Proposition 84: Safe Drinking Water, Water Quality and Supply, Flood Control, River and Coastal Protection Bond Act of 2006

OPC Proposition 84 funds are no longer available.  
See Completed Projects below.

Proposition 84 Competitive Grant Program

On August 7, 2017, the OPC approved the development and implementation of a competitive grant program using Proposition 84 funds (see background information below). An OPC staff memo and presentation from the November 1, 2017 meeting, provide an overview of the program.

The solicitation for preliminary research proposals was to address OPC’s priority topic areas:

• Ocean acidification and hypoxia, and other changes in ocean conditions from a changing climate
• Sustainable fisheries and aquaculture
• Sea level rise adaptation and coastal resilience
• Coastal sediment management
• Marine pollution
• Marine renewable energy

In October 2018, OPC approved 24 innovative research projects to be administered by University of Southern California Sea Grant and California Sea Grant, allocating $6 million in funding through the Proposition 84 Competitive Grants Program. After years of dedicated research, the final data and deliverables were received in 2024, marking a significant milestone in advancing science to protect California’s coast and ocean.

Completed Projects

Projects administered by University of Southern California Sea Grant: sea level rise adaptation and coastal resilience, coastal sediment management, marine pollution, and marine renewable energy. 

• Coastal Flood Projections and Socioeconomic Impacts Due to Sea Level Rise and Storms for the North Coast Using the Coastal Storm Modeling System (CoSMoS). P. Barnard, United States Geological Survey (USGS), M. Fitzgibbon, Point Blue Conservation Science, and M. Hayden, Our Coast Our Future. Administered by USC Sea Grant  

• Groundwater inundation hazards and socioeconomic impacts due to sea level rise across the California coast. P. Barnard, United States Geological Survey (USGS), M. Fitzgibbon, Point Blue Conservation Science, and K. Befus, University of Arkansas. Administered by USC Sea Grant. 

• Tribal Intertidal Digital Ecological Surveys (TIDES) Project: Using Large-Area Imaging to Assess Intertidal Vulnerability to Sea Level Rise with Coastal Indigenous Nations. J. Smith and S. Giddings, University of California, San Diego. Administered by USC Sea Grant. 

• Using Green Engineering Techniques to Restore Coastal Sand Dunes in Border Field State Park, San Diego, CA. H. Elwany and F. Scarelli, Coastal Environments, Inc, D. Hubbard, University of California, Santa Barbara. Administered by USC Sea Grant. 

• Statewide assessment of California cliff erosion and retreat. A. Young and M. Merrifield, University of California, San Diego. Administered by USC Sea Grant. 

• Humboldt Coastal Resilience Project (HCRP): Analyzing beach-dune morphodynamics and vegetation controls on coastal resiliency to develop decision support tools and adaptation measures for sea level rise and extreme events along the Eureka Littoral Cell, Northern California. I. Walker, Arizona State University and A. Pickart, United States Fish and Wildlife Service. Administered by USC Sea Grant. 

• Interaction Between Microplastics and Pathogen Pollutants in Marine Ecosystems: Implications for Seafood Safety. K. Shapiro, University of California, Davis and C. Rochman, University of Toronto. Administered by USC Sea Grant. 

• Advancing Portable Detection Capabilities of Harmful algal Bloom species in California Waters. H. Bowers, San Jose State University and J. Smith, San Jose State University. Administered by USC Sea Grant. 

• Multiple Stressors and Toxic Pseudo-nitzschia Blooms in California Waters: Understanding the Complex Interactive Impacts of Nutrients, Temperature, and Carbonate Chemistry. D. Hutchins, University of Southern California and F. Feixue, University of Southern California. Administered by USC Sea Grant. 

• Linking Terrestrial Pollution to Estuarine Water Quality: Quantification of the Role of Groundwater in the Transport, Transformation, and Removal of Agricultural Pollutants in Elkhorn Slough, CA. M. Zimmer, University of California, Santa Cruz. Administered by USC Sea Grant. 

• Wave Energy Conversion in California under the present and future Climate and economic feasibility analysis of different technologies (WE3C). B. Reguero, University of California, Santa Cruz. Administered by USC Sea Grant. 

• California Offshore Wind: Workforce and Grid Integration Analysis. R. Collier, University of California, Berkeley. Administered by USC Sea Grant. 

Projects administered by California Sea Grant: ocean acidification and hypoxia, and sustainable fisheries and aquaculture.  

• Improving management under MLMA by accounting for effects of MLPA MPAs on fisheries. L. Botsford, University of California, Davis. Administered by California Sea Grant. 

• Benefits beyond biomass: Bio-physical feedbacks within Marine Protected Areas may promote ecosystem resilience in the face of global climate change. A. Stier, University of California, Santa Barbara. Administered by California Sea Grant. 

• A DNA Metabarcoding Approach to Monitoring Fish Spawning and Population Connectivity in Coastal Southern and Central California. R. Burton, University of California, San Diego. Administered by California Sea Grant. 

• A multi-faceted approach to enhance sustainability of the California spiny lobster fishery. K, Hovel, San Diego State University. Administered by California Sea Grant. 

• Understanding ocean warming impacts on shrinking body sizes of California fishes Linking pattern & mechanism to support future sustainable fisheries. L. Komoroske, University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Administered by California Sea Grant. 

• The population Dynamics of Southern California Paralabrax spp. in the face of a changing ocean. B. Semmens, University of California, San Diego. Administered by California Sea Grant. 

• Habitat characterization, fishery development and stock structure of swordfish off California. C. Sepulveda, Pfleger Institute of Environmental Research. Administered by California Sea Grant. 

• Sea Feeds: Identification and culture of Californian marine macroalgae capable of reducing greenhouse gas production from ruminant livestock. L. Gardner, San Jose State University. Administered by California Sea Grant. 

• Present and Future Climatic Drivers of Domoic Acid Toxicity in Coastal Ecosystems of California. W. Cochlan, San Francisco State University. Administered by California Sea Grant. 

• Assessing the combined effects of ocean acidification and warming on disease susceptibility and restoration success of the critically endangered white abalone.  
  K. Aquilino, University of California, Davis. Administered by California Sea Grant. 

• Geography of Stress: Impacts of Ocean Acidification Along the California Coast. T. Hill, University of California, Davis. Administered by California Sea Grant. 

• An ecophysiological framework to assess hypoxia driven habitat loss in the California Current Ecosystem. C. Deutsch, Princeton University. Administered by California Sea Grant. 

Background

The Safe Drinking Water, Water Quality and Supply, Flood Control, River and Coastal Protection Act of 2006 (Prop 84) was passed by voters in 2006 (California Public Resources Code (PRC) Division 43). Funding from Prop 84 is intended to fund projects that provide safe drinking water to Californians, protect the public from flooding, protect waters of the State from pollution and habitat destruction, protect coastal areas for future generations, and provide for sustainable and livable communities through urban greening.

Prop 84, Chapter 7 “Protection of Beaches, Bays, and Coastal Waters,” allocates $90 million to the OPC for projects consistent with the California Ocean Protection Act (PRC Division 26.5) and for development of scientific data needed to adaptively manage the State’s marine resources and reserves, the development and implementation of projects to foster sustainable fisheries, and the development and implementation of projects to conserve marine wildlife.

Proposition 84 Grant Guidelines

1-Pager on the Proposition 1 and Proposition 84 Competitive Grant Programs

More information about Proposition 84 can be found at the California Natural Resources Agency’s Bond Accountability Website. 

Contact

General Inquiries
copcpublic@resources.ca.gov

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