BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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| SENATE COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES AND WATER |
| Senator Fran Pavley, Chair |
| 2011-2012 Regular Session |
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BILL NO: SB 1367 HEARING DATE: April 24, 2012
AUTHOR: Fuller URGENCY: No
VERSION: As Introduced CONSULTANT: Katharine Moore
DUAL REFERRAL: No FISCAL: Yes
SUBJECT: Deer: archery season: concealed firearms.
BACKGROUND AND EXISTING LAW
The Department of Fish and Game (department) is authorized to
regulate hunting in California. A valid license is required to
take any mammal or bird, and hunters must meet hunter education
requirements (Fish and Game Code (FGC) §§3031 - 3040). From
2003 - 2011, approximately 294,500 hunting licenses and 190,000
deer tags were sold annually on average. A deer hunter is
required to have both a valid license and a deer tag specific to
the particular hunt in his or her possession. Both the license
and the tag can be obtained from the department. Interest has
declined since, for example, the early 1970s when over 600,000
hunting licenses and over 300,000 deer tags were sold annually,
and deer hunting remains an important recreational activity to
many.
Following a successful kill, the hunter must immediately fix the
tag to the deer. The tag must be validated by the department or
other authorized personnel (FGC §4341) before taking the deer
home.
Firearms are the most popular method of taking deer while
hunting in California. These include muzzleloading or
centerfire rifles, shotguns, and authorized pistols or
revolvers. Some hunters, however, use bow-and-arrow. The
archery season precedes the general season when firearms and
crossbows may be used and typically lasts on the order of two
weeks. From 2008 - 2010, the department annually issued 10,986
- 12,449 "archery only" deer tags, approximately 6% of the total
number issued, resulting in 778 - 822 kills (about a 7% success
rate). During archery season, no person taking or attempting to
take deer shall carry, or have under his or her immediate
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control, any firearm of any kind (FGC §4370). This provision
stems from AB 1583 (Lindsay and 6 others, c. 221, statutes of
1955), an urgency measure that stated "in order for this act to
be effective during the 1955 archery season to protect other
hunters and to insure enforcement of the present law this act
must take effect immediately." Archers taking deer during the
general season under the authority of a general tag, however,
may possess a firearm.
Numerous laws and regulations apply to firearms in California.
There are multiple restrictions on the use of firearms while
hunting. Hunters are allowed to possess firearms while engaged
in lawful hunting or while going directly to or returning
directly from the hunting expedition (Penal Code (PEN) §25300).
However, for example, FGC §3003 bans on-line hunting and FGC
§3004 bans the discharge of a firearm near buildings or over a
public road in a reckless manner.
Peace officers are exempted from the prohibition on carrying
loaded firearms in public, including a motor vehicle, while on
duty and while going to or returning from duty (PEN §25900 et
seq and FGC §2006). Retired peace officers also have a right to
carry a concealed weapon unless it gets taken away (PEN §26300
et seq). Peace officers and honorably retired peace officers
may carry a concealed weapon at any time (PEN §12031b), but are
not required to do so. Additionally, existing law authorizes
the sheriff of a county, or the chief or other head of a
municipal police department of any city or city and county, upon
proof that the applicant is of good moral character, that good
cause exists for the issuance, that the applicant satisfies any
one of specified conditions, and has completed a course of
training, as specified, to issue to the applicant a license to
carry a pistol, revolver or other firearm capable of being
concealed upon the person, as specified (PEN §26150 - 26255).
The density of civilian concealed weapon permit holders
(permittee/1,000 adult residents) varies widely by county in
California with urban counties having very low rates (0 and
0.09% in San Francisco and Los Angeles Counties, for example) to
relatively higher densities in lower population rural counties
(approximately 25 and 28% in Plumas and Sierra Counties,
respectively). The September 2011 data from the California
Department of Justice indicate that there were 34, 904 concealed
weapons permits issued in this manner (of which 2,238 were to
government applicants - for example, reserve police officers)
out of an adult population of 27,958,916. This corresponds to a
density of about 1.2 permits per 1000 adult residents.
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PROPOSED LAW
This bill would allow firearms to be carried by retired and
active peace officers and those with concealed weapons permits
while hunting during archery season for deer and repeats the
restriction that the firearm cannot be used to hunt under the
archery tag.
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT
According to the author "Ýe]xisting Penal Code and Fish and Game
Code sections are in conflict over the ability to carry a
concealed weapon while archery hunting. Fish and Game code
section 4370 provides that it is illegal for any person taking
or attempting to take deer during archery season to carry a
firearm of any kind. As written, this code section is in direct
conflict with the provisions of the penal code that allow peace
officers, honorably retired peace officers and licensed
individuals to carry a concealed handgun. Ý?] The problem this
creates for those who are otherwise allowed to carry a concealed
handgun is that the individual is then faced with leaving the
handgun inside his or her vehicle, often parked miles from where
he or she will be archery hunting. In addition, many individuals
like to carry a concealed handgun while on this kind of hunt to
protect themselves from larger predators such as mountain lions
and bears. In recent years, those protecting illegal marijuana
growing operations and other illicit drug manufacturing have
also posed a potential threat to archery hunters."
COMMENTS
Impact on the enforcement of archery only tags? Deer slain
during a hunt are typically "field-dressed." The carcass is
disemboweled in order to facilitate transport (the gut pile is
left in situ). While the wound from an arrow is different from
that from a bullet, it is possible that field-dressing could
obscure the method used to kill the deer. Allowing concealed
firearms to be carried during an archery only hunt would
complicate enforcement by the department's wardens.
A bow-and-arrow is a deadly weapon . Bow hunters uncomfortable
with the archery season restrictions can hunt during the
non-archery season when carrying firearms is not restricted
(under the appropriate tag).
Is there a conflict with the Penal Code? While off-duty and
retired peace officers, and concealed weapon permit holders are
allowed to carry concealed weapons, they are not required to do
so. The nexus is not clear between reasons often cited to
justify the need to carry a concealed weapon and their
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applicability to carrying the firearm while deer hunting under
an archery tag.
Attacks upon hunters . There are no documented and substantiated
instances in the department's recent records where a deer hunter
was attacked by a mountain lion. There have been only 16
verified mountain lion attacks from 1890 to 2007. Discussions
with department wardens indicate that a hunter was actually
poaching when he killed a mountain lion with an arrow although
he initially claimed to have been attacked. There have been 12
documented bear attacks since 1980. In one of those instances -
an August 1991 attack in Siskiyou County - a black bear attacked
an adult hunter who was out hunting with bow-and-arrow. It is
important to note, however, that the victim apparently took
photos of the bear in lieu of other actions prior to the attack.
A deer hunter during archery season is armed with a
bow-and-arrow. The effective "kill" range of the weapon varies
with skill and equipment, and appears to be on the order of 25 -
50 m.
Discussions with department wardens also indicated that there
were approximately 6 reports in the last 3 years (2009 - 2011)
by hunters reporting being threatened by illegal marijuana
growing operations. None were substantiated and no injuries
were reported. (It is not clear if these reports were during
archery only or the general season for deer.)
Enforcement and safety data . According to the department,
approximately 549 violations of the deer regulations were
documented in 2010. There were also 237 documented violations
of the loaded firearm regulations. It is unknown if any of
these violations included carrying a firearm while hunting deer
during archery season. From 1994 - 2007, the department
reported 248 firearm handling accidents while hunting (20
fatal). Most involved shotguns and rifles, although some
incidents with handguns were also reported.
SUPPORT
National Rifle Association of America
California Rifle and Pistol Association
OPPOSITION
Paw Pac
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