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 16, 2012 Consultant: Bob Franzoia SUSPENSE FILE. AS PROPOSED TO BE AMENDED. 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 to the Hatchery and Inland Fisheries Fund for a half-time engineer position for one year. 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 Salmon as well as recovery strategies developed by the National AB 1961 (Huffman) Page 1 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. The proposed amendment would strike out the intent language regarding the Hatchery and Fisheries Fund and instead fund an engineer position employed on a half-time basis for one year in order to expedite emergency regulations and project review. AB 1961 (Huffman) Page 2