BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2105| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- THIRD READING Bill No: AB 2105 Author: Frazier (D) Amended: 7/2/14 in Senate Vote: 21 SENATE NATURAL RESOURCES AND WATER COMMITTEE : 7-0, 6/10/14 AYES: Pavley, Cannella, Evans, Hueso, Lara, Monning, Wolk NO VOTE RECORDED: Fuller, Jackson SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8 ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 77-0, 4/21/14 - See last page for vote SUBJECT : Big game mammals: bighorn sheep SOURCE : California Chapter of the Wild Sheep Foundation DIGEST : This bill authorizes a nonprofit organization designated by the Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) to assist in the sale of big game mammal hunting tags to retain 5% of the amount of the sale price of the tag as a vendor fee to cover administrative costs, and raises the fee for a nonresident Nelson bighorn ram tag. ANALYSIS : Existing law: 1.Requires all revenues from the sale of antelope, elk, deer, wild pig, bear, and sheep tags, including any fundraising CONTINUED AB 2105 Page 2 tags, to be deposited in the Big Game Management Account in the Fish and Game Preservation Fund. 2.Establishes a state policy to encourage the preservation, restoration, utilization and management of California's bighorn sheep population. Requires the DFW to determine the status and trend of bighorn sheep populations by management units, and to develop a plan for each unit. 3.Authorizes the Fish and Game Commission (FGC) to adopt all regulations necessary to provide for biologically sound management of Nelson bighorn sheep. Authorizes the FGC to authorize sport hunting of mature Nelson bighorn sheep rams, but prohibits the FGC from authorizing the sport hunting in a single year of more than 15% of the mature Nelson bighorn rams in a management unit. 4.Requires the FGC to determine the fee for a tag to take a Nelson bighorn ram, not to exceed $500. Requires the FGC to direct the DFW annually to authorize not more than three of the tags available for issuance that year to be sold at auction for the purpose of raising funds for programs and projects to benefit Nelson bighorn sheep. If more than one tag is authorized for sale at auction the DFW shall designate a nonprofit organization as the seller of not less than one of the tags. Allows no more than 15% of the total number of tags authorized to be issued to be sold at auction for higher amounts. This bill: 1.Authorizes a nonprofit organization designated by the DFW to assist in the sale of deer, elk, antelope, or bighorn sheep fundraising tags on behalf of the DFW to retain 5% of the amount of the sale price of the tag as a reasonable vendor fee. 2.Clarifies that with the exception of the above fee, all revenues from the sale of antelope, elk, deer, wild pig, bear and sheep tags, including any fundraising tags, shall be deposited in the Big Game Management Account within the Fish and Game Preservation Fund. 3.Requires the nonprofit selling the tags, within 30 days of the CONTINUED AB 2105 Page 3 date of the sale, to send the DFW 95% of the total auction sale price of the tag, with an itemized receipt showing the sale price and the 5% reduction retained by the nonprofit as a vendor's fee. 4.Requires that the fee for a tag to take a Nelson bighorn ram shall be $400 for a resident of the state, adjusted annually to reflect changes in the Implicit Price Deflator. Requires the FGC by July 1, 2015, to fix the fee for a nonresident tag, by regulation, at not less than $1,500, which will also be adjusted annually to reflect changes in the Implicit Price Deflator. 5.States legislative findings and declarations regarding the national survey of fishing, hunting and wildlife-associated recreation, and the economic contributions of hunters, fishers, and other wildlife-dependent recreation. Also states legislative findings and declarations regarding demand for desert bighorn sheep tags and associated fees which have not been adjusted since 1986. Background California is home to two distinct subspecies of bighorn sheep: the Sierra Nevada (Ovis canadensis sierrae) and the Nelson. Nelson bighorns are charismatic mammalian megafauna found in the dry desert mountains of southeastern California. Due to conservation measures initiated in the 1960s, total Nelson bighorn populations doubled to about 4,000 individuals by 1993 (the historical number of bighorn sheep is unknown). Conversely, the peninsular population of Nelson bighorns has experienced declines. Because peninsular Nelson and Sierra Nevada bighorns are protected under both the federal and state Endangered Species Acts, only a certain portion of the Nelson subspecies is available for taking. The process for obtaining a big game tag differs depending on the species and type of tag. An individual may acquire up to two deer tags per year through outright purchase or through entering drawings for special tags. Antelope, elk, and bighorn sheep tags