BILL NUMBER: AB 1254 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JANUARY 14, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JANUARY 4, 2010
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Tom Berryhill
FEBRUARY 27, 2009
An act to amend Sections 206, 1354, 1528, 2003, and 2016
206 and 1528 of, and to repeal Section 2017 of,
the Fish and Game Code, relating to fish and wildlife.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1254, as amended, Tom Berryhill. Fish and Game Commission:
hunting and fishing.
The California Constitution creates the Fish and Game Commission.
Existing law establishes the commission in the Natural Resources
Agency to perform specified functions. Existing law requires the
commission to hold no fewer than 10 regular meetings per year, with
no more than 2 regular meetings to be held in Sacramento per year.
This bill would require the commission to hold no fewer than 8
meetings per year, if the commission has adequate funding for related
travel, including funding for department travel. It would also
require no more than 3, rather than 2, regular meetings to be held in
Sacramento per year.
The Wildlife Conservation Law of 1947 requires the Wildlife
Conservation Board to review and approve the acquisition of property
and property rights for the Department of Fish and Game. The law
specifically authorizes the board to authorize the acquisition of
lands or rights in land as may be necessary for the purpose of
furnishing public access to lands or waters open to the public for
fishing, hunting, and shooting, and to authorize that acquisition by
the department.
This bill would also authorize the board to authorize the
acquisition of lands or rights in land as it may to be necessary for
the purpose of providing fishing and hunting opportunities for the
public.
Existing law states that multiple recreational use of wildlife
management areas is desirable and requires the commission to
encourage that use.
This bill would specify that the traditional use of hunting and
fishing is particularly desirable.
Existing law, with specific exceptions, makes it unlawful to offer
any prize or other inducement as a reward for the taking of any game
birds, mammals, fish, reptiles, or amphibians in an individual
contest, tournament, or derby. Under one exception, the department
may issue a permit to any person authorizing that person to offer a
prize or other inducement as a reward for the taking of any game
fish.
This bill would authorize the department to issue a permit to any
person or nonprofit organization authorizing the permittee to offer a
prize or other inducement as a reward for the taking of any game
species. The bill would prohibit basing the prize or inducement on
the total number of birds or mammals taken.
Existing law makes it unlawful to enter specified lands owned or
occupied by another for the purpose of taking or destroying any bird
or mammal, where signs forbidding trespass are displayed at specified
intervals, without written consent. Those specified lands include
lands temporarily inundated by waters flowing outside the established
banks of a waterway.
This bill would modify that inundated lands provision to include
only lands temporarily inundated by nonnavigable waters flowing
outside the established banks of a waterway. Existing
Existing law makes it unlawful to take any mammal or
bird or to discharge any firearm upon any land where "PRIVATE
PROPERTY NO HUNTING" signs are displayed as prescribed. The
The bill would delete this provision.
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 206 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to
read:
206. (a) The commission shall hold no fewer than eight regular
meetings per calendar year, if the commission has adequate funding
for related travel, including funding for department travel. The
commission may also hold special meetings or hearings to receive
additional input from the department and the public.
(b) The commission shall announce the dates and locations of
meetings for the year by January 1st 1
of that year, or 60 days prior to the first meeting, whichever comes
first. Meeting locations shall be accessible to the public and
located throughout the state, with no more than three regular
meetings to be held in Sacramento per year. To the extent feasible,
meetings shall be held in state facilities. In setting the dates and
locations for regular meetings, the commission shall also consider
the following factors:
(1) Recommendations of the department.
(2) Opening and closing dates of fishing and hunting seasons.
(3) The schedules of other state and federal regulatory agencies
whose regulations affect the management of fish and wildlife of this
state.
(c) The commission shall cause the notice of the schedule for
regular meetings, and notice of any change in the date and location
of a meeting, to be disseminated to the public in a manner that will
result in broad dissemination, including, but not limited to,
electronic distribution, mailings to interested parties, and
publication in local newspapers of affected communities.
