BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



          SENATE COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES AND WATER
                             Senator Fran Pavley, Chair
                                2015 - 2016  Regular 

          Bill No:            AB 499          Hearing Date:    June 9,  
          2015
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          |Author:    |Cooley                 |           |                 |
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          |Version:   |February 23, 2015    Introduced                      |
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          |Urgency:   |No                     |Fiscal:    |No               |
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          |Consultant:|Katharine Moore                                      |
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                    Subject:  Archery season: concealed firearms.


          BACKGROUND AND EXISTING LAW
          The Department of Fish and Wildlife (department) is authorized  
          to regulate hunting in California.  A valid license is required  
          to take any mammal or bird, and hunters must meet hunter  
          education requirements (Fish and Game Code (FGC) §§3031 - 3040).  
           From 2010 - 2014, approximately 285,000 hunting licenses and  
          184,000 deer tags were sold annually on average.  A deer hunter  
          is required to have both a valid license and a deer tag specific  
          to the particular hunt in his or her possession.

          Following a successful kill, the hunter must immediately fix the  
          tag to the deer.  The tag must be validated by the department or  
          other authorized personnel (FGC §4341) before taking the deer  
          home.

          Existing law provides for an archery-only season for the taking  
          of deer with bow and arrow preceding the general open season for  
          hunting of deer, as prescribed by the Fish and Game Commission  
          (FGC), with a minimum interval of three days immediately  
          preceding the regular open season on deer in the area.  Although  
          it varies by hunting zone, a typical archery-only season is  
          roughly two weeks in duration.

          Existing law prohibits a person taking or attempting to take  
          deer during the archery-only season from carrying or having  
          under his or her immediate control any firearm while hunting  







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          with bow and arrow.  This provision stems from AB 1583 (Lindsay  
          et al., c. 221, Statutes of 1955), an urgency measure that  
          stated "in order for this act to be effective during the 1955  
          archery season to protect other hunters and to insure  
          enforcement of the present law this act must take effect  
          immediately."  Archers taking deer during the general season  
          under the authority of a general tag, however, may possess a  
          firearm.  Firearms are the most popular method of taking deer  
          while hunting in California.

          Existing law provides an exception to the prohibition on  
          carrying firearms while hunting deer with bow and arrow during  
          archery-only season for an active or honorably retired peace  
          officer, as long as the peace officer does not take or attempt  
          to take deer with the firearm (SB 1367, Fuller, c.711, Statutes  
          of 2012). 

          Existing law under the Penal Code, authorizes peace officers and  
          honorably retired peace officers, to carry a concealed weapon at  
          any time. It also authorizes the sheriff of a county, or the  
          head of a municipal police department, upon proof that the  
          applicant is of good moral character and has completed a course  
          of training, that good cause exists for the issuance, and that  
          certain other specified conditions are met, to issue the  
          applicant a license to carry a concealed firearm.  (There are  
          legal challenges, described below, to the current practice of  
          issuing concealed weapons permits.) 

          Numerous laws and regulations apply to firearms in California.   
          There are multiple restrictions on the use of firearms while  
          hunting.  Hunters are allowed to possess firearms while engaged  
          in lawful hunting or while going directly to or returning  
          directly from the hunting expedition (Penal Code (PEN) §25300).   
          However, for example, FGC §3003 bans on-line hunting and FGC  
          §3004 bans the discharge of a firearm near buildings or over a  
          public road in a reckless manner.

          PROPOSED LAW
          This bill would authorize a person with a concealed weapons  
          permit to have a firearm in his or her possession while engaged  
          in the taking of deer with a bow and arrow during archery-only  
          season so long as they do not take or attempt to take deer with  
          the firearm.









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          ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT
          According to the author, "[m]any individuals like to carry a  
          concealed handgun while hunting to protect themselves from large  
          predators, such as mountain lions and bears. In recent years, it  
          has also become increasingly necessary for hunters to carry a  
          handgun to safeguard themselves from those defending illegal  
          marijuana growing operations and other illicit drug  
          manufacturing."

          "Current law prohibits a person that is deer hunting during  
          archery season from carrying a firearm of any kind."

          "For those who are otherwise allowed to carry a concealed  
          handgun, this creates a problem where the individual is faced  
          with leaving their handgun inside his or her vehicle which may  
          be parked miles from where the person is archery hunting."

          "AB 499 aligns the Fish and Game code with similar sections of  
          Fish and Game regulations that allow an individual with a  
          concealed carry permit to carry a concealed firearm while deer  
          hunting during archery season."

          ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION
          None received

          COMMENTS
           A solution in search of a problem?   The restriction on persons,  
          other than peace officers and retired peace officers, carrying  
          concealed firearms while hunting deer with bow and arrow applies  
          only during the archery-only season.  A hunter, concerned for  
          his or her safety beyond the protection offered by a bow and  
          arrow, may hunt deer with bow and arrow during the general  
          season and carry a firearm, as authorized. 

           Impact on the enforcement of archery-only tags?   Deer slain  
          during a hunt are typically "field-dressed."  The carcass is  
          disemboweled in order to facilitate transport (the gut pile is  
          left in situ).  While the wound from an arrow is different from  
          that from a bullet, it is possible that field-dressing could  
          obscure the method used to kill the deer.  Allowing concealed  
          firearms to be carried during an archery-only hunt could  
          complicate enforcement by the department's wardens.

          According to the Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife analysis, in  








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          the past, fish and game wardens and others have expressed  
          concerns about persons other than peace officers with concealed  
          weapons permits being allowed to carry a firearm while hunting  
          during the archery-only season. The exemption for peace officers  
          was deemed acceptable because peace officers have more extensive  
          mandated training regarding firearms they carry on or off duty  
          than is required for most other persons who apply at the county  
          level for a concealed weapons permit, the requirements for which  
          can vary considerably by county. Peace officers may also face  
          situations where they may be called upon to make use of their  
          concealed weapon for law enforcement purposes.

           Is there a conflict with the Penal Code?   While off-duty and  
          retired peace officers, and concealed weapon permit holders are  
          allowed to carry concealed weapons, they are not required to do  
          so.  Reasons often cited to justify the need to carry a  
          concealed weapon - for example, due to work-related matters -  
          are not necessarily applicable to carrying the firearm while  
          deer hunting with an archery-only tag.

           Attacks upon hunters  .  There are no documented and substantiated  
          instances in the department's recent records where a deer hunter  
          was attacked by a mountain lion.  There have been only 18  
          verified mountain lion attacks from 1890 to 2014.  Previous  
          discussions with department wardens indicate that a hunter was  
          actually poaching when he killed a mountain lion with an arrow  
          although he initially claimed to have been attacked.  There have  
          been 12 documented bear attacks since 1980.  In one of those  
          instances - an August 1991 attack in Siskiyou County - a black  
          bear attacked an adult hunter who was out hunting with  
          bow-and-arrow.  It is important to note, however, that the  
          victim apparently took photos of the bear instead of attempting  
          to escape prior to the attack.  

          According to the SB 1367 (2012) Senate Natural Resources and  
          Water Committee bill analysis, previous discussions with  
          department wardens also indicated that there were approximately  
          6 instances in 2009 - 2011 where hunters reported being  
          threatened by illegal marijuana growing operations.  None were  
          substantiated and no injuries were reported.  (It is not clear  
          if these reports were during archery-only or the general season  
          for deer.)
          
           Concealed weapons permit information and current litigation.    








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          According to data obtained from the Department of Justice, in  
          December 2013 there were about 58,000 active concealed weapons  
          permits in California with approximately 8,000 applications  
          pending.  Approximately one year later, the number of permits  
          issued had increased to about 70,000 with about 16,000 pending  
          applications.  The number of permits issued tends to be higher  
          in more rural counties compared to urban counties, although  
          there are exceptions.  For example, Los Angeles County, with a  
          population of about 10 million had 560 active concealed weapons  
          permits at the end of 2014, compared to Shasta County which had  
          issued about 5906 permits for a population of about 179,000.   
          The increase in issued permits between 2014 and 2013 is likely  
          to stem, in part, according to news reports, from a relaxation  
          in standards in some jurisdictions as a result of a recent court  
          decision.

          In February 2014, a three judge panel of the United States Court  
          of Appeals for the 9th Circuit found that San Diego County's  
          restrictive policy requiring the showing of "good cause" prior  
          to issuing a concealed weapons permit in combination with other  
          factors was unconstitutional (Peruta v. San Diego).  On March  
          26, 2015, the 9th Circuit announced that this case will be heard  
          "en banc" along with a similar case (Richards v. Prieto) which  
          challenged Yolo County's policies.  The order set aside the  
          original rulings in the cases.  Oral arguments will be in June  
          16, 2015.  
           
          SUPPORT
          National Rifle Association of America (co-sponsor)
          California Rifle and Pistol Association (co-sponsor)
          California Sportsman's Lobby
          California Waterfowl
          John McMahon, Sheriff-Coroner, San Bernardino County
          Outdoor Sportsmen's Association of California
          Safari Club International, California Chapters
          Stan Sniff, Sheriff, Riverside County

          OPPOSITION
          None received
          

                                      -- END --
          









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