BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1179|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 1179
Author: Hollingsworth (R)
Amended: 8/2/10
Vote: 21
SENATE NATURAL RES. & WATER COMMITTEE : 6-3, 4/13/10
AYES: Cogdill, Hollingsworth, Huff, Padilla, Simitian,
Wolk
NOES: Pavley, Kehoe, Lowenthal
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 10-0, 5/27/10
AYES: Kehoe, Alquist, Corbett, Denham, Leno, Price,
Walters, Wolk, Wyland, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Cox
SENATE FLOOR : 28-6, 6/2/10
AYES: Aanestad, Alquist, Ashburn, Calderon, Cogdill,
Correa, Cox, Denham, DeSaulnier, Dutton, Florez, Harman,
Hollingsworth, Huff, Kehoe, Liu, Negrete McLeod, Padilla,
Price, Romero, Runner, Simitian, Steinberg, Strickland,
Walters, Wolk, Wright, Wyland
NOES: Cedillo, Corbett, Hancock, Leno, Pavley, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Ducheny, Lowenthal, Oropeza, Wiggins,
Vacancy, Vacancy
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 72-3, 8/17/10 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Free hunting days
SOURCE : Author
CONTINUED
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DIGEST : This bill authorizes the Department of Fish and
Game to designate two free hunt days per year.
Assembly Amendments authorized, rather than required, the
establishment of two free hunting days, clarified who was
allowed to hunt on a free day, and outlined requirements in
order to hunt.
ANALYSIS : Existing law:
1.Requires possession of a hunting license to take birds or
mammals in California, and provides for issuance of
hunting licenses to residents and nonresidents upon
payment of specified fees.
2.Requires completion of a hunting education course as a
condition of obtaining a hunting license. Hunter
education courses are a minimum of 10 hours and cover
firearm safety and handling, sportsmanship and ethics,
wildlife management and conservation, archery, black
powder, wildlife identification, game care, first aid,
and survival.
3.Requires possession of a fishing license to take fish,
authorizes the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) to
designate two free fishing days per year.
This bill:
1. Authorizes the Director of DFG to designate two free
hunting days per year, one during the Fall hunt season
and one during the winter season. Requires DFG to
publish the dates of the free hunt days.
2. Authorizes a California resident to hunt during a free
hunt day if accompanied by a licensed hunter who meets
certain specified requirements, and requires that the
unlicensed hunter stay in close visual and verbal
contact with the licensed hunter at all times. Requires
that the licensed supervising hunter be at least 21
years old, licensed to hunt for at least the last three
consecutive years, and accompany only one unlicensed
hunter in the field at a time.
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3. Provides that an unlicensed hunter may only participate
in the free hunting days for one license year, and
requires that the unlicensed hunter complete a hunter
education course approved by DFG and register with DFG
prior to participating in a free hunting day.
4. Requires that an unlicensed hunter participating in a
free hunting day must have in his or her possession a
certificate of completion of a hunter education course,
and any required tags, report cards, federal
entitlements, and required entry permits.
5. Provides that the unlicensed hunter shall be subject to
all of the limitations, restrictions, conditions,
statutes, rules and regulations applicable to licensed
hunters, except the requirement to possess a valid
hunting license.
6. Prohibits an unlicensed hunter participating in a free
hunting day from taking any species that requires a draw
or lottery to obtain a tag.
7. Authorizes DFG to adopt additional minimum requirements
and restrictions for participating in a free hunting
day.
8. Prohibits this bill from being implemented until DFG's
Automated License Data System is fully operational for
at least one year.
9. Makes legislative findings and declarations regarding
the contributions of hunters and fishermen and the fact
that the state allows for two free fishing days, and
states legislative intent to similarly allow for two
free hunting days.
Comments
Free fish days simply allow individuals to fish without
purchasing a license. Free hunting days, as proposed by
this bill, allows 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
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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 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.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
1. Potential annual costs to DFG of an unknown amount, but
likely around $125,000, to deploy additional enforcement
staff on free hunting days, many of who will receive
overtime pay (Fish and Game Preservation Fund.
2. Minor costs to DFG to administer the program and, if it
chooses, to adopt additional minimum requirements for
Free Hunting Days.
3. Potential annual loss in revenue to DFG of an unknown
but likely minor amount to the extent residents
participate in Free Hunting Days instead of purchasing
hunting licenses.
SUPPORT : (Unable to reverify)
California Association of Firearms Retailers
California Sportsman's Lobby
National Shooting Sports Foundation
Outdoor Sportsman's Coalition of California
Safari Club International
Safari Club International Foundation
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : Supporters assert that this bill
provides parity with fishing since DFG is already
authorized to designate two free fishing days per year.
They also contend that by allowing persons who have never
hunted before to try it out before purchasing a license,
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this bill could introduce new hunters to the sport who may
then elect to purchase licenses in the future. The author
also cites statistics from the National Shooting Sports
Foundation indicating that accidental firearms fatalities
are at an all time low, the injury rate of hunting compared
to other types of recreation, and the impact of the
firearms industry on California's economy.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Anderson, Arambula, Bass, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bradford,
Buchanan, Caballero, Carter, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto,
Davis, De La Torre, De Leon, DeVore, Eng, Evans, Feuer,
Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines,
Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto, Gilmore, Hagman, Hall, Harkey,
Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman, Jeffries,
Jones, Knight, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma,
Mendoza, Miller, Monning, Nestande, Niello, Nielsen,
Norby, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino, Ruskin, Salas,
Saldana, Silva, Smyth, Solorio, Audra Strickland,
Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran, Villines, John
A. Perez
NOES: Ammiano, Brownley, Skinner
NO VOTE RECORDED: Blakeslee, Charles Calderon, Nava,
Yamada, Vacancy
CTW:nl 8/18/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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