BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 345| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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 SB 345 Page 3 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 SB 345 Page 4 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. SB 345 Page 5 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 SB 345 Page 6 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 **** END ****