BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 711
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 711 (Rendon)
As Amended September 4, 2013
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |44-21|(May 16, 2013) |SENATE: |23-15|(September 9, |
| | | | | |2013) |
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Original Committee Reference: W., P. & W.
SUMMARY : Requires the use of nonlead ammunition for the taking
of wildlife in California as soon as practicable but by no later
than July 1, 2019.
The Senate amendments :
1)Extend the time period for implementation of the requirement
to use nonlead ammunition from July 1, 2018, to July 1, 2019.
Clarify that if any of the requirements can be implemented
practicably, in whole or in part, in advance of July 1, 2019,
the Fish and Game Commission (FGC) shall implement the
requirements.
2)Clarify that the existing requirements for use of nonlead
centerfire rifle and pistol ammunition shall continue to be
required in the California Condor Range, as defined, until the
more restrictive statewide nonlead ammunition requirements are
implemented.
3)Require that the annual list of certified nonlead ammunition
shall include, but is not limited to, any federally approved
nontoxic shotgun ammunition, and clarify that the definition
of nonlead ammunition includes only ammunition in which there
is no lead content, excluding the presence of trace amounts of
lead.
4)Add to the legislative findings and declarations that, given
the deleterious impacts of lead ammunition, regulations for
the use of nonlead ammunition should be implemented as soon as
practicable in California, and that the FGC should implement
the requirement for use of nonlead ammunition incrementally,
if practicable, to provide for increased protection from lead
exposure until full compliance with the nonlead ammunition
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requirement is achieved.
5)Require that the prohibition on use of lead ammunition shall
be temporarily suspended for a specific hunting season and
caliber of ammunition upon a finding by the director of DFW
that nonlead ammunition of a specific caliber is not
commercially available from any manufacturer because of
federal prohibitions relating to armor-piercing ammunition.
Clarify that notwithstanding any such suspension, nonlead
ammunition shall continue to be required to be used when
hunting in the California Condor range, as defined, when
taking big game mammals, nongame birds, or nongame mammals.
6)Make other technical clarifying amendments and add coauthors.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires the use of nonlead centerfire rifle and pistol
ammunition when taking big game or coyotes in specified deer
hunting zones known to be California Condor range.
2)Requires the FGC to certify nonlead ammunition by regulation
and defines nonlead ammunition to include only centerfire
rifle and pistol ammunition in which there is no lead content.
Requires the FGC to annually update the list of certified
nonlead ammunition.
3)Authorizes the FGC, to the extent funding is available, to
establish a process to provide hunters within specified deer
hunting zones known to be California condor habitat with
nonlead ammunition at no or reduced charge.
4)Prohibits the use of lead ammunition to hunt waterfowl (U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) regulation).
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee:
1) Ongoing costs of $45,000 from the Fish and Game
Preservation Fund (special) for the FGC to update
regulations annually on the list of certified ammunition and
related education materials.
2) Likely minor impacts to enforcement costs.
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3) Increased cost pressures for program to supply hunters with
nonlead ammunition at a no or reduced cost.
COMMENTS : This bill requires the use of nonlead ammunition for
the hunting of any wildlife in California to reduce the risk of
lead exposure to wildlife and humans. California required the
use of nonlead ammunition to hunt big game and coyotes in areas
of the state identified as California condor range in 2007.
That requirement was enacted in response to evidence showing
lead poisoning is a leading cause of mortality in condors, a
critically endangered species. Condors are scavengers that feed
primarily on dead carrion which is a source of ingested lead
ammunition fragments. In addition to condors, scientific
studies have documented deaths and other adverse health effects
of lead exposure on other wildlife species, including avian
predators and scavengers such as bald eagles, golden eagles,
turkey vultures, red-tailed hawks and ravens, as well as
numerous upland game bird species such as mourning doves,
ring-necked pheasants, and wild turkeys. The USFWS adopted a
nationwide ban on the use of lead ammunition for hunting
waterfowl in 1991 after studies showed waterfowl can ingest
expended lead shot and die or suffer other debilitating effects
from lead exposure. A consensus statement authored by 30
scientists with expertise in lead and environmental health was
published on March 23, 2013. The consensus statement endorses
the overwhelming scientific evidence on the toxic effects of
lead on human and wildlife health, and urges support for
reduction and eventual elimination of lead released to the
environment through the discharge of lead-based ammunition, in
order to protect human and environmental health.
Supporters of this bill point to a plenitude of scientific peer
reviewed studies on the negative effects of lead ammunition on
wildlife, the risks to human health from exposure to lead in the
environment, and the availability of alternatives as reasons for
support of a nonlead ammunition requirement. Opponents assert
studies on the effects of lead ammunition are inconclusive, urge
voluntary hunter programs as an alternative to a statewide ban,
and fear that nonlead ammunition could be banned in the future
under federal Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearm regulations as armor
piercing ammunition.
The Senate amendments make several changes. Among other things,
the amendments provide an additional year for phase in and full
implementation of the nonlead ammunition requirement to July 1,
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2019, and require that the nonlead ammunition requirement be
suspended for a specific season and caliber of ammunition if the
director of DFW determines that nonlead ammunition for that
caliber of ammunition is not available due to federal
prohibitions on armor piercing ammunition. The amendments also
clarify that even in the event of such a suspension, nonlead
ammunition would continue to be required within the California
Condor Range for hunting big game mammals, nongame birds, or
nongame mammals.
Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion
of this bill.
Analysis Prepared by : Diane Colborn / W., P. & W. / (916)
319-2096
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