I
105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1576
To provide for the continuation of the operations of the California Urban
Environmental Research and Education Center.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MAY 8, 1997
Mr. STARK (for himself, Mr. BROWN of California, Mr. DELLUMS, Mr.
FILNER, Mr. MATSUI, Ms. ESHOO, Mrs. TAUSCHER, Mr. MILLER of Cali-
fornia, Mr. BERMAN, and Mr. TORRES) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce,
and in addition to the Committee on Science, for a period to be subse-
quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To provide for the continuation of the operations of the
California Urban Environmental Research and Education
Center.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) California’s rapid population growth and
the lack of understanding about the environmental
impacts of this growth have caused a number of se-
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rious present and potential barriers to future eco-
nomic development of California.
(2) California has great environmental complex-
ity and diversity and a great variety of human inter-
ventions in its ecosystem.
(3) Future environmental policies for California
must be informed by careful cost-benefit analysis
that considers the serious risks, and the benefits, of
environmental policy.
(4) The California Urban Environmental Re-
search and Education Center promotes coordination
of and collaboration on environmentally sound eco-
nomic development in California and ensures that
continued sustainable economic development can
occur.
(5) Due to the closing of many military facili-
ties and installations in California, such Center can
provide important assistance to the process of con-
verting defense resources to non-defense uses.
(6) The Center is in a position to develop model
incentives and remove market barriers so as to moti-
vate greater private sector involvement and invest-
ment in the solution of environmental problems.
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SEC. 2. CENTER.
(a) SUPPORT.—The Administrator of the Environ-
mental Protection Agency shall continue to support the
development and expansion of the California Urban Envi-
ronmental Research and Education Center.
(b) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT.—
(1) AUTHORITY.—If the California State Uni-
versity, Hayward consents and provides the match-
ing funds required by paragraph (2), the Adminis-
trator shall enter into a series of cooperative agree-
ments with the California State University, Hayward
to provide continuing support for the Center. The
California State University, Hayward shall work in
close cooperation with the other universities of the
California State University system (including the
California State Universities at Sacramento, San
Jose, San Francisco, and Sonoma) in the research
and policy analysis performed under any such coop-
erative agreement.
(2) MATCHING
FUNDS.—In any cooperative
agreement described in paragraph (1), the California
State University, Hayward, shall guarantee match-
ing funds or in-kind resources equal to 20 percent
of the funds received by the Center from the Admin-
istrator. The Center and the California State Uni-
versity, Hayward shall, to the maximum extent prac-
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ticable, solicit additional funds or in-kind contribu-
tions from State, local, and private sector sources to
increase the ability of the Center to conduct applied
research and education projects under this Act.
(3) MEMBERSHIP.—A university in the Califor-
nia State University system or a university in Cali-
fornia which is not a university in the California
State University system may become a member of
the Center under such guidelines and conditions as
are reasonable and mutually agreeable to the Center
and the university.
(c) GOVERNING BOARD.—
(1) INITIAL APPOINTMENTS.—For the two-year
period beginning on the date of the establishment of
the Center, the Center shall have a Governing Board
composed of the following:
(A) The Executive Director of the Center.
(B) One member appointed by the Presi-
dent of the California State University, Hay-
ward.
(C) One member appointed by the Presi-
dent of the California State University, Sac-
ramento.
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(D) One member appointed by the Presi-
dent of the California State University, San
Jose.
(E) One member appointed by the Presi-
dent of the California State University, San
Francisco.
(F) One member appointed by the Presi-
dent 
of 
the 
California 
State 
University,
Sonoma.
(2) SUBSEQUENT
APPOINTMENTS.—After the
two-year period referred to in paragraph (1), the
composition of the Governing Board shall be deter-
mined by the sitting members of the Governing
Board, in consultation with the Presidents of each
university of the California State University system,
except as provided in subsection (d)(1).
