BILL NUMBER: AB 1259 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 24, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 29, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 26, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Levine
FEBRUARY 27, 2015
An act to amend Section 1745.2 of the Fish and Game Code,
and to add Section 14670.14 to t he Government Code,
relating to bees, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect
immediately.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1259, as amended, Levine. Bees: apiculture: state-owned lands.
Existing law requires the Department of Fish and Wildlife to
consider permitting apiculture on department-managed wildlife areas.
This bill would instead require the department to consider
authorizing apiculture on department-managed wildlife areas.
The bill would authorize the department to authorize the temporary
placement of bee hives beehives on
department-managed wildlife areas through simple lease or permit
agreements specifying appropriate conditions. The bill would
provide that these agreements are not contracts or leases
for purposes of subject to competitive bidding
provisions and other provisions relating to public contracts
in the Public Contract Code and the Government Code.
requirements.
The bill would authorize the department to continue any
authorization for apiculture on department-managed lands that it
granted before January 1, 2015, without taking further action.
Existing law generally authorizes the Director of General
Services, with the consent of the agency concerned, to let any real
or personal state property in accordance with specified requirements.
This bill would authorize the director to let state land for
commercial apiary purposes, and would authorize the director to lease
state land for those purposes for less than fair market value.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as
an urgency statute.
Vote: 2/3. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares as follows:
(a) Bees and other pollinators are critical to agricultural
production and native ecosystems. Bees pollinate billions of dollars
of agricultural crops in the United States, including many of
California's most important agricultural crops.
(b) Bees are at significant risk of harm due to a condition known
as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). In the United States alone, more
than 25 percent of the managed bee population has disappeared since
1990 and the number of hives is at its lowest number in 50 years. CCD
and the loss of bees is a significant threat to our state and
national food supply and economic security.
(c) A viable and productive honeybee industry is dependent on
access to private and public lands to secure nectar and pollen
resources for nutritional foraging opportunities.
(d) There is a need for a streamlined and efficient method to
provide access to public lands for California beekeepers to ensure
that they have adequate foraging grounds for their bees.
(e) The Legislature's intended purpose in enacting Section 1745.2
of the Fish and Game Code was to increase apiculture bee foraging
opportunities on state lands managed by the Department of Fish and
Wildlife, and not to affect existing apiary sites on
department-managed lands previously approved for apiculture use.
(f) Due to the unique regional and seasonal nature of apiculture,
the public interest will be best served by authorizing such uses on
department-managed lands without competitive bidding.
SEC. 2. Section 1745.2 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to
read:
1745.2. (a) The department shall do both of the following:
(1) Consider authorizing apiculture on department-managed wildlife
areas, where deemed appropriate by the department.
(2) Determine, when developing or amending its land management
plans, the following:
(A) If the department-managed wildlife areas, or any portion of
the those areas, are suitable for apiculture and whether apiculture
is consistent with the management goals and objectives for those
areas on a temporary, seasonal, or long-term basis.
(B) If the administration of apiculture on department-managed
wildlife areas, where deemed appropriate by the department, is
meeting the management goals and objectives for those areas.
(C) The appropriate fee to be assessed for conducting apiculture
on department-managed wildlife areas.
(b) The department, in implementing this section, may consult with
apiculture experts, including, but not limited to, the Department of
Food and Agriculture, the University of California, other academic
or professional experts, and interested stakeholders, when
considering authorizing apiculture on department-managed wildlife
areas consistent with the respective management goals and objectives
for those areas.
(c) Moneys collected for conducting apiculture on
department-managed wildlife areas pursuant to subparagraph (C) of
paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) shall be deposited by the department
into the Wildlife Restoration Fund and, upon appropriation by the
Legislature, be used to support the management, maintenance,
restoration, and operation of department-managed wildlife areas.
(d) The department may authorize the temporary placement of
bee hives beehives on
department-managed wildlife areas through simple lease or permit
agreements specifying appropriate conditions. These agreements
are not contracts or leases for purposes of
subject to competitive bidding provisions and other
provisions relating to public contracts in the Public Contract Code
and Government Code. requirements.
(e) The department may continue any authorization for apiculture
on department-managed areas that it granted before January 1, 2015,
without taking further action.
SEC. 3. Section 14670.14 is added to the
Government Code , to read:
14670.14. (a) Notwithstanding Section 14670, the Director of
General Services, with the consent of the agency concerned, may let
for a period not to exceed five years state land for commercial
apiary purposes.
(b) The director may lease state land pursuant to this section for
less than fair market value.
SEC. 3. SEC. 4. This act is an
urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the
public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of
the Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts
constituting the necessity are:
In order for beekeepers, who relied on and are dependent on prior
approval from the Department of Fish and Wildlife, to place their
bee hives beehives on
department-managed lands for seasonal foraging purposes, it is
necessary for this act to take effect immediately.