BILL NUMBER: AB 504 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 28, 2014
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 24, 2014
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 12, 2014
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JANUARY 6, 2014
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Chesbro
FEBRUARY 20, 2013
An act to amend Sections 1729 and 8405.4
and 15007 of , and to add Article 6.5 (commencing with
Section 1210) to Chapter 3 of Division 2 of, the Fish and Game
Code, relating to fish.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 504, as amended, Chesbro. Fish: sea cucumbers: transgenic fish.
(1) Existing law requires the Fish and Game Commission to
establish fish hatcheries for stocking the waters of California with
fish and requires the Department of Fish and Wildlife to maintain and
operate those hatcheries. Existing law also authorizes county boards
of supervisors to establish and maintain fish hatcheries and
authorizes the commission to issue permits to nonprofit organizations
to construct and operate anadromous fish hatcheries.
Under existing law, the Trout and Steelhead Conservation and
Management Planning Act of 1979, the department is required to give
priority to stocking native hatchery-produced species in California
waters where stocking is determined to be appropriate by the
department.
This bill would prohibit hatchery production and stocking of
transgenic fish species of salmonids in
California waters and would define "transgenic" for these purposes.
A violation of the Fish and Game Code is generally a misdemeanor.
Because the bill would create new crimes, the bill would impose a
state-mandated local program.
(2) Existing law makes it unlawful to spawn, incubate, or
cultivate any species of finfish belonging to the family Salmonidae,
transgenic fish species, or any exotic species of finfish in the
waters of the Pacific Ocean that are regulated by this state, except
for specified salmon or steelhead trout. A violation of this
provision is a crime.
This bill would make it unlawful to spawn, incubate, or cultivate
any transgenic species of finfish belonging to the family Salmonidae
anywhere in this state. By expanding the definition of an existing
crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(2)
( 3) Existing law governs the sea cucumber
fishery in this state. Under existing law, sea cucumbers cannot be
taken, possessed aboard a boat, or landed by a person for commercial
purposes except under a valid sea cucumber permit issued by the
department. The commission is authorized to adopt regulations that it
determines may reasonably be necessary to protect the sea cucumber
resource and assure a sustainable sea cucumber fishery or to enhance
enforcement activities. A violation of these provisions or
regulations adopted pursuant to those provisions is a crime. Existing
law provides that those provisions shall become inoperative on April
1, 2015, and, as of January 1, 2016, are repealed.
This bill would extend the operation of those provisions until
April 1, 2020, and would repeal those provisions on January 1, 2021.
Because this bill would extend the operation of the sea cucumber
permit program and thereby the crimes imposed for a violation of
those provisions, the bill would create a state-mandated local
program.
(3)
( 4) The California Constitution requires
the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for
certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish
procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 1729 of the Fish and Game
Code is amended to read:
1729. (a) (1) The department shall give priority to stocking
native hatchery-produced species in California's waters, where
stocking is determined to be appropriate by the department. Stocking
of hatchery-produced fish is not appropriate in all of California's
waters, including, but not limited to, stocking in California's
waters that would adversely affect species listed under the federal
Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. Sec. 1531 et seq.) or the
California Endangered Species Act (Chapter 1.5 (commencing with
Section 2050) of Division 3).
(2) Hatchery production and stocking of transgenic fish in
California waters is prohibited.
(b) Hatchery-produced trout shall be stocked to support
sustainable angling recreation and promote angler access to trout
fishing, including, but not limited to, urban fisheries.
(c) The department may provide outreach and educational materials
to all anglers to promote awareness of environmental sustainability,
ecosystem health, fish genetics, angling opportunities, and fish
population management.
(d) Educational programs utilizing the hatcheries shall be
encouraged.
(e) The department shall ensure that all trout stocked in waters
of the state for recreational purposes are unable to reproduce
through triploidy or other means, with the exception of fish planted
into brood stock lakes, surplus brood stock planted according to
fishery management decisions, fish planted to supplement waters that
the department has determined to be genetically isolated from native
fish populations, and native trout species produced for recovery and
restoration within their native range.
(f) The department may develop, conduct, and respond to regular
angler preference and satisfaction surveys. This is not a substitute
for a preferred scientific data collection and monitoring program
that would facilitate adaptive management of California's inland
trout fisheries.
(g) The department shall review angling regulations periodically
and adjust those regulations to ensure consistency with the strategic
plan described in Section 1728.
(h) As used in this section, "transgenic" has the same meaning as
in Section 1.92 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations, as
that section read on May 14, 2003.
SECTION 1. Article 6.5 (commencing with Section
1210) is added to Chapter 3 of Division 2 of the Fish and
Game Code , to read:
Article 6.5. Transgenic Species of Salmonids
1210. (a) The hatchery production and stocking of transgenic
species of salmonids is prohibited.
(b) As used in this section, "transgenic" has the same meaning as
in Section 1.92 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations, as
that section read on May 14, 2003.
SEC. 2. Section 8405.4 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to
read:
8405.4. This article shall become inoperative on April 1, 2020,
and as of January 1, 2021, is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute that is enacted before January 1, 2021, deletes or extends
the dates on which it becomes inoperative and is repealed.
SEC. 3. Section 15007 of the Fish and
Game Code is amended to read:
15007. (a) In the waters of the Pacific Ocean that are regulated
by this state, it is unlawful to spawn, incubate, or cultivate any
species of finfish belonging to the family Salmonidae, transgenic
fish species, or any exotic species of finfish. It is unlawful
to spawn, incubate, or cultivate any transgenic species of finfish
belonging to the family Salmonidae in this state. This section
does not apply to salmon or steelhead trout reared from native
California stocks that are propagated and cultured for either of the
following:
(1) Research conducted by, or on behalf of, the department; or
(2) Release into ocean waters for the purpose of recovery,
restoration, or enhancement of California's native salmon and
steelhead trout populations pursuant to Chapter 8 (commencing with
Section 6900) of Part 1 of Division 6.
(b) Nothing in this section authorizes artificial propagation,
rearing, or stocking of transgenic freshwater and marine fishes,
invertebrates, crustaceans, or mollusks.
(c) As used in this section, "transgenic" has the same meaning as
in Section 1.92 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations, as
that section read on May 14, 2003.
(d) As used in this section, "exotic species" means a fish that is
not native to California waters and that does not currently exist as
a viable population in a wild condition in the state.
SEC. 3. SEC. 4. No reimbursement is
required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the
California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred
by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this
act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or
infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within
the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the
definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII
B of the California Constitution.