Amended in Senate September 3, 2013

Amended in Senate June 20, 2013

Amended in Assembly May 24, 2013

Amended in Assembly May 6, 2013

Amended in Assembly April 24, 2013

Amended in Assembly March 19, 2013

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1213

Introduced by Assembly Member Bloom

February 22, 2013

An act to add Section 4155 to the Fish and Game Code, relating to fish and wildlife.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1213, as amended, Bloom. Bobcat Protection Act of 2013.

Existing law enumerates the fur-bearing mammals that may be taken only with a trap, a firearm, a bow and arrow, or poison under a proper permit, or with the use of dogs, and requires every person, other than a fur dealer, who traps fur-bearing mammals or nongame mammals designated by the Fish and Game Commission, or who sells raw furs of those mammals, to procure a trapping license. A violation of any of the provision of the Fish and Game Code, or any rule, regulation, or order made or adopted under those provisions, is a misdemeanor, unless otherwise specified.

This bill would enact the Bobcat Protection Act of 2013, which would, beginning January 1, 2014, make it unlawful to trap any bobcat, or attempt to do so, or to sell or export any bobcat or part of any bobcat taken in the area surrounding Joshua Tree National Park, as specified. The bill would require the commission to amend its regulations to prohibit the trapping of bobcats adjacent to the boundaries of each national or state park and national monument or wildlife refuge in which bobcat trapping is begin delete currently prohibited, and end delete begin insert prohibited, as specified. The bill would require the commission, commencing January 1, 2016, to consider whether to prohibit bobcat trapping end insert within, and adjacent to, begin insert preserves, state conservancies, and any end insert other public or private conservation begin delete area end delete begin insert areas end insert identified begin delete by end delete begin insert to end insert the commission begin delete for end delete begin insert by the public as warranting end insert protection, begin insert and end insert begin insert to amend its regulations accordingly, end insert as specified. The bill would prohibit the trapping of any bobcat, or attempt to do so, on any private land not belonging to the trapper without the express written consent of the owner of that property, as specified. The bill would require the commission to set trapping license fees for the begin delete 2014-2015 end delete begin insert 2014- end insert begin insert 15 end insert season, and any subsequent seasons in which bobcat trapping is allowed, at the level necessary to fully recover all reasonable administrative and implementation costs of the Department of Fish and Wildlife and the commission associated with the trapping of bobcats in the state begin insert , as specified end insert . The bill would provide that these provisions do not limit the ability of the department or the commission to impose additional requirements, restrictions, or prohibitions related to the taking of bobcats. By changing the definition of a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

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.  

This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the
Bobcat Protection Act of 2013.

SEC. 2.  

The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(a) It is the intent of the Legislature in adopting this act to ensure
that the bobcat (Lynx rufus) remains a fully functional component
of the ecosystems it inhabits throughout its range in California.

(b) The Legislature recognizes that bobcats are an irreplaceable
part of California’s natural habitat, and that, as predators of small
mammals, bobcats play an important role in regulating the
population of rodents in California’s deserts, forests, and
grasslands.

(c) The Legislature further recognizes that millions of people
visit California’s national and state parks and other public and
private conservation areas for the purposes of, among other things,
viewing wildlife, including bobcats, and that this visitation
contributes millions of dollars to California’s economy.

(d) The Legislature further recognizes that bobcats and other
native wildlife often cross the boundaries of national parks and
other protected areas into adjacent areas where the taking of
bobcats is currently allowed pursuant to the Fish and Game Code
and the regulations adopted pursuant to that code.

(e) Current California laws and regulations provide no limits
on the sex, age, location, or number of bobcats that may be taken
by licensed trappers on private and public lands in California where
the taking of wildlife is not otherwise prohibited.

(f) Current regulations provide for the commercial sale and
export of bobcat pelts taken by hunters or trappers in California.

(g) The Legislature further finds that a rise in the demand for
bobcat pelts in China and other foreign markets has resulted in a
substantial increase in the number of trappers taking bobcats as
well as in the number of bobcats taken for commercial purposes
in California.

(h) Reliable population estimates do not exist for bobcats
statewide in California and neither the Department of Fish and
Wildlife nor the Fish and Game Commission possesses adequate
data to determine a sustainable harvest limit for bobcats.

