BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2402
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Date of Hearing: May 25, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 2402 (Huffman) - As Amended: April 18, 2012
Policy Committee: Water, Parks and
Wildlife Vote: 9-3
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill makes numerous changes to the Fish and Game Code to
implement many of the recommendations made by the interim
strategic vision report released in 2011 by the Department of
Fish and Game (DFG) and the Fish and Game Commission (FGC).
Specifically, this bill:
1)Changes the name of the department from DFG to the Department
of Fish and Wildlife.
2)Directs DFG to not change or destroy existing supplies as a
result of the name change and to continue to use those
supplies until exhausted or unserviceable.
3)Requires DFG to modify its Automated License Data System to
include Fish and Game Code violations and to make ALDS data
available to wardens in the field.
4)Requires the director of DFG to establish a 10-member
independent science advisory panel to advise the department
and the commission.
5)Authorizes DFG to adjust various license fees-including fees
for scientific collection of wildlife, guiding, hunting,
fishing, harvesting aquatic plants and collecting abalone-to
fully cover all reasonable administrative and implementation
costs to DFG and FGC.
6)Requires DFG to impose fees onsite on entry passes for
visitors, such as hikers and birdwatchers, that engage in
nonconsumptive uses (meaning other than hunting or fishing) at
AB 2402
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state wildlife refuges and other DFG-managed lands open to the
public.
7)Consolidates revenue from various hunting accounts and
transfers them to the Big Game Management Account (BGMA).
FISCAL EFFECT
1)One-time costs during 2012-13 and 2013-14 to DFG in excess of
$150,000 to update its IT systems to account for change in the
department's name (Fish and Game Preservation Fund (FGPF)).
(Despite the bill's call for the department to continue to use
existing supplies until gone or unusable, DFG reports costs in
the hundreds of thousands of dollars. According to DFG, these
costs result from thousands of hours needed to revise website
and domain name data, modify information technology (IT)
infrastructure and redesign templates. DFG estimates the cost
of these efforts to range from $300,000 to $400,000.)
2)One-time costs in 2012-13 and 2013-14 to DFG of an unknown,
but substantial amount (in the hundreds of thousands of
dollars), to modify ALDS and make data available to wardens in
the field (FGPF).
3)Minor costs to DFG, in the tens of thousands of dollars
annually, to establish and support the scientific advisory
committee, the members of which, presumably, will not be
compensated by DFG, and provide administrative support to it
(FGPF).
4)Increased annual revenue beginning in 2013-14 to DFG of an
unknown but substantial amount, likely in millions of dollars,
resulting from adjustments to various license fees (FGPF).
5)One-time costs in 2012-13 and 2013-14 to DFG of an unknown,
but potentially substantial amount (possibly in the hundreds
of thousands of dollars) to develop and implement a method to
collect fees from nonconsumptive users of DFG-managed
facilities (FGPF).
6)Annual revenue, beginning in 2013-14, to DFG of an unknown
amount, but likely well in excess of related one-time and
ongoing costs, from nonconsumptive use fees (FGPF).
COMMENTS
AB 2402
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1)Rationale . The author intends this bill to implement several
of the recommendations from the interim strategic vision
report released in 2011.
2)Background. AB 2376 (Huffman, Chapter 424, Statutes of 2010)
requires the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency to
convene a committee to develop a strategic plan for DFG and
FGC. Members of the committee include state and federal
officials and stakeholders. In response, the secretary
appointed a state executive commission, a blue ribbon
citizen's commission and a stakeholder advisory group, who,
together, worked for a year to develop recommendations on how
to improve DFG and FGC operations to better protect and manage
the state's fish and wildlife for the benefit of Californians.
A draft interim strategic vision report was released in 2011
and a final Strategic Vision Report in February 2012. This
bill includes several of the recommendations made by the
report.
Currently, DFG is updating its licensing system, to be known
as ALDS, an automated, online electronic database of hunting
and fishing licensing information. DFG anticipates full ALDS
implementation by 2014. ALDS will replace DFG's paper-based
licensing system. Using ALDS, DFG, and its licensed agents,
will gain the ability to capture and quickly retrieve customer
information, including license purchase histories.
3)Support. This bill is supported by several conservation
organizations that participated in the Strategic Vision
Process.
4)There is no opposition formally registered to this bill.
Analysis Prepared by : Jay Dickenson / APPR. / (916) 319-2081