(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(1) The enforcement of California’s environmental laws is essential to protect human health, the environment, and the state‘s economy.

(2) Fair and uniform enforcement of laws and regulations governing the environment benefits law abiding businesses, firms, and individuals.

(3) There is a need to better integrate enforcement of environmental laws into California’s established criminal justice system.

(4) Local and state enforcement agencies can play an increasingly important role in protecting human health, the environment, and the state’s economy through greater involvement in the enforcement of environmental laws.

(5) Community-based organizations play a critical role in ensuring that disadvantaged communities, low-income residents, and other populations that are disproportionately burdened by pollution receive the benefit of enforcement of the state’s environmental laws and therefore need access to training and resources.

(6) Enforcing environmental laws often requires special training to detect violations, understand complex laws, and prepare and present complicated enforcement cases.

(7) There is a need to support programs that assist local and state enforcement officials in enforcing environmental laws through the training of peace officers, investigators, firefighters, public prosecutors, city and county counsel, and state and local environmental regulators.

(8) Fair and uniform enforcement of environmental laws is multidisciplinary and involves law enforcement, fire departments, state and local environmental regulators, the offices of local and state public prosecutors, community-based and nonprofit organizations, and law schools.

(b) For purposes of this title, the following definitions shall apply:

(1) “Account” means the Environmental Enforcement and Training Account created pursuant to Section 14303.

(2) “Commission” means the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training.

(3) “Community-based organization” means an organization that engages directly and regularly with residents of identified communities or neighborhoods or that works to enforce environmental laws on behalf of disadvantaged communities, low-income residents, and other populations that are disproportionately burdened by pollution.

(4) “Agency” means the California Environmental Protection Agency.

(5) “Secretary” means the Agency Secretary for the California Environmental Protection Agency or their designee.

(6) “Environmental laws” means local, state, and federal environmental laws and regulations that impact public health and the environment, including, but not limited to, those that regulate toxic and carcinogenic materials, water quality, air quality, climate change, waste management, pesticides, noise, vibration, odors, and wildlife resources.

(7) “Public prosecutor” means district attorneys, city attorneys, city prosecutors, county counsels, and the Attorney General and their deputies.

(8) “Environmental regulator” means an employee of any state or local agency whose jurisdiction includes implementation, enforcement, or both implementation and enforcement of environmental laws.

(9) “Environmental enforcement” means the enforcement of environmental laws.

(c) This title shall be known and may be cited as the Environmental Enforcement and Training Act of 2002.

(d) It is the intent of the Legislature that the funds to implement this title, as specified in Section 14314, come from public and private contributions, from the proceeds of property seized and forfeited as set forth in § 11489 of the Health and Safety Code, and from the proceeds from any contributed state or federal court judgments, and that no funds be expended from the General Fund, other than from the Environmental Enforcement and Training Account, or other funds appropriated to, or authorized for expenditure by, the agency, to implement this title. It is the intent of the Legislature that the funds to implement this title shall be expended only from the account. It is the intent of the Legislature that funding provided from the account shall supplement, not supplant existing funding.

(Amended by Stats. 2021, Ch. 83, Sec. 5. (SB 157) Effective July 16, 2021.)