BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                      



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                                 THIRD READING


          Bill No:  SCR 103
          Author:   Berryhill (R), et al.
          Amended:  8/13/12
          Vote:     21

           
           SUBJECT  :    Wildlife resources:  federal Wildlife and Sport 
          Fish
                      Restoration Program

           SOURCE  :     Author


           DIGEST  :    This resolution acknowledges the 75th 
          anniversary of the federal Wildlife and Sport Fish 
          Restoration Program and recognizes the many hunters, 
          anglers, boaters, recreational shooters, as well as, state 
          fish and wildlife agencies, and the United States Fish and 
          Wildlife Service for their leading role in restoring 
          healthy populations of fish, wildlife, and other natural 
          resources, both game and nongame, to the abundance we see 
          today.

           ANALYSIS  :    This resolution makes the following 
          legislative findings:

          1.More than a century ago, hunters and anglers were among 
            the first conservationists who realized America's fish 
            and wildlife resources and their habitats were in peril 
            and could not sustain unregulated harvest and further 
            habitat destruction.

          2.Hunters and anglers took it upon themselves to support 
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            laws that stopped excessive harvest of fish and wildlife, 
            established game and fish agencies to protect fish, 
            wildlife, and their habitats, and supported special 
            fishing and hunting license fees to help fund the new 
            agencies' efforts to provide for healthy natural 
            resources for future generations.

          3.Upon realizing that license fees alone were insufficient 
            to restore and sustain healthy fish and wildlife 
            populations, hunters and anglers supported excise taxes 
            on firearms, ammunition, archery equipment, hunting 
            equipment, and fishing equipment to raise additional 
            funds to support restoration and enhancement efforts of 
            the state agencies.

          4.These efforts became known as the federal Wildlife and 
            Sport Fish Restoration Program that began 75 years ago 
            with the passage of the Federal Aid in Wildlife 
            Restoration Act of 1937, and then in 1950, was bolstered 
            with the passage of the Federal Aid in Sport Fish 
            Restoration Act, which was further expanded with the 
            Wallop-Breaux amendment to the Sport Fish Restoration Act 
            in 1984.

          5.The combined contribution of the federal Wildlife and 
            Sport Fish Restoration Program to state fish and wildlife 
            agencies exceeds $13 billion since 1939, more than any 
            other single conservation effort in American history.

          6.Habitat stewardship and the actions of conservation 
            organizations combined with the annual funding generated 
            by hunting and fishing have become the cornerstone of our 
            nation's fish and wildlife conservation model.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Fiscal Com.:  No

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  8/14/12)

          California Outdoor Heritage Alliance


          JA:n  8/14/12   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE







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