting envi24 ronmental regulations by providing short courses

25 and conferences and to develop methods and models
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1 by which small businesses may finance ‘‘green’’ in2 vestment where private-sector funds are otherwise

3 not generally available.

4 (8) To work closely, as requested, with public5 sector officials, private-sector businesses, and indi6 viduals seeking alternative uses for military installa7 tions and facilities that have been or are about to be

8 closed to assist in planning the environmental as9 pects of the conversion and clean-up of the installa10 tions and facilities.

11 (9) During its first year, to develop a plan, in

12 conjunction with other universities to extend the ac13 tivities of the Center throughout the State within

14 two years. The plan shall pay particular attention to

15 the need for environmentally sound conversion and

16 economic use of military installations and facilities

17 throughout the State.

18 (b) SCHOLARSHIPS AND FELLOWSHIPS.—

19 (1) SCHOLARSHIPS.—The Center may provide

20 for the award of undergraduate scholarships for in21 dividuals studying in environmental fields at univer22 sities that are members of the Center. Individuals

23 who have lost or may lose employment as a result

24 of the closing of a military installation or facility in

25 the State of California shall have a preference over
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1 other individuals in the award of scholarships under

2 this paragraph.

3 (2) FELLOWSHIPS.—The Center may provide

4 for the award of graduate assistantships and fellow5 ships at the Center to encourage study in fields re6 lated to sustainable economic development and the

7 award of research grants to faculty to encourage re8 search critical to fulfillment of the activities and

9 aims of the Center.

10 SEC. 4. REPORT.

11 The Center shall annually submit to the Adminis12 trator a report on the activities of the Center and on any

13 changing budget needs. The Center shall include in the

14 first report submitted under this subsection a statement

15 of any additional funds that may be required to extend

16 the activities of the Center throughout the State.

17 SEC. 5. GIFTS AND DONATIONS.

18 The Center may receive funds and other property do19 nated, bequeathed, or devised to the Center with or with20 out a condition of restriction, for the purpose of furthering

21 the activities of the Center. All funds donated, bequeathed,

22 or devised to the Center shall be retained in a separate

23 account. Each annual report submitted pursuant to sec24 tion 4 shall include an accounting of the funds and prop-
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1 erty donated, bequeathed, or devised to the Center during

2 the year covered by the annual report.

3 SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.

4 For purposes of this Act:

5 (1) The term ‘‘Administrator’’ means the Ad6 ministrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.

7 (2) The term ‘‘Center’’ means the California

8 Urban Environmental Research and Education Cen9 ter established pursuant to section 2.

10 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro12 priated to carry out this Act $2,500,000 for fiscal year

13 1995 and such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal

14 years 1996 through 1999.

15 (b) AVAILABILITY.—Funds appropriated pursuant to

16 the authority of subsection (a) shall remain available until

17 expended.

18 (c) MATCHING FUNDS.—The Center shall make a

19 good faith effort to match the amount of funds appro20 priated pursuant to this section with funding from State

21 and local governments and the private sector.

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