BILL NUMBER: AB 979 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 14, 2009
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 1, 2009
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 18, 2009
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 6, 2009
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 15, 2009
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 2, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Tom Berryhill
FEBRUARY 27, 2009
An act to add Sections 1020 and 1021 to the Fish and Game Code,
relating to fish and game.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 979, as amended, Tom Berryhill. Hunting or fishing: local
regulation.
The California Constitution provides for the delegation to the
Fish and Game Commission of powers relating to the protection and
propagation of fish and game. Existing statutory law delegates to the
commission the power to regulate the taking or possession of birds,
mammals, fish, amphibia, and reptiles in accordance with prescribed
laws. Under existing law, the Department of Fish and Game exercises
various functions with regard to the taking of fish and game. Under
existing law, a city or county exercises certain limited authority
with regard to the regulation of fish and game for the protection of
public health and safety.
This bill would provide that the state fully occupies the field of
hunting and fishing. The bill would prohibit a city or county from
adopting an ordinance or regulation that affects the taking of fish
and game, unless the ordinance or regulation is both necessary for
public health and safety and has only an incidental impact on the
field of hunting and fishing preempted by state law. The bill would
also provide that unless otherwise authorized by the Fish and Game
Code or other state or federal law, the commission and the department
are the only entities that may adopt or promulgate regulations
regarding the taking of fish and game on any lands or waters within
the state, except as specified. The bill would exempt from its
prov isions local ordinances and regulations that regulate
trapping.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 1020 is added to the Fish and Game Code, to
read:
1020. (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(1) The California Supreme Court in In re Makings (1927) 200 Cal.
474, determined that Section 251/2 of Article IV of the California
Constitution, as currently set forth in Section 20 of Article IV,
prohibits local governmental entities from regulating, or interfering
with, fish and game matters and places this responsibility with the
Legislature in order to conserve California's fish and wildlife
populations and permit the largest use of fish and game compatible
with the reasonable protection thereof.
(2) The Fish and Game Commission was established in 1870 to assist
in the science-based management of California's fish and wildlife
resources. The California Constitution permits the Legislature to
delegate to the commission certain powers relating to the management
of fish and game, and the Legislature has delegated to the commission
regulatory powers over the taking and possession of fish and game,
as set forth in this code.
(3) Hunting and fishing are statistically among the safest outdoor
recreational activities, particularly as they relate to impacts on
the general public, and are already well regulated by the state
through mandatory safety requirements, weapons laws, and regulations
adopted by the commission. Additional local regulation significantly
impedes the uniform, science-based administration of fish and game
laws. Hunting and fishing activities are also compatible with other
recreational uses on many public lands and waters throughout the
state.
(b) In enacting this section and Section 1021, it is the intent of
the Legislature to affirm, subject to applicable state and federal
law, the exclusive legal authority granted to the commission and the
department with regard to the taking and possession of fish and game
and thereby ensure necessary comprehensive statewide control by the
commission and the department over all fish and game matters for
wildlife conservation purposes and the protection of, and access to,
hunting and fishing opportunities for private landowners and the
public.
SEC. 2. Section 1021 is added to the Fish and Game Code, to read:
1021. (a) (1) The state fully occupies the field of hunting and
fishing pursuant to this code, regulations adopted by the commission
pursuant to this code, and Section 20 of Article IV of the California
Constitution, and all local ordinances and regulations are subject
to this section.
(2) A city or county shall not adopt an ordinance or regulation
that affects the taking of fish and game unless the ordinance or
regulation is both necessary for public health and safety and has
only an incidental impact on the field of hunting and fishing
preempted by state law. The ordinance or regulation shall not
indiscriminately extend or apply to any areas where the taking of
fish and game may occur without endangering public health and safety
nor to any lands or waters owned or managed by the state or federal
government.
(b) The commission, the department, or any other governmental
entity legally authorized to affect the taking of fish and game on
navigable waters held in public trust shall, to the extent possible,
ensure that the fishing and hunting rights of the public guaranteed
under Section 25 of Article I of, and Section 4 of Article X of, the
California Constitution, are protected in a manner consistent with
those provisions.
(c) (1) Unless otherwise authorized by this code or other state or
federal law, the commission and the department are the only entities
in this state that shall adopt or promulgate regulations regarding
the taking of fish and game on any lands or waters within the state.
(2) Nothing in this section or Section 1020 prohibits a public or
private landowner, or the landowner's designee, from regulating
public access or enforcing reasonable safety measures
public use on property that the landowner owns
in fee, leases, manages, holds an easement in, or otherwise
lawfully controls upon, or is otherwise lawfully
authorized to control for those purposes , in a manner
consistent with state law.
(d) Local ordinances and regulations that regulate trapping are
not subject to this section.