BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 197
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Date of Hearing: June 18, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON WATER, PARKS AND WILDLIFE
Anthony Rendon, Chair
SB 197 (Evans) - As Introduced: February 7, 2013
SENATE VOTE : 34-3
SUBJECT : Commercial Fishing Salmon Stamp
SUMMARY : Extends the sunset date on the commercial fishing
salmon stamp program and related provisions from 2014 to 2019.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes the Commercial Salmon Trollers Enhancement and
Restoration Program. Prohibits the take of salmon for
commercial purposes unless the person taking the salmon has a
current commercial fishing salmon stamp affixed to his or her
commercial fishing license. Exempts persons below the age of
16 or over the age of 70 years from the requirement to
purchase a commercial fishing salmon stamp.
2)Requires the Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) to issue
commercial fishing salmon stamps upon payment of a base fee of
$85. The salmon stamp fee is increased for landings over
3,000,000 pounds, not to exceed $260.
3)Requires revenues from the sale of commercial fishing salmon
stamps, after deduction of the DFW's administrative costs for
issuance of the stamps, to be deposited in the Commercial
Salmon Stamp Account in the Fish and Game Preservation Fund
(FGPF). Authorizes monies in the Salmon Stamp Account to be
expended, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for new or
expanded salmon restoration and enhancement programs that
increase ocean salmon landings. Up to $30 of the fees from
the sale of each salmon stamp are required to be used by DFW
for raising Chinook salmon in hatcheries, subject to certain
limitations. Administrative costs which can be paid from the
Salmon Stamp Account are capped at 15%. Requires the DFW to
post on its Internet Website an accounting of projects funded
with Commercial Salmon Stamp Account funds, and the costs to
administer the program.
4)Authorizes additional funds received by the DFW on behalf of
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the Commercial Salmon Trollers Enhancement and Restoration
Program to be deposited in the Commercial Salmon Stamp
Account, including but not limited to, grants from the federal
government, and other nonfederal sources if the grantor
designates in writing prior to the deposit that the funds are
intended solely for deposit into the Salmon Stamp Account.
5)States legislative intent that the DFW use moneys from the
sale of salmon stamps, plus other matching funds provided by
the DFW, to raise two million Chinook salmon annually to
yearling size to help replenish California's salmon resource.
Requires that only one half of the cost for the hatchery
production come from the Salmon Stamp Account. Prohibits
state General Fund monies from being used for the required
match.
6)Establishes the Commercial Salmon Trollers Advisory Committee
to recommend programs and a budget for expenditures from the
Salmon Stamp Account to the DFW, including the creation and
sale of artwork and a collectible salmon stamp for sale to the
public.
7)Provides that all of the above described provisions shall
remain in effect until January 1, 2014, and as of that date
are repealed, unless a later enacted statute enacted before
January 1, 2014 extends that date.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee:
1)Annual revenues to the Commercial Salmon Stamp Account within
the Fish and Game Preservation Fund of approximately $250,000,
but varying between $50,000 and $500,000 depending on the
health of that year's salmon runs;
2)Annual expenditures from the Commercial Salmon Stamp Account
in the low hundreds of thousands of dollars;
3)Annual cost pressures in the low hundreds of thousands of
dollars on the non-dedicated portion of the FGPF to provide
the required match for expenditures from the Stamp Account for
hatchery production of Chinook salmon;
4)Annual administrative costs of $30,000 from the Salmon Stamp
Account, and annual costs of approximately $50,000 from the
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FGPF (non-dedicated portion) for administrative costs above
the 15% cap.
COMMENTS : This bill extends the sunset date on the existing
commercial salmon stamp program from 2014 to 2019 and makes no
other substantive changes to the program. The commercial salmon
fishermen who pay the stamp fee support the extension of the
program, which provides funding for salmon enhancement and
restoration projects, and also establishes the Commercial Salmon
Trollers Advisory Committee. The commercial salmon industry
asserts that the program is a result of 30 years of legislative
efforts by commercial salmon fishermen who believe the stamp
program is important for improving salmon stock and salmon
catch.
Are other changes to the commercial salmon program warranted ? In
the past, there have been discussions regarding other proposed
changes to the stamp program. For example, a bill in the
2009-10 Session proposed to increase the salmon stamp fee to a
fixed fee of $350 but that proposal was not pursued. In
addition, there is currently a substantial fund balance in the
Commercial Salmon Stamp Account (approximately $1.3 million),
but the DFW's annual expenditure authority under the program is
limited to $295,000. It has been suggested by some that the DFW
should be encouraged, in consultation with the Salmon Stamp
Advisory Committee, to come up with an expenditure plan to draw
down the balance in the Account to a prudent reserve. In
addition, since the DFW's current administrative costs for the
program exceed the 15% cap on the amount of administrative costs
that can be paid for out of the Stamp Account, the balance of
the DFW's administrative costs for the program are being paid
from other non-dedicated funds in the FGPF. In light of the
significant existing balance in the Stamp Account, it is unclear
what the continued justification is for either the 15% cap on
administrative expenditures that can be paid from the Stamp
Account, or for some of the other limitations on program
expenditures.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations (Sponsor)
California Association of Professional Scientists (CAPS)
California Salmon Council
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Fisherman's Marketing Association of Bodega Bay
Humboldt Fishermen's Marketing Association, Inc.
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Diane Colborn / W., P. & W. / (916)
319-2096