SEC. 2. Section 1354 of the Fish and Game Code
is amended to read:
1354. The board may authorize the acquisition of lands, or rights
in land, including, but not limited to, easements on private land,
as it determines to be necessary for the purpose of providing fishing
and hunting opportunities for the public, or for the purpose of
furnishing public access to lands or waters open to the public for
fishing, hunting, and shooting. The board may authorize that
acquisition by the department.
SEC. 3. SEC. 2. Section 1528 of the
Fish and Game Code is amended to read:
1528. The department shall operate land, or lands and water,
acquired for public shooting grounds, state marine (estuarine)
recreational management areas, or wildlife management areas on a
nonprofit basis. Multiple recreational use of wildlife management
areas, particularly the traditional use of hunting and fishing, is
desirable and the commission shall encourage that use. Except for
hunting and fishing purposes, only minimum facilities to permit other
forms of multiple recreational use, such as camping, picnicking,
boating, or swimming, shall be provided. Except as provided in
Section 1765, and to defray the costs associated with multiple use,
the commission may determine and fix the amount of, and the
department shall collect, fees for any use privileges. However, tours
by organized youth and school groups are exempt from the payment of
those fees. Only persons holding valid hunting licenses may apply for
or obtain shooting permits for public shooting grounds, state marine
(estuarine) recreational management areas, or wildlife management
areas.
SEC. 4. Section 2003 of the Fish and Game Code
is amended to read:
2003. (a) Except as specified in subdivisions (b), (c), and (d),
it is unlawful to offer any prize or other inducement as a reward for
the taking of any game birds, mammals, fish, reptiles, or amphibians
in an individual contest, tournament, or derby.
(b) The department may issue a permit to any person or nonprofit
organization authorizing that person or nonprofit organization to
offer a prize or other inducement as a reward for the taking of any
game species, as defined by the commission by regulation, if the
department finds that there would be no detriment to the resource. A
prize or other inducement as a reward for the taking of game birds or
mammals shall not be based on the total number of birds or mammals
taken. The permit is subject to regulations adopted by the
commission. The application for the permit shall be accompanied by a
fee in the amount determined by the department as necessary to cover
the reasonable administrative costs incurred by the department in
issuing the permit. However, the department may waive the permit fee
if the contest, tournament, or derby is for persons under the age of
16 years, or who are physically or mentally challenged, the primary
purpose of the contest, tournament, or derby is to introduce young
people to, or educate them about, fishing or hunting. All permits for
which the fee is waived pursuant to this subdivision shall comply
with all other requirements set forth in this section.
(c) This section does not apply to any person conducting what are
generally known as frog-jumping contests or fish contests conducted
in waters of the Pacific Ocean.
(d) This section does not apply to any person conducting an
individual contest, tournament, or derby for the taking of game birds
and mammals, if the total value of all prizes or other inducements
is less than five hundred dollars ($500) for the individual contest,
tournament, or derby.
SEC. 5. Section 2016 of the Fish and Game Code
is amended to read:
2016. It is unlawful to enter any lands under cultivation or
enclosed by a fence, belonging to, or occupied by, another, or to
enter any uncultivated or unenclosed lands, including lands
temporarily inundated by nonnavigable waters flowing outside the
established banks of a river, stream, slough, or other waterway,
where signs forbidding trespass are displayed at intervals not less
than three to the mile along all exterior boundaries and at all roads
and trails entering those lands, for the purpose of discharging any
firearm or taking or destroying any mammal or bird, including any
waterfowl, on those lands without having first obtained written
permission from the owner of those lands, or his or her agent, or the
person in lawful possession of those lands. The signs may be of any
size and wording that will fairly advise persons about to enter the
land that the use of the land is restricted.
SEC. 6. SEC. 3. Section 2017 of the
Fish and Game Code is repealed.