BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 345|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 345
Author: Berryhill (R), et al.
Amended: 6/2/15
Vote: 21
SENATE NATURAL RES. & WATER COMMITTEE: 8-0, 4/28/15
AYES: Pavley, Stone, Allen, Hertzberg, Hueso, Jackson,
Monning, Wolk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Vidak
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 5-0, 5/28/15
AYES: Lara, Beall, Hill, Leyva, Mendoza
NO VOTE RECORDED: Bates, Nielsen
SUBJECT: The Sport Fishing Stimulus Act of 2015 The Sport
Fishing Stimulus Act of 2015.
SOURCE: California Sportfishing League
DIGEST: This bill exempts charitable organizations and donor
intermediaries from the possession limit for fish taken under a
sports fishing license; introduces a "junior sport fishing
license" at a reduced rate to any resident or non-resident that
is either 16 or 17 years of age at the time of purchase; and
directs the Fish and Game Commission (FGC) to develop
regulations clarifying violations of the possession limit for
processed seafood.
ANALYSIS:
SB 345
Page 2
Existing law:
1)Requires, under Fish and Game Code Section 7145, a sport
fishing license for any person, over the age of 16, attempting
to take fish, mollusks, crustaceans, invertebrates,
amphibians, or reptiles in inland or ocean waters. Additional
validations and report cards are required for certain species
and areas. These licenses are valid from January 1st until
December 31st of a calendar year. In addition, California
offers one-day fishing licenses and two-day fishing licenses
(half the fee of an annual license) to residents and
non-residents, as well as a 10-day non-resident fishing
license that is priced equivalently to the annual resident
fishing license.
2)Authorizes the Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) and FGC
to set sport fishing license, stamp, permit, and tag fees, and
to increase these fees annually in accordance with the costs
of implementing these programs (Fish and Game Code Sections
713 and 7149, specifically).
3)Defines, under Fish and Game Code Sections 2001 and 12013,
violations of bag and possession limits and sets appropriate
fees for these violations. Allows for the transfer of a fish
by a person within the bag and possession limits to another
individual, provided that both individuals remain within these
limits.
4)Prohibits the possession of "more than one daily bag limit of
each kind of fish, amphibian, reptile, mollusk or crustacean
named in these regulations? regardless of whether they are
fresh, frozen, or otherwise preserved." (Title 14 of the
California Code of Regulations)
This bill:
1)Exempts charitable organizations and donor intermediaries from
the possession limit for fish taken under a sports fishing
license, as long as those organizations or individuals have a
record of who lawfully caught and donated the fish.
2)Introduces a "junior sport fishing license" at a reduced rate
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to any resident or non-resident that is either 16 or 17 years
of age at the time of purchase. This license is good for the
full calendar year in which purchased, regardless of the
purchaser's birth date, as long as the purchaser is less
than18 years old at time of purchase.
3)Directs FGC to develop regulations clarifying when fish that
has been lawfully taken and then processed (e.g., filleted,
frozen, smoked) no longer violates the possession limit.
Comments
Does this bill accomplish its stated goal? This bill, referring
to itself as the Sport Fishing Stimulus Act of 2015, states that
it is time to "invest in [the] future of California's fisheries
and fishing communities." Towards that end, it seeks to
encourage more individuals to get involved in sport fishing in
California by creating a junior fishing license, allowing
younger fishers to purchase licenses at a reduced cost.
Creation of the Junior Sport Fishing license. Based off
information from the Automated Licensing Data System, DFW
estimates that approximately 22,000 16- and 17- year olds
purchase residential licenses and 100 non-residential licenses.
Given the 2015 fees are $47.01 and $126.36, respectively, but
would be lowered to $15.12, the current cost for a day-use
license, under this bill, DFW estimates that there will be a
loss of approximately $660,000 in revenues annually. Senate
Appropriations Committee staff notes that the intent of the
author is to stimulate license purchases of youth who have the
potential to become life-long participants in the sport. To the
extent that this bill spurs additional interest in sports
fishing, the increased sales could offset the revenue losses
from the reduced fee. However, whether there will be a change in
license sales is uncertain. Staff also notes that the number of
fishing licenses sold each year has been on a steady decline.
