BILL ANALYSIS ----------------------------------------------------------------- | | | SENATE COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES AND WATER | | Senator Fran Pavley, Chair | | 2009-2010 Regular Session | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- BILL NO: SB 1179 HEARING DATE: April 13, 2010 AUTHOR: Hollingsworth URGENCY: No VERSION: March 24, 2010 CONSULTANT: Marie Liu DUAL REFERRAL: No FISCAL: Yes SUBJECT: Free hunting days. BACKGROUND AND EXISTING LAW Under the Fish and Game Code 3031, a person must posses a valid hunting license to take birds and mammals in California. Additionally, under 3050, in order to receive a hunting license, a person must complete a course in hunter education, principles of conservation, and sportsmanship or have had a hunting license in the past. Hunter education courses are offered by the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) and cover firearms safety and handling, sportsmanship and ethics, wildlife management and conservation, archery, black powder, wildlife identification, game care, first aid, and survival. Courses are a minimum of ten hours. DFG must offer the course for free, although DFG may charge a teaching-materials fee. Article 3, Chapter 1, Part 2 of Division 6 requires a person to obtain a valid sport fishing license to take any fish, reptile, or amphibia in the state. The director of DFG, notwithstanding this requirement, may designate up to two days a year as free sport fishing days during which residents and nonresidents may fish without holding a sport fishing license, but are still subject to all the limitations, restrictions, conditions, laws, rules, and regulations applicable to sports fishing. PROPOSED LAW This bill would require the Fish and Game Commission to designate two "Free Hunting Days" per year where a California resident may hunt without a valid hunting license if they are accompanied by a licensed hunter. Specifically, this bill would: Require that the unlicensed hunter is under the "direct visual supervision" of the licensed hunter at all times; 1 Allow the licensed hunter to supervise multiple unlicensed hunters; Allow DFG to require that the unlicensed hunter first demonstrate the safe operation of the firearm that they intend on using. Under the bill, the following individuals may evaluate safe operation of a firearm: federally licensed firearms dealers and their employees, a DFG certified Hunter Education Instructor, or a licensed hunter that has had a valid hunting license for the past three years; and Prohibit unlicensed hunters from taking species that require a draw or lottery to obtain a tag or any species that is subject to a federal stamp or federal reporting requirements. ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT According to the author, "SB 1179 hopes to introduce more people to the sport of hunting. Not only is hunting a time-honored outdoor activity which has deep roots in our nation's culture, but it is also an activity which generates a great deal of commerce and sales tax revenue. Hunters purchase gas, food, clothing, supplies, and lodging accommodations, pumping millions of critical dollars into local economies. This is especially true in the depressed rural areas of our state where job opportunities are often limited, but good hunting areas are in ample supply." The author also submitted statistics to the committee from the National Shooting Sports Foundation that demonstrate that accidental firearms fatalities are at an all time low, the injury rate of hunting compared to other recreation, and the impact of the firearms industry on California's economy. ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION None received COMMENTS Hunter education- a key difference between free fishing days and free hunting days: Free fish days simply allow individuals to fish without purchasing a license. Free hunting days, as proposed by this bill, would allow individuals to not only hunt without a license but also to forgo a hunter education. The Legislature enacted hunting education requirements in order to ensure the health and safety of hunters and to reflect the Legislature's intent that hunters be aware of their responsibilities "to others, towards wildlife, and toward their natural environment." According to the Fish and Game website, hunting accidents of all types have declined substantially with the education requirement. However, the courses offered by DFG go further than firearm safety by also teaching topics including 2 wildlife management and conservation, wildlife identification, game care, and first aid. The committee may wish to consider whether it is desirable to allow an individual to hunt without receiving a more comprehensive hunting education course. Are there sufficient safety precautions in this bill? This bill raises a number of safety questions including: There are no limits to how many unlicensed hunters each licensed hunter can supervise. The committee may wish to consider whether the supervising hunter can actively supervise multiple, presumably inexperienced, hunters. There is no minimum age limit for the unlicensed hunter. While there is no minimum age to obtain a hunting license under current law (Big game stamps require the hunter to be at least 12 years of age), an individual must have enough maturity and reading comprehension to pass the hunters education course. This bill would allow individuals to bypass this de facto minimum age and maturity limit. There is no minimum age or experience required to be a supervising hunter. This bill would allow a new hunter, who could also be quite young, to supervise an unlicensed hunter. Also, this bill would allow hunters, even if they have a record of hunting violations, to be a supervising hunter. The bill requires the licensed hunter to be in "direct visual supervision," but the licensed and unlicensed hunters could be hundreds of feet apart, which would limit the supervisor's ability to provide guidance and safety, especially if the supervising hunter is responsible for multiple unlicensed hunters. The committee may wish to consider whether the safety issues in the bill as written override the objective to expose more people to hunting. Who should be eligible for a free hunting day?: DFG uses the proceeds from hunting licenses for conservation purposes for the sake of the resource itself and to preserve the future of hunting. Allowing all individuals to hunt for two free days may decrease the number of hunting licenses sold and thereby decrease DFGs already reduced ability to conserve wildlife in the state. The committee should note that under this bill all California residents are eligible for free hunt days in California, including those who have held hunting licenses in the past. Thus, an individual who maybe only interested in hunting once or twice a year may use the free hunt days instead of purchasing a license. If the author's intent is to encourage the development of new hunters, the committee may wish to consider whether free hunting days should only be available to 3 individuals who have never held a license in the past. Making a free hunting day work logistically and drafting errors : A number of hunting rules and regulations require the reporting of a hunting license number, such as reporting take and entering state wildlife areas. This bill does not address these logistics nor does it give DFG the latitude to address these issues through regulations. Also, in order for this bill to make hunting days legal, this bill needs to exempt unlicensed hunters from the existing requirements in 3031 and 3050. SUPPORT California Association of Firearms Retailers California Sportsman's Lobby, Inc. National Rifle Association of America National Shooting Sports Foundation, Inc. Outdoor Sportsmen's Coalition of California Safari Club International Sierra Club 2 individuals OPPOSITION None Received 4