BILL ANALYSIS AB 1995 Page 1 Date of Hearing: April 14, 2010 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Felipe Fuentes, Chair AB 1995 (Gaines) - As Amended: March 24, 2010 Policy Committee: Water, Parks and Wildlife Vote: 12-0 Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: No SUMMARY Authorizes a person who, through the Department of Fish and Game's (DFG's) Automated License Data System (ALDS), purchases a fishing or hunting license or stamp to purchase a replacement license or stamp for a base fee. Specifically, this bill: 1)Authorizes unexpired hunting and fishing licenses purchased through DFG's ALDS system that are lost or destroyed to be replaced for a base fee of $9, to be adjusted for inflation in future years, not to exceed the amount of the original fee. 2)Authorizes a hunting or fishing stamp purchased through DFG's ALDS system that is lost or destroyed to be replaced for a base fee of $3, to be adjusted for inflation in future years, not to exceed the amount of the original fee. FISCAL EFFECT 1)Ongoing loss of revenue to DFG, in the tens of thousands of dollars each year, resulting from reduced fee for replacement hunting or fishing licenses and stamps. (Fish and Game Preservation Fund) 2)Minor administrative savings to DFG, no more than thousands of dollars each year, resulting from use of automated system to reissue replacement hunting or fishing stamps. COMMENTS 1)Rationale . According to the author and DFG, the bill's sponsor, DFG unfairly charges the full cost of a new hunting AB 1995 Page 2 or fishing license or stamp for the replacement of a lost or destroyed license or stamp. This is because DFG has no way of tracking the purchase of such licenses and stamps and therefore cannot verify that a person purchased any. Once DFG implements its ALDS in 2012, however, it will be able to verify such purchases. The author and sponsor contend this bill will ensure that hunters and anglers seeking to replace previously purchased licenses and stamps rightly will pay only for the administrative cost to DFG to replace the license or stamp. 2)Background . a) Hunting and Fishing Licenses and Entitlements . DFG issues a variety of licenses for periodic hunting and fishing. The costs of these licenses vary, depending upon the specific license issued. The cost of the licenses is designed to cover the costs to DFG to issue the license, enforce fishing and hunting restrictions, and preserve habitat, among other things. In addition, DFG attaches entitlements, or stamps, to the licenses for varying fees. These stamps entitle the hunter or angler to specified activities. For example, a stamp may entitle the licensee to fish in the Bay Delta region or to hunt a specific species of game. Similar to the cost of hunting and fishing licenses, the cost of stamps corresponds to costs incurred by DFG, including the cost to issue the stamps, enforcement, and preservation. b) Dude, Where's My License ? Currently, a person who loses a hunting or fishing license may purchase a replacement license with payment of a fee. The amount of the fee is sufficient to cover only the administrative cost of issuing the replacement license. Presently, the replacement fee is $8.75, an amount well below the cost of a new hunting or fishing license. To qualify for the replacement license fee, the customer must present proof of purchase and sign an affidavit affirming the previous purchase of the license. Conversely, replacement of any stamp that was affixed to the license must be repurchased at full price. There is no discounted replacement stamp fee. AB 1995 Page 3 c) DFG Automating its Licensing System . DFG's ALDS is an automated, online electronic database of hunting and fishing licensing information. DFG will begin implementing ALDS this year and anticipates full implementation by 2012. ALDS will replace DFG's paper-based licensing system. Using ALDS, DFG, and its licensed agents, will gain the ability to capture and quickly retrieve customer information, including license purchase histories. d) A Question of Fairness . Today, DFG has no way of electrically tracking the purchase of licenses or stamps to verify the prior purchase. Once DFG's ALDS is fully implemented, it will allow DFG to capture customer-specific information. With the ability to verify a customer's prior purchase of licenses and stamps, it is arguably unfair to charge the full price for replacement of a license or stamp when DFG incurs only minor administrative costs to do so. 3)Support . DFG-the bill's sponsor-along with a number of hunting and fishing organizations, argue that it will be unfair to charge a customer full price for a replacement hunting or fishing license or stamp when, using ALDS, DFG can easily verify the customer's prior purchase of the license or stamp. 4)There is no registered opposition to this bill . Analysis Prepared by : Jay Dickenson / APPR. / (916) 319-2081