BILL ANALYSIS Ó
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
AB 1961 (Huffman) - Coho salmon: habitat.
Amended: June 19, 2012 Policy Vote: NR&W 7-2
Urgency: No Mandate: No
Hearing Date: August 6, 2012 Consultant:
Bob Franzoia
This bill may meet the criteria for referral to the Suspense
File.
Bill Summary: AB 1961 would establish the Coho Salmon Habitat
Enhancement Leading to Preservation Act (Coho HELP Act) and
require the Department of Fish and Game to approve a coho salmon
habitat enhancement project. This bill would repeal the Coho
Help Act on January 1, 2018.
Fiscal Impact: $50,000 to $100,000 in 2012-13 and 2013-14 to the
Fish and Game Preservation Fund for the department to develop
emergency regulations.
$250,000 to $1,000,000 (two to five staff) to the Fish and
Game Preservation Fund for the department to review
requests, approve projects and monitor implementation.
Potential offsetting revenue of an unknown amount to the
department for deposit in the Coho Salmon Recovery Account
created in the Fish and Game Preservation Fund resulting
from voluntary contributions.
$50,000 annually for a half time engineer position funded
by the Hatchery and Inland Fisheries Fund.
Background: As noted in the policy committee analysis, it is
state policy to increase the state's salmonid resources.
Habitat restoration is widely recognized as a critical factor to
the restoration of coho and other salmonid species. Coho need
appropriate freshwater habitat to survive including cold and
clean water, clean gravel for spawning, adequate food, and
sufficient and varied stream flow. Habitat restoration includes
the placement of large woody debris to increase stream
complexity, facilitating fish passage through the redesign of
culverts and other structures blocking migration, and restoring
eroded or denuded streambanks by re-vegetating stream corridors,
among others. The department's Recovery Strategy for Coho
AB 1961 (Huffman)
Page 1
Salmon as well as recovery strategies developed by the National
Marine Fisheries Service contain these and other recommendations
to help restore coho populations.
Testifying last year at a Joint Legislative Committee on
Fisheries and Aquaculture oversight hearing titled "Coho on the
Brink," the department noted the dangerously low coho salmon
populations and proposed recovery strategies and noted that
recovery projects boost economic activity in local communities
where they occur. Testimony by the department and others
indicated that risks of coho extinction warranted rapid action.
Proposed Law: AB 1961 would create the Coho Salmon Recovery
Account within the Fish and Game Preservation Fund and authorize
the department to enter into an agreement to accept funds to
achieve the purposes of the Coho HELP Act and deposit those
funds into that account.
This bill would authorize the department to impose a schedule of
fees for projects but not in amounts exceeding fees adopted by
the department for standard lake or streambed alteration
agreements for projects of comparable costs.
Recommended Amendments: Staff recommends this bill be amended to
strike out Fish and Game Code 6954.5 as added by this bill,
which expresses legislative intent to fund an engineer position
from moneys in the Hatchery and Inland Fisheries Fund as this
program should be supported solely from fees on project
applicants. If this position is needed to expedite emergency
regulations and project review, an option would be to strike out
only the expression of legislative intent and to authorize the
position for 2012-13 in order to assist program implementation
for the remainder of the fiscal year. The department could
submit a budget change proposal and seek authorization for this
position in 2013-14 through the budget process.
This bill contains codified findings and declarations. In the
interest of code clarity and efficiency, staff recommends the
bill be amended to place the findings and declarations in an
uncodified section of the bill.
AB 1961 (Huffman)
Page 2