California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 2105

Introduced by Assembly Member Frazier

February 20, 2014

An act to amend Sections 3953 and 4902 of, and to add Section 709 to, the Fish and Game Code, relating to mammals.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2105, as introduced, Frazier. Big game mammals: bighorn sheep.

Existing law, except as provided, prohibits the taking or possession of fully protected mammals or parts of those mammals at any time. Existing law establishes a list of fully protected mammals, including bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) generally, but excepts Nelson bighorn sheep (subspecies Ovis canadensis nelsoni) under specified circumstances.

Existing law requires all money collected under the provisions of the Fish and Game Code, including money received as a result of the sale of licenses issued under the provisions of the code, to be deposited into the Fish and Game Preservation Fund, unless otherwise provided. Existing law grants authority to the Department of Fish and Wildlife to issue tags, stamps, and licenses for the hunting of antelope, elk, deer, wild pigs, bear, and bighorn sheep upon payment of a fee, to be deposited into the Big Game Management Account in the Fish and Game Preservation Fund. Existing law authorizes the Fish and Game Commission to set the cost of a Nelson bighorn ram tag at not more than $500.

The bill would require the department to authorize a nonprofit organization designated by the department to assist in the sale of these tags to retain 5% of the amount of the sale price of the tag, plus any applicable credit card fees, as a reasonable vendor fee.

The bill would set a Nelson bighorn ram tag at $400 for residents and would require the commission, on or before July 1, 2015, by regulation, to fix the fee for a nonresident of the state at not less than $1,500 for the same tag. The bill would subject the price of each tag to an annual specified adjustment.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of
the following:

(a) The National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and
Wildlife-Associated Recreation has been conducted since 1955
and is one of the oldest and most comprehensive continuing
recreation surveys.

(b) A National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and
Wildlife-Associated Recreation conducted by the United States
Fish and Wildlife Service in 2011 found all of the following:

(1) Over 90,000,000 United States residents 16 years of age and
older participated in wildlife-dependent recreation.

(2) Individuals participating in wildlife-dependent recreation
spent $145,000,000,000 in 2011 on their activities, which equated
to 1 percent of the gross domestic product.

(3) In 2011 alone, hunters and anglers spent $90,000,000,000
on equipment, travel, licenses and fees, and other related expenses,
while wildlife viewers spent $45,700,000,000.

(4) According to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife,
hunters and anglers spend $3,500,000,000 in California annually.
In addition, the department reported the following:

(5) Spending by hunters and anglers directly supports 56,000
jobs in California and generates $487,500,000 annually in state
and local taxes.

(6) Hunting and fishing supports more jobs than any employer
in California.

(7) Jobs supported by hunters and anglers pay California
employees more than $2,300,000,000 in salaries and wages
annually.

(8) The economic stimulus of hunting and fishing equates to
$18,000,000 each day being pumped into the California economy.

(9) Hunter-generated dollars helped purchase and maintain
1,000,000 acres of state-owned lands in California.

(10) Hunting and fishing license tag and stamp sales generate
$83,000,000 annually for the California Department of Fish and
Wildlife’s conservation and scientific efforts.

(11) Over 700,000 acres of wetland habitat has been restored,
enhanced, and protected in California by hunters since 1988.

(12) Hunters generate more than $9,000,000 annually for
California via the Pittman-Robertson Federal Aid in Wildlife
Restoration Act, federal legislation lobbied for and passed by
hunters in 1937.

(13) Hunting and angling serve as the cornerstone of the North
American Model of Wildlife Conservation, and serve as the
primary source of funding for conservation efforts in North
America.

(14) The desert bighorn sheep is the most coveted and treasured
big game animal in the State of California with special hunting
tags necessary for their harvest selling at auction for hundreds of
thousands of dollars with the revenue going back to the Department
of Fish and Wildlife for needed wild sheep habitat projects and
research.

(15) In 1986, the Legislature fixed the price of both resident
and nonresident bighorn desert sheep tags in statute at $500,
without the ability to adjust for inflation or demand, and permits
no more than 15 percent of these tags to be auctioned as discussed
above.

(16) According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, from October
of 1986 to October of 2013, inclusive, the cost-of-living has
increased by 112 percent. Considering inflation alone, the $500
tag fee from 1986 should have risen to $1,060 by 2013 based on
inflation.

(17) As the least plentiful of the four species of wild mountain
sheep that inhabit North America, the demand for desert bighorn
sheep tags has grown significantly since 1986. In other states,
prices for tags for much more abundant wild sheep have risen
sharply since 1986.

(18) Nonresident desert bighorn sheep tags are available in only
six states, making that desert bighorn tag the most difficult to
acquire. In 2013, California offered hunters only 20 desert bighorn
sheep tags in the public draw. Thirteen thousand four hundred
thirty-five hunters applied for those 20 tags, up from 4,628 who
applied just 15 years earlier in 1999. Despite the huge increase in
demand, the $500 tag fee has remained unchanged.

(19) In 2014, California is charging nonresidents $1,328 for an
elk tag, despite the fact that elk are overwhelmingly abundant
across the western United States and Canada. In addition,
California has over 300 elk tags available for hunters, 15 times the
number of desert bighorn sheep tags.

SEC. 2.  

Section 709 is added to the Fish and Game Code, to
read:

709.  

A nonprofit organization designated by the department
to assist in the sale of deer, elk, antelope, or bighorn sheep
fundraising tags that are sold on behalf of the department for the
purpose of raising funds for specified programs and projects,
pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 331, subdivision (d) of
Section 332, subdivision (a) of Section 4334, or subdivision (d)
of Section 4902, is authorized to retain 5 percent of the amount of
the sale price of the tag, plus any applicable credit card fees, as a
reasonable vendor fee.

