BILL NUMBER: AB 665 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 2, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 15, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Frazier
( Coauthor: Senator
Berryhill )
FEBRUARY 24, 2015
An act to amend Section Sections 200 and
203.1 of, and to add Sections 200.5 and 200.6 to, the Fish and
Game Code, relating to fish and wildlife.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 665, as amended, Frazier. Hunting or fishing: local regulation.
(1) The California Constitution provides for the delegation to the
Fish and Game Commission of powers relating to the protection and
propagation of fish and game. Existing statutory law delegates to the
commission the power to regulate the taking or possession of birds,
mammals, fish, amphibia, and reptiles in accordance with prescribed
laws. Under existing law, the Department of Fish and Wildlife
exercises various functions with regard to the taking of fish and
game. Under existing law, a city or county has no authority to
regulate fish and game except that a city or county may adopt an
ordinance that incidentally affects fishing and hunting for the
protection of public health and safety.
This bill would provide that the state fully occupies the field of
the taking and possession of fish and game. The bill would provide
that unless otherwise authorized by the Fish and Game Code, other
state law, or federal law, the commission and the department are the
only entities that may adopt or promulgate regulations regarding the
taking or possession of fish and game on any lands or waters within
the state.
(2) Existing law requires the commission, when adopting certain
regulations relating to the take taking or
possession of resident game birds, game mammals, and
fur-bearing mammals, to consider populations, habitat, food supplies,
the welfare of individual animals, and other pertinent facts and
testimony.
This bill would require the commission to consider these factors
when adopting certain regulations relating to the take
taking or possession of fish, amphibians, and
reptiles. The bill would also require the commission to consider
public health and safety when adopting these regulations.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 200 of the Fish and
Game Code is amended to read:
200. (a) There is hereby delegated to the
commission the power to regulate the taking or possession of birds,
mammals, fish, amphibia, and reptiles for purposes that include,
but are not limited to, public health and safety, to the
extent and in the manner prescribed in this article.
No
(b) No power is delegated to the
commission by this article to regulate the taking, possessing,
processing, or use of fish, amphibia, kelp, or other aquatic plants
for commercial purposes, and no provision of this code relating or
applying thereto, nor any regulation of the commission made pursuant
to such provision, these provisions,
shall be affected by this article or any regulation made under this
article.
SECTION 1. SEC. 2. Section 200.5 is
added to the Fish and Game Code, to read:
200.5. (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(1) The California Supreme Court in In re Makings (1927) 200 Cal.
474, determined that Section 25 1/2 of Article IV of the California
Constitution, as currently set forth in Section 20 of Article IV,
prohibits local governmental entities from regulating, or interfering
with, fish and game matters in any manner and places this
responsibility with the Legislature in order to conserve California's
fish and wildlife and permit the greatest use of fish and game
resources compatible with the reasonable protection thereof.
(2) The commission was established in 1870 to assist in the
scientific, evidence-based management of California's fish and
wildlife resources. The California Constitution permits the
Legislature to delegate to the commission certain powers relating to
the management of fish and game, and the Legislature has delegated to
the commission regulatory powers over the taking and possession of
fish and game, as set forth in this code.
(3) Hunting and fishing are statistically among the safest outdoor
recreational activities, and are already well regulated by the state
through means that include, but are not limited to,
mandatory safety and education requirements, firearms
weapons discharge laws, and regulations adopted
by the commission. Additional local regulation would be
unnecessary, would impede the proper administration of state
fish and game laws laws, and would
create significant enforcement issues. Hunting and fishing activities
are also compatible with other recreational uses on many public
lands and waters throughout the state.
(b) In enacting this section and Section 200.6, it is the intent
of the Legislature to affirm, subject to applicable federal law, the
exclusive legal authority granted to the commission and the
department with regard to the taking and possession of fish and game
and thereby ensure necessary statewide control by the commission and
the department over fish and game matters for wildlife conservation
purposes and purposes, the protection
of, and access to, hunting and fishing opportunities for the
public. public, and for public health and safety
purposes.
SEC. 2. SEC. 3. Section 200.6 is
added to the Fish and Game Code, to read:
200.6. (a) The state fully occupies the field of the taking and
possession of fish and game pursuant to this code, regulations
adopted by the commission pursuant to this code, and Section 20 of
Article IV of the California Constitution, and all local ordinances
and regulations are subject to this section.
section and Section 200.5.
(b) The commission, the department, or any other governmental
entity legally authorized to affect hunting and fishing on navigable
waters held in public trust shall ensure that the fishing and hunting
rights of the public guaranteed under Section 25 of Article I and
Section 4 of Article X of the California Constitution are protected
in a manner consistent with those provisions.
(c) (1) Unless expressly authorized by this code, other state law,
or federal law, the commission and the department are the only
entities in the state that may adopt or promulgate regulations
regarding the taking or possession of fish and game on any lands or
waters within the state.
(2) Nothing in this section or Section 200.5 prohibits a public or
private landowner, or the landowner's designee, from controlling
public access or public use, including hunting or fishing, on
property that the landowner owns in fee, leases, holds an easement
upon, or is otherwise expressly authorized to control for those
purposes in a manner consistent with state law.
(3) This section applies only to activities for which a hunting or
fishing license or a depredation permit is required by this code or
regulations adopted by the commission.
commission, and to activities carried out by an employee or agent of
the department as part of his or her official duties. Nothing in this
section shall be construed to diminish or affect existing legal
protections for fish and game-related management, recreation, or
other activities not specifically mentioned in this section.
SEC. 3. SEC. 4. Section 203.1 of the
Fish and Game Code is amended to read:
203.1. When adopting regulations pursuant to Section 203 or 205,
the commission shall consider populations, habitat, food supplies,
the welfare of individual animals, public health and safety, and
other pertinent facts and testimony.