BILL ANALYSIS Ó
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 559|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 559
Author: Lopez (D)
Amended: 6/16/15 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE NATURAL RES. & WATER COMMITTEE: 7-2, 6/23/15
AYES: Pavley, Allen, Hertzberg, Hueso, Jackson, Monning, Wolk
NOES: Stone, Vidak
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 5-2, 7/6/15
AYES: Lara, Beall, Hill, Leyva, Mendoza
NOES: Bates, Nielsen
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 58-18, 4/30/15 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Monarch butterflies: conservation
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill explicitly authorizes the Department of Fish
and Wildlife (DFW) to take actions to conserve monarch
butterflies and their habitat.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Tasks DFW with managing California's diverse fish, wildlife,
and plant resources, and the habitats upon which they depend,
for their ecological values and for their use and enjoyment by
the public.
AB 559
Page 2
2)Defines "wildlife" as "all wild animals, birds, plants, fish,
amphibians, reptiles, and related ecological communities,
including the habitat upon which the wildlife depends for its
continued viability." (Fish and Game Code (FGC) Section 711.2)
3)Allows DWF to expend the monies necessary for research and
"the conservation, propagation, protection, and perpetuation
of birds and the nests and eggs thereof, and of mammals,
reptiles, and fish." (FGC Section 1000)
4)States that it is California's policy to "anticipate and
resolve potential conflicts between the management,
conservation, and protection of fish and wildlife resources
and their habitat and private and public activities that may
affect them." (FGC Section 1017)
5)Declares that California should "conserve, protect, restore,
and enhance any endangered species or any threatened species
and its habitat and that it is the intent of the Legislature,
consistent with conserving the species, to acquire lands for
habitat for these species." (FGC Section 2052)
This bill adds Section 1021 to the Fish and Game Code.
Specifically, this bill allows DFW to:
1)Take actions to conserve monarch butterflies and their
habitat. These actions may include, but are not limited to:
a) Habitat restoration on department lands
b) Education programs
c) Voluntary agreements with private landowners
2)Partner with federal agencies, nonprofit organizations,
academic programs, private landowners, and other entities that
undertake actions to conserve monarch butterflies and aid
their successful migration, including the Monarch Joint
Venture.
3)Use the best available science and consider, as appropriate,
all of the following actions:
AB 559
Page 3
a) Restoring or revegetating monarch caterpillar habitat
using regionally or locally appropriate native milkweed
species.
b) Restoring or revegetating adult monarch butterfly
habitat using regionally or locally appropriate native
nectar plant species.
c) Incorporating diverse tree species, structures, and
arrangements when restoring or establishing winter habitat
sites to match monarch butterfly preferences for
temperature, light, moisture, wind, and other microclimate
characteristics.
d) Controlling pests and disease in monarch butterfly
habitat using natural biological measures and alternative
nonspray weed management strategies.
e) Increasing the number of partnerships and making the
most of partnerships to use residential and institutional
landscaped areas, agricultural noncropped lands,
transportation corridors, and conservation easements to
create, restore, or enhance monarch butterfly habitat.
Comments
Overwintering habitat. California is one of the few places that
monarch butterflies settle in over the winter. The maintenance
of their habitat is crucial to ensuring the continued existence
of monarch butterflies within the United States. In addition,
maintaining the health of these habitats will likely have
positive benefits for a number of other pollinator species.
Clarification of DFW authority. Although DFW is tasked with
protecting wildlife within California, insects are not included
in the codified definition of wildlife. In addition, the
California Endangered Species Act does not include a category
for insects. This bill clarifies that DFW has the authority to
take steps to protect monarch butterflies and their habitat. It
also provides them with the authority to partner with outside
agencies, such as the Monarch Joint Venture, to increase
education about and oversight of monarchs within California.
Related/Prior Legislation
AB 559
Page 4
In 1987, the Legislature passed AB 1671 to recognize monarch
butterfly overwintering sites as a natural resource. In 1988,
California voters approved Prop 70, which included a $2 million
bond allocation to purchase monarch butterfly habitat (Public
Resources Code Section 5907).
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, there are
unknown additional potential cost pressures, but likely minor,
to the Fish and Game Preservation Fund (special) to take
conservation actions, including habitat restoration projects, to
conserve monarch butterflies.
SUPPORT: (Verified7/8/15)
California League of Conservation Voters
California Native Plant Society
Monarch Joint Venture
Sierra Club California
The Xerces Society
OPPOSITION: (Verified7/8/15)
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: The Sierra Club California writes that
"monarch butterflies hold an important position in the ecosystem
as pollinators and depend on their habitats to complete a
successful migration through California." This bill will "help
to protect these essential habitats through restoration,
education programs, and voluntary agreements with private
landowners."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 58-18, 4/30/15
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Baker, Bloom, Bonilla,
Bonta, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper,
Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Cristina Garcia,
AB 559
Page 5
Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon,
Hadley, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones-Sawyer, Lackey,
Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, McCarty, Medina,
Mullin, Nazarian, O'Donnell, Perea, Quirk, Rendon,
Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Mark Stone,
Thurmond, Ting, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins
NOES: Bigelow, Brough, Chang, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Grove,
Harper, Jones, Kim, Mathis, Mayes, Melendez, Obernolte, Olsen,
Patterson, Steinorth, Wagner, Waldron
NO VOTE RECORDED: Campos, Chau, Chávez, Gray
Prepared by:Angee Doerr / N.R. & W. / (916) 651-4116
7/8/15 16:34:34
**** END ****