AB 946: Natural resources: equitable outdoor access: 30x30 goal: urban nature-based projects.
The bill aims to promote environmental, conservation, and public access policies and budget actions in California. To achieve this, decisionmakers must recognize the coequal goals of the 30x30 goal and the outdoors for all initiative, and maximize investment in historically underserved urban communities. This includes considering factors unique to urban settings, such as land value acquisition costs, health needs, and park development plans. Regulatory agencies are encouraged to work with local communities to restore degraded lands. State funding agencies are required to allow funding for urban nature-based projects on degraded lands to be competitive for state funds, promoting equitable access to nature and its benefits.
| Aug. 13, 2026 | In committee: Held under submission. |
| Jun. 22, 2026 | In committee: Referred to APPR. suspense file. |
| Jun. 10, 2026 | Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR. |
| Jun. 09, 2026 | From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (June 9). |
| May. 06, 2026 | Referred to Com. on N.R. & W. |
| Amended IN Senate June 10, 2026 |
| Amended IN Assembly January 05, 2026 |
| Introduced by Assembly Member Bryan (Coauthors: Assembly Members Bennett, Boerner, and Caloza) |
February 20, 2025 |
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:(4)Senate Bill 337 (Chapter 392 of the Statutes of 2023) codifies the 30x30 goal.
(6)PNA+ goes beyond traditional conservation models that involve the acquisition and protection of natural lands and reimagines the 30x30 goal through a more equity- and access-facing lens to direct funding and resources into the healing and conversion of blighted, degraded, and otherwise underutilized urban-based lands into green spaces and microhabitats promoting nature-based opportunities, access, and enhanced community and neighborhood aesthetics.
(7)Through thorough analysis, PNA+ identifies possible green space acquisition and restoration opportunities within the county and reveals a sharp contrast among regions in the county.
(8)
(a)The Legislature finds and declares that the November 2023 report of the Outdoors for All initiative, “Providing Equitable Access to Parks and Nature,” proposes the following priorities to achieve the goal of outdoors for all:
(1)Establish spaces for people and nature to thrive. This priority includes strategies to achieve all of the following goals:
(A)Develop, improve, and maintain local and regional outdoor spaces.
(B)Support tribal ancestral land return as a pathway for outdoor access.
(C)Support the use of cultural easements by California Native American tribes to protect cultural and sacred sites.
(D)Support multibenefit solutions for access and environmental priorities.
(E)Support deferred maintenance projects statewide that seek to expand access to recreation and provide a safe and welcoming experience for visitors.
(F)Coordinate with school districts and regional governments to enhance green schoolyards and explore opportunities for schoolyards to fill gaps outside of school hours.
(G)Support connecting different-sized outdoor spaces, including statewide and regional trail networks, to provide diverse experiences for all skill levels, with the cobenefit of creating wildlife corridors.
(H)Ensure outdoor space development and management is consistent with California’s climate adaptation strategy, climate change scoping plan, and Natural and Working Lands Climate Smart Strategy.
(I)Support implementation of antidisplacement measures to ensure access to open space does not lead to gentrification.
(J)Collaborate with private landowners and federal, state, regional, and local governments to explore opportunities to expand recreation access on private lands.
(2)Foster belonging. This priority includes strategies to achieve all of the following goals:
(A)Share culturally diverse, relevant, and relatable stories and images of California’s people and history through the programming, interpretive materials, art, and signage offered at outdoor spaces, cultural and historic places, and museums.
(B)Foster public appreciation of, and connection to, California’s natural and cultural resources.
(C)Support improvements to language access for outdoor programming, educational materials, and staff at open spaces, cultural and historic places, and museums.
(D)Build trust between and among staff and visitors.
(E)Create adult- and youth-centered programming, including intergenerational opportunities, at outdoor spaces to inspire and build confidence across a broad range of recreational users and activities.
(F)Rename offensive and derogatory geographic features and place names across outdoor spaces to address historical wrongs and create safe and inclusive spaces.
(3)Connect people and the outdoors. This priority includes strategies to achieve all of the following goals:
(A)Make information about California’s parks and outdoor spaces easier to find and understand.
(B)Explore opportunities to offer free broadband on state recreation lands and cultural and historic properties, allowing for more accessible information, inclusive signage, programming, and connectivity to address safety concerns.
(C)Enhance and create more green, accessible, safe, active, public, and shared transportation options linking the outdoors and communities.
(D)Explore ways to provide free access to California state parks for low-income communities.
(E)Support tribal members in harvesting culturally significant materials in outdoor spaces.
(F)Explore public-private partnerships to support gear libraries and low-cost outings and classes at outdoor spaces.
(G)Prioritize funding and a streamlined process for building lower cost coastal accommodations.
(H)Prioritize partnerships with nonprofit organizations that provide youth and families from underserved communities and people with disabilities with access to state lands through supervised programming.
(4)Cocreate with communities. This priority includes strategies to achieve all of the following goals:
(A)Conduct early, often, and meaningful tribal consultations with the goal of enhancing tribal partnerships and collaboration.
(B)Invite and embed meaningful tribal consultation and community engagement into grant processes.
(C)Update the grant applications of the Natural Resources Agency and its departments to increase support and reduce barriers for underserved communities, including California Native American tribes, and the organizations that serve them.
(D)Collaborate with other agencies to build best practices for public meetings that are accessible to people with disabilities and increase involvement by underserved communities through language access and greater transparency about state processes.
(E)Collaborate with the Governor’s office to enhance outreach efforts for appointed positions on Natural Resources Agency boards and commissions to increase community representation.
(F)Identify opportunities for tribal governments and community-based organizations to cocreate and comanage parks and outdoor spaces.
(G)Continue to grow the Natural Resources Agency’s capacity to meaningfully engage underserved communities.
(5)Build equitable career pathways and a representative workforce. This priority includes strategies to achieve all of the following goals:
(A)Bridge internships, California Conservation Corps, community conservation corps that have been certified as described in Section 14507.5, and other career development programs to careers with the state.
(B)Enhance strategies and inclusive career outreach and programming through dedicated staff at the Natural Resources Agency’s career center.
(C)Continue coordination of intraagency workgroups and the Department of Human Resources to reassess job classifications, hiring processes, and salary ranges.
(D)Continue coordination efforts of intraagency workgroups to develop career pathways strategies to support aligned efforts in employee retention.
(6)Align funding to achieve the Outdoors for All initiative. This priority includes strategies to achieve all of the following goals:
(A)Develop and communicate an inventory of equitable access investments and impacts.
(B)Prioritize resource efficiency and reduce redundancies.
(C)Establish partnerships with philanthropic and for-profit sectors.
(D)Align existing funding sources to create multibenefit projects and programs.
(E)Streamline standards and decisionmaking tools for equitable outdoor access to determine strategic investments for the state.
(b)
SEC. 2.
Section 1006 is added to the Public Resources Code, immediately following Section 1003, to read:1006.
(a) (1) To advance and promote environmental, conservation, and public access policies and budget actions, the Governor’s office, state agencies and state departments, and the Legislature, when distributing resources, shall(c)
(d)