BILL ANALYSIS Ķ
AB 1162
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 1162 (Chesbro)
As Amended May 27, 2011
Majority vote
WATER, PARKS & WILDLIFE 12-0 JUDICIARY
9-0
Ayes: Huffman, Halderman, Bill Berryhill, Ayes:
Feuer, Wagner, Atkins, Dickinson,
Blumenfield, Campos, Fong, Gatto, Huber,
Huffman, Jones, Monning,
Roger Hernāndez, Hueso, Lara, Wieckowski
Olsen, Yamada
APPROPRIATIONS 17-0
Ayes: Fuentes, Harkey, Blumenfield,
Bradford, Charles Calderon, Campos,
Davis, Donnelly, Gatto, Hall,
Hill, Lara, Mitchell, Nielsen,
Norby, Solorio, Wagner
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SUMMARY : Increases civil and criminal penalties for various
types of poaching violations, including trophy hunting.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Increases the maximum civil penalty which the Department of
Fish and Game (DFG) may assess for a violation from $10,000 to
$40,000 for each animal unlawfully taken.
2)Establishes a new criminal penalty for any person who
knowingly and illegally takes a trophy deer, elk, antelope,
bighorn sheep or wild turkey outside the legal season, with
aid of artificial light, with aid of bait, or in a manner that
results in unnecessary and wanton waste of game. The penalty
for such offense shall be not less than $5,000 or more than
$40,000 or up to one year in county jail, or both the fine and
imprisonment.
3)Requires the Fish and Game Commission (FGC) to adopt
regulations to implement the new penalty on trophy poaching,
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including a trophy designation and monetary value based on the
size or related characteristics of deer, elk, antelope,
bighorn sheep or wild turkey.
4)Requires that all revenue from fines for trophy poaching be
deposited in the Big Game Management Account and used for big
game management, except that fines for wild turkey poaching
violations would be deposited in the Upland Game Bird Account.
5)Makes it unlawful for any person to use a signal-emitting
device in conjunction with the take of a bear for the purpose
of selling or trafficking in bear parts, subject to a fine of
$10,000 per bear part. Defines "signal-emitting device" as
any device capable of generating radio, cellular, satellite,
or other signal transmission for purposes of providing
communication or location information.
6)Requires the FGC to adopt regulations to implement the
prohibition on use of signal-emitting devices for the take of
bear for the purpose of selling or trafficking in bear parts,
including establishing a market value for bear parts.
7)Requires that all revenues from fines for use of
signal-emitting devices for take of bear for the purpose of
selling or trafficking in bear parts shall be deposited in the
Big Game Management Account and used for big game management.
8)Provides that 50% of the revenue from any fine collected for
trophy poaching of big game or wild turkey, or for the illegal
use of a signal-emitting device to take bear for the purpose
of selling or trafficking in bear parts, shall be paid to the
county in which the offense was committed. Requires the
county to use the revenues first to reimburse the district
attorney or city attorney for costs incurred in investigating
and prosecuting the violation, and to use any excess as
allowed under specified provisions of existing law.
9)Authorizes DFG to suspend or permanently revoke a person's
hunting license for a violation of the prohibitions on trophy
poaching of big game or use of signal-emitting devices for
take of bear for the purpose of selling or trafficking in bear
parts, and authorizes a judge to order the seizure or
forfeiture of any device or apparatus used in committing such
an offense.
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EXISTING LAW :
1)Authorizes DFG to assess a civil penalty of not more than
$10,000 for each animal illegally taken, and requires that
those penalties be deposited in the Fish and Game Preservation
Fund.
2)Makes a violation of most provisions of the Fish and Game Code
a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000,
imprisonment in the county jail for not more than six months,
or both the fine and imprisonment. Certain violations are
subject to a penalty of not more than $2,000 and up to one
year in jail.
3)Provides that anyone who illegally takes or possesses wildlife
for profit or personal gain is guilty of a misdemeanor
punishable by a fine of not less than $5,000 and not more than
$40,000, or imprisonment in county jail for up to one year, or
both the fine and imprisonment. A second or subsequent
violation is subject to a penalty of up to $50,000, or one
year in jail, or both the fine and imprisonment.
4)Provides that anyone who illegally takes or possesses in the
field more than three times the daily bag limit or possesses
more than three times the legal possession limit is guilty of
a misdemeanor and subject to a fine of not less than $5,000
and not more than $40,000, or one year in jail, or both the
fine and imprisonment. A second or subsequent violation is
subject to a penalty of not less than $10,000 or more than
$50,000, or up to one year in jail, or both the fine and
imprisonment.
5)Authorizes DFG to suspend or permanently revoke a person's
hunting license for illegally taking wildlife for profit or
personal gain, or for illegally taking or possessing in the
field more than three times the daily bag limit.
6)Authorizes a judge to order the seizure or forfeiture of any
device or apparatus used in committing the offense of poaching
for profit or personal gain, or for take or possession of
three times the legal bag limit.
FISCAL EFFECT :
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1)One-time costs to the FGC, likely less than $150,000, to
develop regulations, including establishment of a trophy
designation and monetary value based on the size or related
characteristics of the animal poached (Fish and Game
Preservation Fund).
2)Potential revenue increase to DFG, ranging in the tens of
thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars, resulting from
increased civil and criminal penalties. DFG reports it
anticipates very little revenue increase as a result of this
bill, in part because the DFG so rarely exercises its civil
penalty authority (Fish and Game Preservation Fund).
COMMENTS : The author indicates the purpose of this bill is to
ensure that poachers pay back the full value of the wildlife
resources they took from the public by increasing fines and
other penalties for egregious violations, particularly those
involving trophy game animals, to more accurately reflect the
value of those resources. In the last several years in
California there have been a number of high-profile poaching
cases involving big game, including the illegal take of trophy
mule deer from Yosemite National Park and the shooting and
subsequent abandonment of two elk at Fort Hunter Liggett in
Monterey County. Deer violations, as compared to other wildlife
species, are also one of the most common Fish and Game Code
violations, with many deer targeted solely for their antlers or
size. While higher fines will create a deterrent for poaching
big game animals, financial penalties alone may be insufficient.
This bill also authorizes DFG to revoke a violator's hunting
license for certain egregious violations, and a judge to order
seizure of equipment used in committing violations.
The California Outdoor Heritage Alliance, representing hunters,
supports this bill because it would provide increased penalties
for serious poaching, including the intentional take of trophy
big game animals using illegal methods, and would help ensure
poachers pay back the full value of the wildlife they take from
the public by increasing fines and penalties to more accurately
reflect the market value of the wildlife. They note, for
example, that some deer, elk, antelope and bighorn sheep hunting
tags now sell for close to $100,000, whereas in many cases the
maximum fines for illegally taking them are only a fraction of
that amount. The California Fish and Game Wardens' Association
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notes that wildlife crime is prevalent in California and wardens
are seeing unprecedented levels of poaching. They emphasize
that it is discouraging and affects warden morale to see
inappropriately low penalties imposed for egregious poaching of
big game.
Some sportsmen's associations oppose this bill and assert it is
unnecessary and will serve as a form of asset forfeiture for
violators. The Humane Society supports this bill if amended to
apply the increased civil penalties to all big game poaching and
not just trophy animals. They argue basing the penalty on the
size or trophy status of the animal is an arbitrary distinction
that would unnecessarily complicate warden investigations and
undermine the gravity of poaching crimes that involve non-trophy
big game species.
Analysis Prepared by : Diane Colborn / W., P. & W. / (916)
319-2096
FN: 0000931