(3) CHAIR.—The Executive Director shall serve
as chair of the Governing Board for the first five
years after the establishment of the Center. Subse-
quently, the Governing Board shall elect a chair
from among its members.
(4) DUTIES.—It shall be the duty of the Gov-
erning Board—
(A) to establish criteria for membership in
the Center;
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(B) to establish criteria and requirements
for the contribution of matching funds or in
kind contributions by member universities and
those applying for membership in the Center;
(C) to establish guidelines for fair rep-
resentation on the Governing Board of univer-
sities that are not universities of the California
State University system;
(D) to establish how scholarships, fellow-
ships, and grants will be awarded by the Cen-
ter;
(E) to advise the Executive Director of the
Center on matters pertaining to the manage-
ment of the Center’s internal projects and ad-
ministration, with respect to the management of
grants; and
(F) to perform such other duties, with re-
spect to the management of grants, as the Gov-
erning Board considers necessary to carry out
the functions of the Center under this Act.
(d) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR; STAFF.—
(1) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.—The Center shall
have an Executive Director who shall be appointed
for a five-year term. The President of the California
State University, Hayward shall make the initial ap-
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(1) To develop an ongoing program of applied
environmental research, education, and outreach
that can be used by the Federal Government, State
and local governments, and the private sector to en-
sure that future government policies to encourage
economic development in California are grounded on
sound, sustainable environmental and economic prin-
ciples.
(2) To foster public-private partnerships to find
solutions to the environmental problems of Califor-
nia and ways of removing market barriers to private
sector development.
(3) To bring together researchers from the
member universities and colleges of the Center to
focus on the most important environmental problems
of California related to sustainable economic devel-
opment, with the aim of analysis and synthesis of
policy implications and dissemination of policy ori-
ented research findings to managers in the public
and private sectors.
(4) To support the following activities:
(A) The coordination and funding of re-
search activities of universities for collaborative
collection and evaluation of data on California’s
geology, hydrology, soils, biology, weather and
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climate, natural hazards, demography, infra-
structure, resource use, land-use patterns, land-
ownership patterns, business development, envi-
ronmental equity, and regulatory zones.
(B) The analysis of public policy implica-
tions of economic development programs that
affect the ecology of California.
(C) The conduct of seminars and other
educational programs for policy makers in the
Federal Government, State and local govern-
ments, and the private sector on the implica-
tions of the findings and conclusions derived
from the Center’s activities. The Center shall
use electronic technology, such as computer net-
works and video conferencing, to convey the cu-
mulative findings and conclusions derived from
the Center’s activities and to foster an exchange
of ideas.
(D) The conduct, not more than once each
year, of a national conference on ecology and
sustainable economic development for business
and labor leaders to foster an exchange of ideas
and information.
(E) The provision of ready access to the
Center’s collective expertise for policy makers in
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the Federal Government and State and local
governments, and for representatives of private-
and public-sector organizations, through meet-
ings, publications, special reports, video, elec-
tronic mail, computer networks, and other
means to share up-to-date information on re-
search findings and policy development for sus-
tainable economic development.
(F) The minimization of duplication and
waste in applied research and demonstration
programs within the areas of the Center’s ex-
pertise.
(G) The development of educational pro-
grams, curricula, and instructional materials for
colleges, universities, and other educational in-
stitutions to impart the knowledge and skills re-
quired to implement environmentally sustain-
able economic development, for the purpose of
equipping students for jobs in the public and
private sectors.
(H) The development of bachelors and
masters degree programs for individuals who
have lost or may lose employment as a result of
cutbacks in defense spending to prepare such
individuals for employment as environmental
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professionals, and the development of certifi-
cation programs in environmental sciences and
studies for such individuals.
(I) The preparation of minority students
for environmental professions, including the de-
velopment of an enriched curriculum in the en-
vironmental sciences at the baccalaureate and
post-graduate levels for underrepresented mi-
nority students to prepare such students for ca-
reers in various environmental areas, such as
environmental health and the clean-up of mili-
tary installations and facilities.