SEC. 3.  

Section 4155 is added to the Fish and Game Code, to
read:

4155.  

(a) Beginning January 1, 2014, it shall be unlawful to
trap any bobcat, or attempt to do so, or to sell or export any bobcat
or part of any bobcat taken in the area surrounding Joshua Tree
National Park, defined as follows: East and South of State Highway
62 from the intersection of Interstate 10 to the intersection of State
Highway 177; West of State Highway 177 from the intersection
of State Highway 62 to the intersection with Interstate 10; North
of Interstate 10 from State Highway 177 to State Highway 62.

begin delete

(b) At its next regularly scheduled mammal hunting and trapping
rulemaking process to occur after January 1, 2014, the commission
shall amend its regulations to prohibit the trapping of bobcats
adjacent to the boundaries of each national or state park and
national monument or wildlife refuge in which bobcat trapping is
currently prohibited, and within, and adjacent to, any other public
or private conservation areas identified by the commission for
protection. The commission shall delineate the boundaries of any
prohibited area using readily identifiable features, such as highways
or other major roads, such as those delineated for Joshua Tree
National Park in subdivision (a).

end delete begin insert

(b) (1) Through the commission’s next regularly scheduled
mammal hunting and trapping rulemaking process occurring after
January 1, 2014, the commission shall amend its regulations to
prohibit the trapping of bobcats adjacent to the boundaries of each
national or state park and national monument or wildlife refuge
in which bobcat trapping is prohibited.

end insert begin insert

(2) Commencing January 1, 2016, the commission shall consider
whether to prohibit bobcat trapping within, and adjacent to,
preserves, state conservancies, and any additional public or private
conservation areas identified to the commission by the public as
warranting protection. The commission, as necessary, shall amend
its regulations through its next subsequently scheduled mammal
hunting and trapping rulemaking process to prohibit bobcat
trapping in any area determined by the commission to warrant
protection.

end insert begin insert

(3) The commission shall delineate the boundaries of an area
in which bobcat trapping is prohibited pursuant to paragraph (1)
or (2) using readily identifiable features, such as highways or
other major roads, such as those delineated for Joshua Tree
National Park in subdivision (a).

end insert

(c) The prohibition on the trapping of bobcats in the areas
designated pursuant to subdivisions (a) and (b) shall not apply to
the taking of any bobcat by employees of the department acting
in an official capacity, to a taking in accordance with the conditions
of a scientific, educational, or propagation permit pursuant to
Section 1002 by the holder of that permit, or to the lawful taking
of bobcats found to be injuring crops or other property pursuant
to Section 4152 or other provisions of this code or regulations
adopted pursuant to this code.

(d) Notwithstanding Section 2016 or any other provisions of
this code, on and after January 1, 2014, it shall be unlawful to trap
any bobcat, or attempt to do so, on any private land not belonging
to the trapper without the express written consent of the owner of
that property. The placing or possession of any trap or the
possession of a bobcat or part thereof on any land is prima facie
evidence of a violation of this subdivision.

begin delete

(e) Pursuant to the requirements of subdivision (c) of Section
4006, the commission shall set trapping license fees for the
2014-15 season, and any subsequent seasons in which bobcat
trapping is allowed, at the level necessary to fully recover all
reasonable administrative and implementation costs of the
department and the commission associated with the trapping of
bobcats in the state.

end delete begin insert

(e) Consistent with the requirements of subdivision (c) of Section
4006, the commission shall set trapping license fees and associated
fees, including, but not limited to, shipping tags required pursuant
to Section 479 of Chapter 6 of Subdivision 2 of Division 1 of Title
14 of the California Code of Regulations, for the 2014-15 season,
and any subsequent seasons in which bobcat trapping is allowed,
at the levels necessary to fully recover all reasonable
administrative and implementation costs of the department and
the commission associated with the trapping of bobcats in the
state, including, but not limited to, enforcement costs.

end insert

(f) This section does not limit the ability of the department or
the commission to impose additional requirements, restrictions,
or prohibitions related to the taking of bobcats, including a
complete prohibition on the trapping of bobcats pursuant to this
code.

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.