(a) A regional climate collaborative program is hereby established to be administered by the council to assist under-resourced communities within a region to access statewide public and other grant moneys. (b) The council shall do all of the following in identifying eligible under-resourced communities and in selecting collaboratives: (1) Adopt program guidelines that establish criteria for the selection of communities eligible for assistance in developing a collaborative. The program guidelines shall prioritize statewide geographic diversity and shall consider the regionâs proportion of under-resourced communities and the regionâs previous success in receiving competitive state climate change mitigation and adaptation moneys. (2) Post the guidelines outlining the criteria on the councilâs Internet Web site and solicit public comment. (3) Hold at least one public hearing before selecting a community. (4) Allow at least three months between the solicitation announcement and the selection of a collaborative by the council. (5) Perform at least three outreach activities between the solicitation announcement and the selection of a collaborative by the council to provide information and assistance to a potential collaborative. The outreach activities shall be made available using advanced forms of technology to the extent possible. (6) Establish collaboratives a minimum of two times over the course of the program established pursuant to this section. (c) After selecting communities for collaboratives, the council shall award annual grants as moneys are appropriated by the Legislature to the council for the purposes of this part. (d) Eligible applicants for a collaborative include, but need not be limited to, any of the following: (1) Community-based organizations. (2) Nonprofits and foundations. (3) Small businesses. (4) Local government agencies. (5) Joint powers authorities. (6) Tribal governments. (7) Other organizations with a history of providing community-based outreach and technical assistance. (e) Eligible applicants shall form a regional collaborative stakeholder structure and shall collectively submit one application based on a shared vision. With the application, the applicants shall collectively submit a memorandum of understanding that describes the governance and organization of the collaborative stakeholder structure. (f) In selecting a collaborative, the council shall give priority to proposals that demonstrate strong and diverse partnerships, including with community-based organizations and other stakeholder groups. (g) After being selected by the council, a collaborative shall provide capacity building services to assist in building the community-driven leadership, knowledge, skills, experience, and resources to identify and access public funding for climate change mitigation and adaptation projects within the under-resourced community. Where feasible, a collaborative shall leverage, complement, and build on existing regional efforts and resources for capacity building and technical assistance. Except if the council, in consultation with a collaborative, determines that an activity is unnecessary, a collaborative shall conduct at least all of the following activities for the region it serves: (1) Conduct outreach and build awareness of competitive grant programs. (2) Convene stakeholders to discuss community needs regarding potential climate change mitigation and adaptation projects eligible for statewide competitive grant programs with specific allocations for under-resourced communities. (3) Develop community and project plans, including climate action plans, demonstrating local needs and identifying multiple-benefit projects for implementation. (4) Support the development of partnerships between stakeholders and potential public and private funding sources. (5) Provide policy, program, and technical advice to stakeholders to develop and align multibenefit projects with potential funding sources. (6) Serve
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