The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) In April 2022, California released “Protecting Californians from Extreme Heat: A State Action Plan to Build Community Resilience” which warned of the threats extreme heat poses to public health and safety, economic prosperity, and the natural environment and cautioned that extreme heat can be dangerous or even deadly to vulnerable populations, including children, without access to cooling or shade.
(b) A 2022 heat wave shattered all-time high temperature records in cities across California, fueled wildfires, and pushed the electrical grid to the brink of rolling blackouts.
(c) According to research by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), virtually all two billion children on earth will be exposed to more frequent, longer lasting, and more severe heat waves by 2050.
(d) The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identifies extreme heat as the leading cause of weather-related deaths in the United States.
(e) Children, especially those that attend schools in urban areas built with heat-retaining materials and that are ill equipped to shelter students from extreme heat, are at heightened risk of suffering heat-related illnesses, poor health outcomes, and a reduction in their ability to learn, as excessive heat interrupts outdoor activity and exercise.
(f) Schoolyard shading mitigates the urban heat island effect and reduces ambient temperatures by at least 15 degrees, safeguarding children’s physical and mental health and promoting educational progress.
(g) The Legislature has recognized extreme heat as a serious and urgent threat and called on state agencies and departments to invest resources in increasing resilience to extreme heat.
(Added by Stats. 2023, Ch. 489, Sec. 1. (SB 515) Effective January 1, 2024.)