(J) The development and administration of
a repository of information on key environ-
mental and related economic development issues
that can be readily accessed by private- and
public-sector entities, including imposition, if
necessary, of a fee for users of the repository to
cover the cost of its operation.
(5) To work closely with other university re-
search centers for which funds have been provided
by the Environmental Protection Agency to help es-
tablish a National Environmental Outreach Program
to assist the Federal Government, State and local
governments, and the private sector in programs and
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projects designed to promote environmentally sound
economic development.
(6) To work closely with Federally-funded re-
search centers, such as the Lawrence-Livermore Na-
tional Research Laboratory, to foster the transfer
and application of environmental technology to the
private sector.
(7) To help incubate or expand small, environ-
mentally related businesses where market barriers
exist to such incubation or expansion.
(8) To assist small businesses in meeting envi-
ronmental regulations by providing short courses
and conferences and to develop methods and models
by which small businesses may finance ‘‘green’’ in-
vestment where private-sector funds are otherwise
not generally available.
(9) To work closely, as requested, with public-
sector officials, private-sector businesses, and indi-
viduals seeking alternative uses for military installa-
tions and facilities that have been or are about to be
closed to assist in planning the environmental as-
pects of the conversion and clean-up of the installa-
tions and facilities, and to help with the economic
development aspects of the closing of the installa-
tions and facilities.
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(10) During its first year, to develop a plan, in
conjunction with other universities to extend the ac-
tivities of the Center throughout the State within 3
years. The plan shall pay particular attention to the
need for environmentally sound conversion and eco-
nomic use of military installations and facilities
throughout the State.
(b) SCHOLARSHIPS, FELLOWSHIPS, AND GRANTS.—
(1) SCHOLARSHIPS.—The Center may provide
for the award of undergraduate scholarships for in-
dividuals studying in environmental fields at univer-
sities that are members of the Center. Individuals
who have lost or may lose employment as a result
of the closing of a military installation or facility in
the State of California shall have preference over
other individuals in the award of scholarships under
this paragraph.
(2) FELLOWSHIPS.—The Center may provide
for the award of graduate assistantships and fellow-
ships at the Center to encourage study in fields re-
lated to sustainable economic development. Pref-
erence shall be given to those who have been or are
about to be laid off as a result of military base clos-
ings in California.
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(3) RESEARCH
GRANTS.—The Center may
award research grants to faculty at universities and
colleges, both public and private, to encourage re-
search critical to the achievement of the functions
described in subsection (a).
SEC. 4. REPORT.
The Center shall annually submit to the Adminis-
trator a report on the activities of the Center and on any
changing budget needs. The Center shall include in the
first report submitted under this subsection a statement
of any additional funds that may be required to extend
the activities of the Center throughout the State.
SEC. 5. GIFTS AND DONATIONS.
The Center may receive funds and other property do-
nated, bequeathed, or devised to the Center with or with-
out a condition of restriction, for the purpose of furthering
the activities of the Center. All funds donated, bequeathed,
or devised to the Center shall be retained in a separate
account. Each annual report submitted pursuant to sec-
tion 4 shall include an accounting of the funds and prop-
erty donated, bequeathed, or devised to the Center during
the year covered by the annual report.
SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this Act:
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(1) The term ‘‘Administrator’’ means the Ad-
ministrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
(2) The term ‘‘Center’’ means the California
Urban Environmental Research and Education Cen-
ter established pursuant to section 2.
SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro-
priated to the Administrator for provision to the Center
to carry out this Act $4,500,000 for fiscal year 1998 and
such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years
1999 through 2002.
(b) AVAILABILITY.—Funds appropriated pursuant to
the authority of subsection (a) shall remain available until
expended.
(c) MATCHING FUNDS.—In addition to amounts pro-
vided as described in section 2(b)(2), the Center shall
make a good faith effort to match the amount of funds
appropriated pursuant to this section with funding from
State and local governments and the private sector.
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