BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 749
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 749 (Wolk)
As Amended September 6, 2013
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :39-0
WATER, PARKS & WILDLIFE 15-0
APPROPRIATIONS 17-0
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|Ayes:|Rendon, Bigelow, Allen, |Ayes:|Gatto, Harkey, Bigelow, |
| |Bocanegra, Dahle, Fong, | |Bocanegra, Bradford, Ian |
| |Frazier, Beth Gaines, | |Calderon, Campos, |
| |Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, | |Donnelly, Eggman, Gomez, |
| |Gray, Patterson, Yamada, | |Hall, Holden, Linder, |
| |Williams | |Pan, Quirk, Wagner, Weber |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Makes several procedural changes to the California
Endangered Species Act (CESA); extends the sunset date on the
authority for accidental take of listed species in the course of
otherwise lawful and routine agricultural activities; and enacts
other provisions related to agricultural leasing of state lands
and protection of habitat for upland game birds and nesting
waterfowl. Specifically, this bill :
1)Authorizes the Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) to lease
department-managed lands for agricultural activities,
including but not limited to grazing, where consistent with
the purpose for which the lands were acquired and compatible
with the DFW's management plan for the area. Requires moneys
collected from agricultural leases of DFW managed lands to be
deposited into the Wildlife Restoration Fund and authorizes
those moneys, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to be
used to support the management, maintenance, restoration and
operations of DFW managed lands.
2)Requires DFW to annually provide an opportunity for licensed
hunters to comment and make recommendations on public hunting
programs, and authorizes DFW to hold regional meetings on
hunting programs for different wildlife areas.
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3)Makes several changes to the processes and procedures required
under CESA as follows:
a) Clarifies when a public hearing is closed for purposes
of finalizing the administrative record in CESA
proceedings, and clarifies the circumstances under which
the administrative record can be reopened, which include
material changes in the law and a determination by the Fish
and Game Commission (FGC) that additional information is
needed to reach a decision on the petition. Requires the
FGC if it reopens the record to provide an opportunity for
public comment on the submitted information prior to the
issuance of its decision.
b) Requires the species status report prepared by the DFW
for purposes of determining whether a petitioned action is
warranted to be independently peer reviewed and made
available on the DFW's Internet Web site. Requires the DFW
to amend the draft status report as appropriate to
incorporate scientific information from the independent
peer review, and to make the revised status report
available for a minimum of 30 days for public review prior
to the hearing on the listing decision. Authorizes the FGC
to grant an extension of up to six months if necessary to
complete independent peer review and provide the required
time for public notice and review.
c) Provides that these changes to the CESA processes shall
sunset on January 1, 2017, unless a later enacted statute
deletes or extends that date.
d) Extends the sunset from 2014 to 2020 on the provision of
existing law allowing accidental take of a candidate,
threatened or endangered species resulting from an act that
occurs on a farm or ranch in the course of otherwise lawful
routine and ongoing agricultural activities. Defines
accidental to mean unintended or unforeseen.
e) Clarifies the DFW's responsibilities for independent
peer review of species status reports.
4)Requires, when agricultural lands are being idled in order to
provide water for transfer, and an amount of water is
determined to be made available by that idling, that
landowners shall be encouraged to cultivate or retain
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non-irrigated cover crops or natural vegetation to provide
waterfowl, upland game bird, and other wildlife habitat,
provided that all water transfer requirements are met.
Additionally requires the Department of Water Resources (DWR)
to include information and resources regarding this issue in
its water transfer guide.
5)Extends the sunset date on the Department of Fish and
Wildlife's (DFW's) coho salmon recovery strategy pilot program
from 2014 to 2017.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Authorizes the DFW to acquire and manage lands for wildlife
management areas, public shooting grounds, or ecological
reserves.
2)Authorizes the Wildlife Conservation Board (WCB) to authorize
the DFW to lease real property held under the jurisdiction of
the WCB or the DFW and requires the proceeds from such
transactions to be deposited in the Wildlife Restoration Fund.
Authorizes monies in the Wildlife Restoration Fund to be used
for land acquisitions and construction costs.
3)Establishes processes and procedures for the review and
analysis of petitions for the listing of threatened and
endangered species under CESA. Exempts, until January 1,
2014, accidental take of candidate, threatened or endangered
species resulting from an act occurring in the course of
otherwise lawful routine and ongoing agricultural activities
from the prohibition on take of listed species.
4)Allows a permittee or licensee to temporarily change the point
of diversion, place of use, or purpose of use due to a water
transfer if the transfer would only involve the amount of
water that would have been consumptively used or stored by the
permittee or licensee in the absence of the proposed temporary
change, would not injure any legal user of the water, and
would not unreasonably affect fish, wildlife, or other
instream beneficial uses. Defines "consumptively used" to
mean the amount of water that has been consumed through use by
evapotranspiration, has percolated underground, or has been
otherwise removed from use in the downstream water supply as a
result of direct diversion.
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FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee:
1)Cost pressure of up to $1.7 million for lost revenues to the
Wildlife Restoration Fund.
2)Minor, absorbable costs to review petitions to add or remove a
species from the lists of threatened or endangered species and
make recommendations regarding the establishment of bird
habitat.
