BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 165
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Date of Hearing: July 8, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
SB 165
(Monning) - As Amended April 14, 2015
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|Policy | Public Safety |Vote:|7 - 0 |
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| | Water, Parks and Wildlife | | 15 - 0 |
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill authorizes civil fines for certain natural
resource-related violations in connection with the production or
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cultivation of a controlled substance.
FISCAL EFFECT:
1)Minor absorbable cost to the California Department of Fish and
Wildlife (CDFW) and local law enforcement agencies to impose
the additional civil fines.
2)Unknown additional civil fine revenue. Penalties can range
from $8,000 to $40,000 per violation.
COMMENTS:
1)Background. Current law authorizes civil penalties for
certain natural resource-related law violations which are
committed in connection with the production or cultivation of
a controlled substance either while trespassing on other
public or private land, or committed on land that the person
owns, leases, or otherwise uses or occupies with the consent
of the landowner. The current fine structure, however, is
limited in its reach, as the courts and DFW can only assess a
civil fine in instances where a grower has substantially
diverted a stream or has polluted it with petroleum or other
deleterious substances. These acts are only a small piece of
the many destructive environmental laws that are broken by
illegal marijuana growers.
2)Purpose. According to the author, "In the almost two decades
since California voters passed Proposition 215, the Compassion
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Use Act of 1996, the cultivation of illegal marijuana on
California's public and private lands has exploded. In 2014
alone, the Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) participated
in close to 250 marijuana related missions in which 609,480
marijuana plants were eradicated and 15,839 pounds of
processed marijuana was seized."
"Many of these marijuana grow-sites operate on a commercial
scale, leaving behind devastating impacts on the terrestrial
and aquatic habitats they occupy. A cultivation operation of
1,000 plants can require up to 5,000 gallons of water per day,
causing some growers to routinely divert streams and
tributaries to get enough water. In 2014, DFW found over 135
dams or diversions in rivers and streams, equating to close to
5,000,000 gallons of stolen water. These practices exacerbate
California's already historic drought conditions and severely
affect Coho Salmon runs and other fishery populations."
"Some of these unregulated grow-sites are responsible for the
release of rodenticides, highly toxic insecticides, chemical
fertilizers, fuels, and hundreds of pounds of waste dumped
into the surrounding habitats and watershed systems. Among the
few grow-sites DFW found last year, were habitats with over
340,000 pounds of dumped trash and waste and close to 70
gallons of chemicals and fertilizers like D-Con, Malathion,
CarboFuran, and Miracle Grow. The need for flat, fertilized
land to cultivate cannabis plants has also forced some bad
actors to eliminate native vegetation and destroy forested
habitat, often bulldozing acres of land with no regard for its
ecological impacts. The National Park Service estimates that
the cleanup and reclamation costs of these grow-sites can cost
up to $15,000 per acre, with the average grow-site being 10-20
acres."
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3)Argument in Support: According to the California Fish and
Game Wardens' Association, "In California there has been a
dramatic increase in marijuana cultivation on public and
private lands over the last decade which has created an
unprecedented environmental crisis in California. SB 165 will
expand the existing authority of local law enforcement
agencies and the CDFW to assess civil fines in cases where
marijuana growers dump waste of hazardous substances,
unlawfully take game, remove plants and native vegetation, or
destroy forested habitats. The money from these fines will
support habitat reclamation of the grow sites, which according
to the National Park Service, can cost more than $15,000 an
acre. We recognize the need to increase the penalties that
are assessed to those who destroy California's natural habitat
when they cultivate a controlled substance, such as marijuana,
and CFGWA strongly supports SB 165."
Analysis Prepared by:Pedro R. Reyes / APPR. / (916)
319-2081