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 








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          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.








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