BILL NUMBER: AB 1776	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Fong
   (Coauthors: Senators Evans and Leno)

                        FEBRUARY 17, 2012

   An act to amend Section 422.5 of, and to add Chapter 29.5
(commencing with Section 7593.5) to Division 7 of Title 1 of, the
Government Code, relating to state government.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1776, as introduced, Fong. State government: Western Pacific
leatherback sea turtle.
   (1) Existing law establishes the state flag and the state's
emblems, including, among other things, the poppy as the official
state flower, the California redwood as the official state tree, and
the California desert tortoise as the official state reptile.
   This bill would establish the Western Pacific leatherback sea
turtle as the official state marine reptile.
   (2) Existing law designates certain periods of time for specified
purposes, including, among other things, the first week in January as
Braille Literacy Week.
   This bill would designate October 15, 2012, and every October 15
thereafter, as Western Pacific Leatherback Sea Turtle Conservation
Day. This bill would encourage public schools, state and federal
agencies, nongovernmental agencies, fishers, whale-watch tour
operators, and other interested stakeholders to engage in certain
activities, as specified.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (a) California is a coastal state that is dedicated to the
protection of ocean resources, fisheries, and marine wildlife.
   (b) Sea turtles, fish, and marine mammals are a central component
of California's natural heritage and marine biodiversity.
   (c) The Legislature acknowledges that the Pacific leatherback
turtle population has experienced a catastrophic decline over the
past two decades and might be on the verge of extirpation.
   (d) The Legislature further acknowledges that Pacific leatherbacks
are among the most imperiled of any sea turtle population in any
ocean basin on Earth and that populations of the Pacific leatherback,
a 100-million-year-old species that outlived the dinosaurs, have
declined by approximately 90 percent in the last 25 years.
   (e) Leatherbacks foraging off the coast of California are part of
a distinct Western pacific breeding stock that nests on beaches in
Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands.
   (f) California's coastal waters are high-use foraging areas for
summer nesters from this critically endangered population of Western
Pacific leatherback sea turtles, according to the National Marine
Fisheries Service.
   (g) Satellite tracking conducted over the past decade has
determined that after nesting hundreds of individual Western Pacific
leatherback sea turtles swim more than 6,000 miles over 10 to 12
months to cross the Pacific to feed on jellyfish in California
coastal waters every year.
   (h) The leatherbacks' trans-Pacific migration involved multiple
years of migrating between California coastal waters during the
summer and lower latitude wintering areas without returning to
western Pacific nesting beaches.
   (i) These movements and foraging strategies underscore the
importance of and the need for ecosystem-based management and
coordinated Pacificwide conservation efforts.
   (j) The Legislature supports efforts to recover and preserve the
Western Pacific leatherback sea turtle population in oceanic feeding
and migration areas, which are identified as important strategies for
their continued survival.
   (k) On February 26, 2012, the National Marine Fisheries Service
designated more than 16,000 square miles of California's coastal
waters, and a total of nearly 42,000 square miles along the United
States West Coast, as critical habitat to protect high-use foraging
areas and primary prey species for the endangered Western Pacific
leatherback sea turtle under the federal Endangered Species Act.
  SEC. 2.  Section 422.5 of the Government Code is amended to read:
   422.5.   (a)    The California desert tortoise
(gopherus  agassizi)   agassizii)  is the
official state reptile. 
   (b) The Western Pacific leatherback sea turtle (dermochelys
coriacea) is the official state marine reptile. 
  SEC. 3.  Chapter 29.5 (commencing with Section 7593.5) is added to
Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code, to read:
      CHAPTER 29.5.  WESTERN PACIFIC LEATHERBACK SEA TURTLE


   7593.5.  (a) October 15, 2012, and every October 15 thereafter, is
hereby designated as Western Pacific Leatherback Sea Turtle
Conservation Day.
   (b) The Legislature encourages California public schools to
include Western Pacific leatherback sea turtles into their teaching
lessons and curriculum whenever possible.
   (c) The Legislature encourages state and federal agencies,
nongovernmental agencies, fishers, whale-watch tour operators, and
other interested stakeholders to establish and participate in a
statewide, voluntary leatherback sea turtle watch to record sightings
of the Western Pacific leatherback sea turtle in California and West
Coast waters.
   (d) The Legislature encourages state and federal agencies to build
cooperative relationships with the island nations where Western
Pacific leatherback sea turtles return to nest in order to increase
awareness and conservation of this critically endangered species.