are primarily allocated via a drawing system and purchased for a set amount. In addition, the FGC must direct the DFW to annually reserve a specified amount of deer, antelope, elk, and bighorn sheep game tags for fundraising CONTINUED AB 2105 Page 4 auctions that are often executed through nonprofit conservation groups supporting the interests of hunters. Statute limits the number of available auction tags for antelope, elk, deer, and bighorn sheep to a maximum of 1% of total available tags, 3, 10, and 3 tags respectively. The actual number issued depends on conservation status of each species. Each fall, the DFW requests proposals from interested conservation nonprofit organizations to auction these tags. Auction tags are not subject to fee limits and have typically sold for around $50,000-100,000 per bighorn sheep tag or $5,000-20,000 for other tags. During the most recent auction period, a coveted bighorn tag sold for $170,000. License fees available from non-government agents include a 5% license agent handing fee levied on the base fee. Although populations of antelope, elk, and deer have somewhat increased since the Gold Rush (1848-1855), current numbers are far lower than historical values. For example, deer populations peaked in the 1960s at 700,000-1,000,000 individuals and have since slowly declined. The DFW scientists attribute this trend to long-term habitat degradation. In 2012, SB 1166 (Berryhill) contained nearly identical language allowing nonprofits to recoup their costs or up to 10% of the sale price. The DFW opposed this legislation due to concerns that federal entities might see this retention as a diversion of funds, placing $10 million in federal funding in jeopardy. The bill was amended against the wishes of the author to change the vendor fee to a flat 2% in the Assembly Appropriations Committee, and died on the Assembly Inactive File. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No SUPPORT : (Verified 7/1/14) California Chapter of the Wild Sheep Foundation (source) Black Brant Group California Deer Association California Sportsman's Lobby California Waterfowl Association Gaines & Associates Mule Deer Foundation CONTINUED AB 2105 Page 5 Outdoor Sportsmen's Coalition of California Safari Club International OPPOSITION : (Verified 7/1/14) Public Interest Coalition ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The California Chapter of the Wild Sheep Foundation (CA WSF) state that the price of a non-resident sheep tag has been set in statute at $500 and has not been allowed to increase with inflation or demand since 1986. This bill would "bring the cost of a non-resident sheep tag current with inflation, in-line with the cost of similar non-resident sheep tags in other states, and allow it to adjust annually with inflation and demand." In addition, CA WSF asserts that DFW looks to hunting-related nonprofit conservation organizations to partner in the sale of tags within the community having the greatest interest to generate the absolute highest return. Rising costs of this partnership are an increasing disincentive for these nonprofits to partner with DFW. The California Sportsman's Lobby, Outdoor Sportsmen's Coalition of California, and Safari Club International (SCI) argue that allowing a non-profit organization selling a deer, elk, antelope, or bighorn sheep fundraising tag to keep 5% of the sales price as a vendor fee, plus credit card costs, is "appropriate." They contend that, "the ability to recover tag sales overhead costs will encourage more qualified SCI chapters to participate in this fundraising program for the department [DFW] and to expend a maximum effort to realize the most revenue possible." ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : The Public Interest Coalition argues that this bill will wrongly reduce California government's revenue streams with sales commissions and fees. If private vendors sell tags, then commissions and applicable credit card fees must be added to the final cost to ensure no net loss in fees to the state. The coalition also questions the findings and declarations, stating that they rely on a suspect survey that was coordinated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, but was requested by the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, rendering the results biased. In addition, they note that the percentage of Californians purchasing hunting licenses and tags is less than 1%. CONTINUED AB 2105 Page 6 ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 77-0, 4/21/14 AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom, Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gorell, Gray, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hernández, Holden, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal, Maienschein, Medina, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez NO VOTE RECORDED: Mansoor, Melendez, Vacancy RM:e 7/2/14 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END **** CONTINUED