BILL ANALYSIS Ó
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 353|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 353
Author: Lackey (R), et al.
Amended: 9/3/15 in Senate
Vote: 27 - Urgency
SENATE NATURAL RES. & WATER COMMITTEE: 9-0, 7/14/15
AYES: Pavley, Stone, Allen, Hertzberg, Hueso, Jackson,
Monning, Vidak, Wolk
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 5/14/15 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Protected species: take: Bouquet Canyon: habitat
restoration project
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill authorizes, under specified conditions, the
Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) to issue a permit for the
take of the fully protected fish species known as the unarmored
threespine stickleback (UTS). Such take would result from
impacts attributable to a habitat and flow restoration project
to restore and improve riparian habitat and flow capacity on
public lands in the Bouquet Canyon area of northern Los Angeles
County.
Senate Floor Amendments of 9/3/15 clarify the boundaries of the
project such that the county can use the mile markers on Bouquet
Canyon Road to determine the project boundaries even at the
places where the road is not immediately adjacent to the creek.
The amendments also add a monitoring program and a
AB 353
Page 2
cross-reference to the appropriate conservation standard, both
of which were discussed in policy committee.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Prohibits the take or possession of any fully protected
species, including fully protected fish or parts thereof,
including the fully protected UTS which is a fully protected
fish.
2)Allows for limited exceptions to the above prohibition for
take of fully protected species under three circumstances: a)
pursuant to the Colorado River Quantification Settlement
Agreement; b) where conservation of the species is provided
for pursuant to a Natural Communities Conservation Plan
(NCCP); and c) for take of the limestone salamander resulting
from impacts attributable to the Department of
Transportation's implementation of the Ferguson Slide
Permanent Restoration Project, contingent upon prescribed
conditions, including a requirement to include measures
necessary to satisfy the conservation standard of an NCCP for
the species.
3)Authorizes DFW to authorize the taking of fully protected
species for necessary scientific research, including efforts
to recover fully protected, threatened, or endangered species.
4)Requires DFW, prior to authorizing take for these purposes, to
notify all affected and interested parties to solicit
information and comments on the proposed authorization.
5)Requires the notification to be published in the California
Regulatory Notice Register and for interested parties to have
30 days after notification is published to provide comments.
6)Provides that "scientific research" does not include any
AB 353
Page 3
actions taken as part of specified mitigation for a project.
7)Prohibits the take of species listed as endangered or
threatened under the California Endangered Species Act (CESA),
but authorizes the DFW to authorize the take of species listed
under CESA if the take is incidental to an otherwise lawful
activity and the impacts are minimized and fully mitigated.
This bill:
1)Sets forth the conditions for an amendment to the fully
protected species statute that allows DFW to issue a permit
for the take of the fully protected fish species, the UTS,
resulting from impacts attributable to a habitat and flow
restoration project to restore and improve riparian habitat
and flow capacity on public lands in the Bouquet Canyon area
of northern Los Angeles County. The projects would be
undertaken by the Los Angeles County Department of Public
Works, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, and the
United State Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, if all
of the following conditions are met within the specific
geographic definition of the project:
a) DFW determines that appropriate agreements have been
executed to address environmental impacts at the Bouquet
Canyon areas, including but not limited to Bouquet Creek;
b) Requirements of the CESA for issuance of an incidental
take permit are satisfied; (These existing requirements
include, but are not limited to, finding that the take is
incidental to an otherwise lawful activity, that impacts of
the take are minimized and fully mitigated, that mitigation
options are roughly proportional to the impacts of the take
and are capable of successful implementation, and that the
applicant ensures adequate funding to implement mitigation
and monitoring requirements.)
c) The take authorization provides for development and
implementation, in cooperation with federal and state
AB 353
Page 4
agencies, of an adaptive management process for monitoring
the effectiveness of, and adjusting as necessary, measures
to minimize and fully mitigate the impacts of the
authorized take, and requires that mitigation measures meet
requirements for proportionality and maintaining the
project proponent's objectives to the extent possible; and
d) The take authorization provides for development and
implementation, in cooperation with state and federal
agencies, of a monitoring adaptive management process that
substantially contributes to the long-term conservation of
the UTS.
2)Amends the fully protected species statute to allow for the
issuance of a take permit for UTS, under the conditions
described above.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
SUPPORT: (Verified8/18/15)
Michael Antonovich, Mayor, Los Angeles County Board of
Supervisors
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/31/15)
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: The author indicates the exemption is
needed because the UTS is present in the area where the habitat
restoration project will take place, and without the project,
the long-term viability of the fish will be threatened. The
author and project proponents indicate that some take of the
AB 353
Page 5
species is necessary in order to conduct the habitat restoration
that is necessary for the species' survival.
The author asserts that currently no exemption exists under
current law to take fully protected species for habitat
restoration projects. The existing law does provide an
exemption from the prohibition on take of fully protected
species for scientific research projects, the purpose of which
are to recover fully protected, threatened or endangered
species. This narrow exemption for scientific research does not
apply to actions taken as part of mitigation for a project.
Mayor Michael Antonovich stated that Bouquet Canyon was
devastated by wildfires in 2002 and major floods in the winter
of 2004-05. Since then, the canyon has deteriorated due to
sedimentation and reduced water flow further worsening the
habitat of the UTS. Moreover, because the stream channel is full
of sediment, the roadway is often covered with water, creating a
public safety issue. A local public safety emergency has been
declared by the county. The supervisor has allocated $3 million
in discretionary road funding to this project.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 5/14/15
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang,
Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle,
Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina
Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez,
Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden,
Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Lopez, Low,
Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Melendez, Mullin,
Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Perea,
Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago,
Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber,
Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins
NO VOTE RECORDED: Linder, Medina
Prepared by:William Craven / N.R. & W. / (916) 651-4116
9/4/15 18:24:40
AB 353
Page 6
**** END ****