71365. (a) (1) To advance the goals of Item 0540-101-3228 of Section 2.00 of the Budget Act of 2018, the Natural Resources Agency and the California Environmental Protection Agency may jointly develop and submit to the Legislature, in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code, a plan for forest and watershed restoration investments for the drainages that supply the Oroville, Shasta, and Trinity Reservoirs.
(2) The spatially explicit plan authorized under paragraph (1) is intended to establish a comprehensive understanding of restoration needs and prioritize investment opportunities that will improve watershed function and resilience, water quality and supply reliability, forest carbon stores, wildlife habitat, and climate adaptation.
(b) Those agencies may jointly develop and propose to the relevant policy committees of the Legislature a pilot project for the coordinated, multiagency permitting of watershed restoration activities in the watersheds described in subdivision (a), as outlined in subdivision (c) of Section 108.5 of the Water Code.
(c) The Headwaters Restoration Account is hereby established in the General Fund. Funds may be deposited into the account and used, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for the purposes of this section.
(Added by Stats. 2018, Ch. 638, Sec. 5. (AB 2551) Effective January 1, 2019.)