BILL NUMBER: AB 2001	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  MAY 16, 2016
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 10, 2016

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Mathis

                        FEBRUARY 16, 2016

   An act to amend Section 5515  of   of, 
   and to add Section 2089.7 to,  the Fish and Game
Code, relating to fish.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2001, as amended, Mathis. Fish: fully protected species:
 taking or possession.   California State Safe
Harbor Agreement Program Act. 
   Existing law prohibits the taking or possession of a fully
protected fish, except as provided. Under existing law, the
Department of Fish and Wildlife is authorized to permit the taking of
a fully protected fish for necessary scientific research, including
efforts to recover fully protected, threatened, or endangered
species.  For these purposes, scientific research does not
include an action taken as part of specified mitigation for a
project, as defined.  
   Existing law, the California State Safe Harbor Agreement Program
Act, establishes a program to encourage landowners to manage their
lands voluntarily, by means of state safe harbor agreements approved
by the Department of Fish and Wildlife, to benefit endangered,
threatened, or candidate species without being subject to additional
regulatory restrictions as a result of their conservation efforts.
The act authorizes the department to authorize specified acts that
are otherwise prohibited pursuant to the California Endangered
Species Act by entering into a safe harbor agreement. Under existing
law, the act remains in effect until January 1, 2020. 
   This bill would  instead  authorize the
department to permit the taking of  those species for
necessary scientific research or for efforts to recover fully
protected, threatened, or endangered species, not including an action
taken as part of specified mitigation for a project.  
fully protected fish in the Owens River and Mojave River watersheds
if the take is authorized under a safe harbor agreement   .

   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 2089.7 is added to the 
 Fish and Game Code   , to read:  
   2089.7.  The department may authorize the taking of fully
protected fish in the Owens River and Mojave River watersheds if the
take is authorized under an agreement pursuant to this article. 

   SECTION 1.   SEC. 2.   Section 5515 of
the Fish and Game Code is amended to read:
   5515.  (a) (1) Except as provided in this section,  or 
Section 2081.6,  Section  2081.7,  2089.7, 
or  Section  2835, a fully protected fish may not
be taken or possessed at any time. No provision of this code or any
other law shall be construed to authorize the issuance of a permit or
license to take a fully protected fish, and no permit or license
previously issued shall have force or effect for that purpose.
However, the department may authorize the taking of a fully protected
fish for necessary scientific  research or for 
 research, including  efforts to recover fully protected,
threatened, or endangered species. Before authorizing the take of a
fully protected fish, the department shall make an effort to notify
all affected and interested parties to solicit information and
comments on the proposed authorization. The notification shall be
published in the California Regulatory Notice Register and be made
available to each person who has notified the department, in writing,
of his or her interest in fully protected species and who has
provided an email address, if available, or postal address to the
department. Affected and interested parties shall have 30 days after
notification is published in the California Regulatory Notice
Register to provide relevant information and comments on the proposed
authorization.
   (2) As used in this subdivision, "scientific research" 
and "efforts to recover" do   does  not include an
action taken as part of specified mitigation for a project, as
defined in Section 21065 of the Public Resources Code.
   (3) A legally imported fully protected fish may be possessed under
a permit issued by the department.
   (b) The following are fully protected fish:
   (1) Colorado River squawfish (Ptychocheilus lucius).
   (2) Thicktail chub (Gila crassicauda).
   (3) Mohave chub (Gila mohavensis).
   (4) Lost River sucker (Catostomus luxatus).
   (5) Modoc sucker (Catostomus microps).
   (6) Shortnose sucker (Chasmistes brevirostris).
   (7) Humpback sucker (Xyrauchen texanus).
   (8) Owens River pupfish (Cyprinoden radiosus).
   (9) Unarmored threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus
williamsoni).
   (10) Rough sculpin (Cottus asperrimus).