BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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| SENATE COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES AND WATER |
| Senator Fran Pavley, Chair |
| 2013-2014 Regular Session |
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BILL NO: AB 1709 HEARING DATE: June 24, 2014
AUTHOR: Frazier URGENCY: No
VERSION: June 17, 2014 CONSULTANT: Katharine Moore
DUAL REFERRAL: No FISCAL: Yes
SUBJECT: Wildlife: hunting licenses.
BACKGROUND AND EXISTING LAW
1.A hunting license is required for taking any bird or mammal.
Hunters must carry licenses and be prepared to show them, upon
request.
2.Hunting licenses are available in various categories
including: residents/at least 16 years of age, nonresident/at
least 16 years of age, and under 16 years of age. There are
also nonresident licenses available for one and two day
periods with specified restrictions, hunting licenses for
seniors, disabled veterans, recovering service members, and
lifetime hunting licenses.
3.The licensing year for hunting licenses runs from July 1 to
June 30 of the following year. The current license prices,
including certain fees, for the July 1, 2014 - June 30, 2015
period for residents at least 16 years of age and for persons
under 16 years of age are $46.44 and $12.14, respectively.
Validations and harvest tags are required for many species.
Under existing law, a person hunting on a license for those
under 16 years of age is exempt from purchasing a duck
validation stamp, an upland game bird validation and wildlife
area hunting passes.
4.The state requires hunter education training for all persons
who have not formerly held a state hunting license, who do not
have a hunter education certificate of completion, or who do
not have a current, valid, hunting license from another state
or province.
5.Almost all sport fishing and hunting licenses are now issued
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through the Automated License Data System (ALDS) which makes
licenses available for purchase on-line. ALDS is intended to
replace the paper-based licensing system. ALDS's existing
capabilities are based upon the current licensing structure.
PROPOSED LAW
This bill would require that the Department of Fish and Wildlife
[department] issue a hunting license valid for taking birds and
mammals as follows:
To a resident or nonresident who is under 18 years of age on
July 1 of the licensing year sought for a base fee of $8.25.
To a resident who is 18 years of age or older or a two-day
license to a nonresident 18 years of age or older for a base
fee of $31.25.
To a nonresident 18 years of age or older for a base fee of
$108.50.
The dollar amounts indicated above are in 2004 dollars and would
be subject to adjustment. This bill would be valid from July 1,
2015 through July 1, 2020.
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT
The California Waterfowl Association (CWA) urges support for AB
1709 because it would "increase the age eligibility for
obtaining a junior hunting license from 16 years of age to 18
years of age."
"AB 1709 would help introduce and retain more youth in the
outdoors by providing an additional two years for which they are
eligible for a junior hunting license." The CWA notes that the
cost of the junior hunting license is about $35 less than that
for an adult hunting license for added incentive to continue
hunting. The CWA argues that 18 years of age is typically used
to distinguish between a minor and an adult, and that this price
reduction provides cost parity between hunting and fishing
licenses. They state that Colorado made the switch to 18 years
of age several years ago with little impact on revenues. They
add that this bill will encourage more young people to purchase
junior hunting licenses, providing an opportunity for them to
participate in educational hunting programs that promote an
appreciation of wildlife conservation and hunting traditions.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION
The Public Interest Coalition writes that "license fees should
reflect the depletion of wildlife, which impacts both citizens
who "hunt" with a camera (one less opportunity to "shoot"
wildlife through a lens) and others who shoot to kill for sport
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and recreation. [?] What criteria was used for setting the new
fee?" They continue, "instead of reducing fees, we suggest
amending AB 1709 to increase all fees by at least 100% and
continue increasing the fees in relation to [the department's]
Game Warden law enforcements costs and the annual cost of living
index." They further note that less than 1% of Californians
purchase hunting licenses.
COMMENTS
A junior license holder is ? ? There appears to be a general
consensus that a junior license is the one restricted to those
under 16 years of age (under current law) which would become
under 18 should this bill become law. However, despite the
existence of a reference to a junior license in statute (Fish
and Game Code §13005), no formal definition appears to exist.
Therefore, the committee may wish to direct staff to work with
the author's office to draft a technical amendment that
clarifies that the hunting license restricted to those under 18
years of age in this bill is a junior hunting license.
[Amendment 1]
Long term decline in sales of hunting licenses . On average
during the 1970s about 590,000 hunting licenses were sold per
year of which about 10%, or 59,000, were junior licenses. Forty
years later, annual license sales are about 250,000, of which
about 20,000 are junior licenses. This represents both an
absolute and relative decline in junior licenses sold. Hunting
license sales declined from about 2.5% of the state population
to less than 1% over the same time period.
Do license sales pay for the costs of the hunting programs ? The
department is estimated to spend about $35 million annually on
hunting programs. Revenues from hunting license sales in 2010 -
2013 were about $24 million annually. The difference between
revenues and costs appears to be about $10 million annually.
Similarly, limited recent data are available showing that only a
fraction of the costs associated with fishing programs are
supported by collected license fees. The section of the Fish
and Game Code this bill would modify already contains a
provision that provides the authority to the Fish and Game
Commission to raise fees to cover the administration and
implementation costs of the program.
Should fishing and hunting licenses cost the same ? While
administrative costs may be similar, there is no inherent reason
why the purchase price of a fishing or hunting license should be
comparable.
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What is the actual purchase price of a license ? As noted above,
the base fees set in statute are for the 2004 license years and
the actual purchase prices have been adjusted upward, per
statute, to $46.44 for a resident at least 16 years of age for
the current hunting year. This includes a 5% license agent
handling fee and a 3% ALDS license buyer surcharge.
The age of youth hunters varies among states . Recent (updated
July 2011) data from the National Conference of State
Legislatures show that most, if not all, states provide for
youth hunting. In some instances instances a youth does not
even need a license until in his or her mid-to-late teens (16
years of age and older in Florida). A youth license may be
issued to someone as old as 17 (Colorado, Idaho).
Impact on revenues ? Supporters argue that the decrease in the
junior license fee level will result in a long run increase in
license revenue to the department, specifically if youth hunters
continue to hunt as adults. However, cutting the purchase price
for 16 and 17 years olds would mean that over three times as
many of them would need to purchase licenses in order for the
bill to nominally be revenue neutral (neglecting the stamps that
would no longer need to be purchased). According to information
provided by the author, legislation similar to that proposed
here was enacted in Colorado recently and was successful in
increasing the number of junior hunting licenses sold in the
state. Colorado's analysis of their bill, however, projected
that license revenues would decrease because the projected
increase in the number of junior licenses sold would not be
enough to offset the loss of revenues from the sale of adult
licenses. It is unknown if the revenue reduction actually
materialized in Colorado. Also, ALDS may also need to be
revised to implement the change proposed by this bill.
SUGGESTED AMENDMENTS
AMENDMENT 1
Clarify that the under-18 license is a junior hunting
license.
SUPPORT
California Waterfowl Association (sponsor)
California Sportsman's Lobby, Inc.
Gaines & Associates
National Shooting Sports Foundation, Inc.
Outdoor Sportsmen's Coalition of California
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Safari Club International
OPPOSITION
Public Interest Coalition
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