BILL NUMBER: AB 2001	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  JUNE 27, 2016
	AMENDED IN SENATE  JUNE 16, 2016
	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, and to add Section 2089.7 to, the
Fish and Game Code, relating to fish.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2001, as amended, Mathis. Fully protected fish: Owens 
River  pupfish: California State Safe Harbor Agreement
Program Act.
   Existing law prohibits the taking or possession of a fully
protected fish, except as provided, and designates the Owens 
River  pupfish as a fully protected fish. 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.
   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 authorize the department to permit the taking of
the Owens  River  pupfish 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 the Owens
 River  pupfish in the Owens River and Mojave River
watersheds if the take is authorized under an agreement pursuant to
this article.
  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, 2081.7, 2089.7, or 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, 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" 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).