SEC. 3.  

Section 3953 of the Fish and Game Code is amended
to read:

3953.  

(a) The Big Game Management Account is hereby
established within the Fish and Game Preservation Fund.

(b)  begin delete All revenues from the sale end delete begin insert Except as provided in Section
709, 100 percent of the sale price end insert of antelope, elk, deer, wild pig,
bear, and sheep tags, including any fundraising tags, shall be
deposited in the Big Game Management Account to permit separate
accountability for the receipt and expenditure of these funds.

(c) Funds deposited in the Big Game Management Account
shall be available for expenditure upon appropriation by the
Legislature to the department. These funds shall be expended solely
for the purposes set forth in this section and Sections 3951 and
3952, and Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 450) of Division
1, Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 4650), and Chapter 11
(commencing with Section 4900), including acquiring land,
completing projects, and implementing programs to benefit
antelope, elk, deer, wild pigs, bear, and sheep, and expanding
public hunting opportunities and related public outreach. Any land
acquired with funds from the Big Game Management Account
shall be acquired in fee title or protected with a conservation
easement and, to the extent possible, be open or provide access to
the public for antelope, elk, deer, wild pig, bear, or sheep hunting.
The department may also use funds from the Big Game
Management Account to pay for administrative and enforcement
costs of the programs and activities described in this section. The
amount allocated from the account for administrative costs shall
be limited to the reasonable costs associated with administration
of the programs and activities described in this section.

(d) The department may make grants to, reimburse, or enter
into contracts or other agreements begin insert , end insert as defined in subdivision (a)
of Section 1571 begin insert , end insert with begin delete , end delete nonprofit organizations for the use of the
funds from the Big Game Management Account to carry out the
purposes of this section, including related habitat conservation
projects.

(e) An advisory committee, as determined by the department,
that includes interested nonprofit organizations that have goals
and objectives directly related to the management and conservation
of big game species and primarily represent the interests of persons
licensed pursuant to Section 3031 shall review and provide
comments to the department on all proposed projects funded from
the Big Game Management Account to help ensure that the
requirements of this section have been met. The department shall
post budget information and a brief description on an Internet Web
site for all projects funded from the Big Game Management
Account.

(f) Big game projects authorized pursuant to this section are not
subject to Part 2 (commencing with Section 10100) of Division 2
of the Public Contract Code or Article 6 (commencing with Section
999) of Chapter 6 of Division 4 of the Military and Veterans Code.

(g) The department shall maintain the internal accountability
necessary to ensure compliance with the collection, deposit, and
expenditure of funds specified in this section.

SEC. 4.  

Section 4902 of the Fish and Game Code is amended
to read:

4902.  

(a) The commission may adopt all regulations necessary
to provide for biologically sound management of Nelson bighorn
sheep (subspecies Ovis canadensis nelsoni).

(b) (1) After the plans developed by the department pursuant
to Section 4901 for the management units have been submitted,
the commission may authorize sport hunting of mature Nelson
bighorn rams. Before authorizing the sport hunting, the commission
shall take into account the Nelson bighorn sheep population
statewide, including the population in the management units
designated for hunting.

(2) Notwithstanding Section 219, the commission shall not,
however, adopt regulations authorizing the sport hunting in a single
year of more than 15 percent of the mature Nelson bighorn rams
in a single management unit, based on the department’s annual
estimate of the population in each management unit.

(c) The fee for a tag to take a Nelson bighorn ram begin delete may be
determined by the commission, but shall not exceed five hundred
dollars ($500) end delete begin insert shall be four hundred dollars ($400) for a resident
of the state, which shall be adjusted annually pursuant to Section
713. On or before July 1, 2015, the commission shall, by
regulation, fix the fee for a nonresident of the state at not less than
one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500), which shall be
adjusted annually pursuant to Section 713 end insert . Fee revenues shall be
deposited in the Big Game Management Account established in
Section 3953 and, upon appropriation by the Legislature, shall be
expended as set forth in that section.

(d) The commission shall annually direct the department to
authorize not more than three of the tags available for issuance
that year to take Nelson bighorn rams for the purpose of raising
funds for programs and projects to benefit Nelson bighorn sheep.
These tags may be sold to residents or nonresidents of the State
of California at auction or by another method and shall not be
subject to the fee limitation prescribed in subdivision (c).
Commencing with tags sold for the 1993 hunting season, if more
than one tag is authorized, the department shall designate a
nonprofit organization organized pursuant to the laws of this state,
or the California chapter of a nonprofit organization organized
pursuant to the laws of another state, as the seller of not less than
one of these tags. The number of tags authorized for the purpose
of raising funds pursuant to this subdivision, if more than one,
shall not exceed 15 percent of the total number of tags authorized
pursuant to subdivision (b). All revenue from the sale of tags
pursuant to this subdivision shall be deposited in the Big Game
Management Account established in Section 3953 and, upon
appropriation by the Legislature, shall be expended as set forth in
that section.

(e) No tag issued pursuant to this section shall be valid unless
and until the licensee has successfully completed a prehunt hunter
familiarization and orientation and has demonstrated to the
department that he or she is familiar with the requisite equipment
for participating in the hunting of Nelson bighorn rams, as
determined by the commission. The orientation shall be conducted
by the department at convenient locations and times preceding
each season, as determined by the commission.