BILL ANALYSIS Ó
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de León, Chair
AB 1213 (Bloom) - Bobcat Protection Act of 2013.
Amended: June 20, 2013 Policy Vote: NR&W 6-2
Urgency: No Mandate: Yes (see staff comment)
Hearing Date: August 12, 2013 Consultant:
Marie Liu
This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill Summary: AB 1213 would prohibit the trapping of bobcats
around Joshua Tree National Park and would require the Fish and
Game Commission (FGC) to amend its regulations to prohibit the
trapping of bobcats adjacent to the boundaries of each national
park, state park, national monument, or wildlife refuge in which
bobcat trapping is currently prohibited. This bill would also
prohibit the trapping of bobcats on private property without the
express written consent of the owner of that property.
Fiscal Impact:
One-time costs of at least $250,000 from the Fish and Game
Preservation Account (special) in FY 2014-15 for the
development of buffer areas around specified lands in which
bobcat trapping would be prohibited.
Possible ongoing costs of $50,000 from the Fish and Game
Preservation Account beginning in FY 2015-16 for the
identification of new public and private conservation areas
and establishing buffer areas around those lands.
Background: Existing law prohibits the taking of a bobcat
without a trapping or a hunting license accompanied with bobcat
hunting tags. Under the Fish and Game Regulations, bobcats can
be taken under trapping license throughout the state between
November 24th and January 31 with no limit. Within 14 days of
the end of the bobcat trapping season, pelts for personal use
must be marked by the Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) as
such at no cost and pelts for commercial purposes must be marked
with a shipping tag. Currently there is a $3 administrative fee
for the shipping fee. The sale and transport of bobcat pelts
without a shipping tag is prohibited.
Bobcats taken under a hunting license must be marked with a
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bobcat hunting tag. Bobcat hunting season is between October
15th and February 28th and hunters are limited to five bobcats
per season.
Bobcats taken for depredation purposes must be done with a
hunting or trapping permit and must be reported according to
Fish and Game regulations.
Proposed Law: This bill would prohibit the trapping of bobcats
surrounding Joshua Tree National Park beginning January 1, 2014
and would require the FGC to adopt regulations that would
prohibit the trapping of bobcats in areas adjacent to national
parks, state parks, national monuments, or wildlife refuges in
which bobcat trapping is prohibited. The FGC would also be
required to prohibit bobcat trapping in and adjacent to any
other public or private conservation area "identified by the
commission for protection." The boundaries of these prohibited
areas must be demarcated using readily identifiable features
such as highways or other major roads. This prohibition would
not apply to bobcats taken under scientific, educational, or
propagation permit or to the lawful taking of bobcats that are
injuring crops or other property.
This bill would also prohibit the trapping of bobcats on private
lands without the express written consent of the owner of that
property.
The FGC would be required to revise trapping license fees,
beginning for the 2014-15 season, at a level necessary to
recover all reasonable administrative and implementation costs
associated with the trapping of bobcats.
Related Legislation: SB 380 (Hayden, 1993) would have banned the
hunting and trapping of bobcats in California but did not pass.
SB 1221 (Lieu), Chapter 595/2012, prohibited the use of dogs to
hunt bobcats, with specified exceptions.
Staff Comments: This bill would require that a prohibited area
for bobcat trapping be established around national parks, state
parks, national monuments, wildlife refuge where bobcat trapping
is currently prohibited, and public or private conservation
areas identified by the commission for protection as part of the
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next regularly scheduled mammal hunting and trapping rulemaking
process. As the mammal hunting and trapping rules are updated
annually, this bill establishes a short timeframe for
establishing the prohibited areas. Staff notes that while
national parks, state parks, national monuments, and wildlife
refuges are easily identified, there is no central database for
public and private conservation areas. Conservation areas are
also not defined in the bill and may be interpreted broadly.
Given the large number of areas prohibited areas that will need
to be drawn in a short timeframe, DFW is likely to incur minimum
one-time costs of $250,000 in the first year for the workload
equivalent of 2 PYs. If the bill is interpreted to require the
FGC to continue tracking new conservation areas and setting
buffer zones for those areas, there will be likely ongoing costs
of $50,000 after the first year.
This bill is unclear as to whether the FGC is to have discretion
in determining whether a public or private conservation area
would be beneficial. If the FGC must make such a determination
on conservation areas before establishing the buffer zones,
DFW's one-time costs may increase. The bill is also unclear
whether the FGC would be responsible for establishing new
prohibited areas as new public and private conservation areas
are established. Depending on what FGC will consider a
conservation area, DFW may incur some ongoing costs to continue
to update regulations with new protection areas.
By establishing new prohibited activities, wardens will be
enforcing additional restrictions. However, this bill does not
require additional field surveillance or oversight regarding
bobcat trapping or the sale of pelts. The prohibition of
trapping on private land without expressed permission of the
landowner potentially may result in more complaints being filed
by landowners regarding violations; however this increase is not
likely to be substantial.
The number of trapping licenses has been on the rise for at
least the past 10 years. Last year, approximately 730 trapping
licenses were purchased for approximately $86,000 in revenue to
the Fish and Game Preservation Fund. Trapping licenses are not
species-specific and the permit is the same for recreational and
commercial trapping. Therefore, it is unclear whether decreasing
the land where bobcat trapping may occur is likely to
significantly impact license sales. However, a dramatic change
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in license sales would need to occur in order to have a
significant impact on license fee revenues.
This bill specifies that trapping license fees beginning with
those for the 2014-15 season be at the level necessary to fully
recover all reasonable administrative and implantation costs of
DFW and the FGC associated with the trapping of bobcats in the
state. Staff notes that trapping licenses are not species
specific, therefore the cost of additional regulations on bobcat
trapping will be borne by all trappers, regardless of their
target species and whether it is for commercial or recreational
purposes. However, DFW does issue a shipping tag that is
specific to bobcats taken with a trap whose pelts are intended
to be sold.
This bill does not create a reimbursable state mandate as it
only would change the definition of a crime.