Impacts of changes made by this bill will be additive to any
other trends in sport fishing participation.
Is the junior sport fishing license equivalent to the junior
hunting license? Currently, all hunters, regardless of age, are
required to purchase a hunting license. AB 1709 (Frazier,
Chapter 456, Statutes of 2014) raised the age limit for the
junior hunting license from 16 to 18. However, all hunters under
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18 are required to have this license. Currently, sport fishers
under the age of 16 are not required to have a fishing license.
As many individuals begin fishing at a very young age, it is
unclear if providing a junior fishing licenses for sport fishers
between the ages of 16 and 18 will result in more individuals
sport fishing.
Is the non-profit exemption a solution in search of a problem?
Under this bill, non-profits and donor intermediaries will be
exempted from the possession limit for fish species, as long as
they have documentation of when they received the fish, as well
as the licensing information of the individual who collected the
fish and any appropriate tags. This language is nearly identical
to SB 392 (Berryhill, Chapter 346, Statutes of 2013). Currently,
DFW is unaware of any occurrences where not having this
exemption in place has proven to be an issue in recent years, or
of not-profits getting fined for being in violation of the
possession limit. However, this bill prevents such an occurrence
from happening in the future, as well as provide guidance to any
non-profit interesting in acquiring a large donation of fish.
Per DFW, once a fisherman has collected their daily limit, they
may not continue to fish for that species on that day,
regardless of if they have or plan to donate the additional
fish.
Exemptions for processed fish. If an individual collects up to
the possession limit, then processes and freezes these fish but
does not eat them, they continue to count against the possession
limit until they are eaten. Currently, these fish could count
against the possession limit indefinitely. This bill recommends
that FGC clarify when processed fish could be exempted from the
possession limit.
Prior Legislation
SB 345 contains language similar to AB 1709 (Frazier, 2014),
which changed the transition age from junior hunting licenses to
full price hunting licenses from 16 to 18, as well as SB 392
(Berryhill, 2013), which allowed charitable organizations and
donor intermediaries to possess game birds and mammals in excess
of the possession limit, provided they had documentation showing
these animals were legally caught and transferred to the
organization.
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FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
According to the Appropriations Committee, this bill will have
one-time costs of less than $150,000 from the Fish and Game
Preservation Fund (special fund), likely in FY 2016-17, for
programming costs of the Automated Licensing Data System. These
costs may be offset by increased license fees. In addition, they
estimate annual revenue reductions of approximately $660,000 to
the Fish and Game Preservation Fund as a result of lower fishing
license fees for 16- and 17- year olds.
SUPPORT: (Verified5/29/15)
California Sportfishing League (source)
California Aquaculture Association
California Association for Recreational Fishing
California Association of Boutique & Breakfast Inns
California Chamber of Commerce
California Hotel & Lodging Association
California Parks Company
California Parks Hospitality Association
California Travel Association
Coastal Conservation Association
National Marine Manufacturers Association
Turner's Outdoorsman
Visit Huntington Beach
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OPPOSITION: (Verified5/29/15)
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the author, this bill
encourages more individuals to become sport fishers by
establishing a junior fishing license. They state that
"recognizing that cost is a barrier for young hunters, the
California State Legislature adopted a junior hunting license in
2014. The same consideration now should be given to young
anglers." The authors also state the need to exempt "bona fide
charitable organizations from possession or out-of-season
limits" as "angler clubs support various charitable causes that
include, but are not limited to, environmental and habitat
restoration, youth, veterans, education and those with
disabilities. This bill would allow bona fide charitable
organizations to use fish donated by recreational anglers at
their functions without fear of being above possession or
out-of-season limits."
Prepared by:Angee Doerr / N.R. & W. / (916) 651-4116
6/2/15 21:43:03
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