COMMENTS : This bill enacts several changes related to both
wildlife-friendly farming practices and CESA. The author
indicates the purpose of this bill is to ensure good stewardship
of private property and DFW-managed lands by: 1) extending
accidental take protection under CESA for routine and ongoing
agricultural activities; 2) requiring independent scientific
review of endangered species status reports; 3) clarifying DFW's
authority to lease DFW-managed lands for agricultural activities
and to use the revenues from the leases to support maintenance
and operation of the lands; and 4) encouraging non-irrigated
cover crops or natural vegetation on agricultural lands that are
fallowed as a result of water transfers, in order to provide
habitat benefits for waterfowl and upland game bird nesting and
brooding activities.
The DFW has supplemented the costs of maintenance and operations
of DFW-managed lands by granting leases for agricultural
activities on some state managed wildlife lands. A state audit
conducted last year raised questions regarding the
accountability of the leasing process and the reporting of
revenues. The issue was addressed in the budget process and
language was included in the budget bill and resources budget
trailer bill clarifying the DFW's expenditure authority and
bringing these revenues on budget by requiring that the revenues
from the agricultural leases be deposited in the Wildlife
Restoration Fund. This bill clarifies that the DFW is
authorized to lease DFW-managed lands for agricultural
activities, including but not limited to grazing, where
consistent with the purpose for which the lands were acquired
and compatible with the DFW's approved management plan for the
area. It also clarifies that the moneys collected from the
leases, upon appropriation, may be used to support the
maintenance and operations of DFW-managed lands, and requires
DFW to deposit the funds in the Wildlife Restoration Fund. The
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ability of DFW to grant agricultural leases has been an
important component of the overall management plan for a number
of wildlife refuges managed by DFW. One example is the Yolo
Basin Wildlife Refuge, where lands leased for the growing of
rice provide habitat for waterfowl and other wildlife species,
and managed grazing in other parts of the refuge help to
maintain vernal pool habitat. The revenues generated from the
leases also assist the DFW in covering maintenance and
operations costs for the refuge.
This bill makes several amendments to facilitate and improve the
implementation process under CESA. Specifically, this bill: 1)
extends the sunset date on the accidental take exemption for
agricultural activities from 2014 to 2020 and defines
"accidental" as unintended and unforeseen; 2) clarifies when the
administrative record under the CESA listing process is open and
closed; 3) clarifies that independent scientific peer review is
required of all species status reports, and that the peer review
report must be publicly disclosed; and 4) allows the FGC to
grant an extension of time of up to 6 months if necessary to
complete the peer review process and provide public disclosure.
The FGC and DFW indicate that the procedural changes will help
add clarity to the petition review and hearing process and the
ability to grant an extension of time will help to facilitate
completion of peer review. This bill also extends the sunset
period for three years on DFW's authority for continued
implementation of its existing coho salmon recovery strategy
pilot program, which would otherwise sunset the end of this
year.
The author indicates that growers interested in providing water
transfers, but also interested in engaging in wildlife friendly
land practices, have expressed concerns that state rules
regarding water transfers may be interpreted in ways that
prohibit or discourage the growing of non-irrigated cover crops
or natural vegetation on agricultural lands idled to facilitate
water transfers. Waterfowl and upland game birds have come to
rely to a considerable extent on vegetated agricultural lands
for nesting and rearing habitat, as much of their other habitat
has been lost to development. There is concern that this
problem could increase as more lands are fallowed in the future
to facilitate water transfers. On the other hand, state water
agencies have expressed concerns that in some cases
non-irrigated vegetation may consume ground water in areas where
the water table is high, or if the land is near a canal, may
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consume water through seepage, thereby reducing the amount of
water that is actually available for transfer. This bill seeks
to accommodate both concerns by providing that when agricultural
lands are idled to provide water for transfer, and an amount of
water is determined to be made available by that idling, the
growth of non-irrigated cover crops or natural vegetation for
waterfowl, upland game birds and other wildlife habitat shall be
encouraged, provided all other water transfer requirements are
met.
Supporters, which include agricultural entities and waterfowl
hunting groups, note that California's farmers and ranchers
provide habitat for wildlife throughout the state, but that
California's laws can sometimes make farming and ranching a
challenge. In particular, many farmers are fearful that if they
allow habitat to develop on their property they may attract
protected species and be liable for accidentally harming a
species through routine agricultural activities. Continuation
of the accidental take provision provides an incentive for
farmers to engage in wildlife friendly farming practices,
without fear of liability. Similarly, existing rules regarding
water transfers can discourage landowners from providing upland
nesting cover on lands fallowed as a result of water transfers.
While recognizing water transfers are an increasing strategy to
meet California's water needs, this bill seeks to help ensure
some wildlife habitat benefit can remain on a transferor's land.
Allowing non-irrigated cover vegetation may also assist in
meeting state goals for carbon sequestration to reduce global
warming and improve air quality by reducing air borne dust
particulates. The Central Valley Joint Venture, a
public/private partnership dedicated to implementing the North
American Waterfowl Management Plan in the Central Valley has
also identified the need to establish additional waterfowl
habitat, including upland nesting cover, to bolster bird
populations. Supporters also note that the other proposed
changes to CESA in this bill will improve the listing process by
ensuring scientific data is better incorporated into the listing
process.
Analysis Prepared by : Diane Colborn / W., P. & W. / (916)
319-2096
FN: 0002502
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