BILL ANALYSIS Ó SENATE COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES AND WATER Senator Fran Pavley, Chair 2015 - 2016 Regular Bill No: SB 1081 Hearing Date: March 29, 2016 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Author: |Morrell | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Version: |March 28, 2016 | ----------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes | ----------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Consultant:|Matthew Dumlao | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: Hunting and sport fishing: free and reduced license fees: veterans BACKGROUND AND EXISTING LAW The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) is responsible for managing hunting and sport fishing within the state. Current law requires CDFW to issue hunting licenses to take birds or mammals and a fishing license to take fish, reptiles, or amphibians. In many cases, the license is the minimum level of certification a hunter or angler needs to take an animal. For some birds and mammals, CDFW issues tags to allow hunters to take specific animals from certain areas. Each year, the total number of tags issued by CDFW for each animal as well as the number of tags each licensee is eligible to receive is restricted. Similarly, CDFW requires report cards, stamps, or validations for certain fish and regions. Currently, hunting and sport fishing licenses each cost $47.01 for California residents. Under existing law, certain groups are provided hunting and sport fishing licenses for free or a reduced fee. Reduced fees for sport fishing licenses are provided to low income senior citizens, disabled veterans and recovering service members. A disabled veteran is defined as a person having a 50 percent or greater service-connected disability. Currently, the cost for a reduced-fee hunting or sport fishing license is $6.95. SB 1081 (Morrell) Page 2 of ? Free sport fishing licenses are provided to low income Native Americans as well as to individuals who are blind, developmentally disabled, or mobility impaired. Hunting licenses are provided free-of-charge for mobility impaired individuals. Hunting tags are issued for big game animals, including bear, elk, deer, antelope, bighorn sheep, and wild pigs. Tags are also issued for bobcats. Since demand for big game hunting tags exceeds the number of animals that can be killed sustainably each year, most hunting tags are given out through a drawing. Applying for an animal-specific tag drawing costs between $5.97 and $38.62. The tags themselves cost between $22.42 and $445.35. Furthermore, taking ducks and some upland game birds requires a separate validation ($20.52 and $9.46, respectively). In addition to a sport fishing license, CDFW requires a report card for certain fish including abalone, sturgeon, North Coast salmon, steelhead, and spiny lobster. Report cards range from $6.22 to $22.42. Fishing with a second rod and fishing in certain ocean waters require a validation ($14.61 and $5.14, respectively). PROPOSED LAW For all resident and nonresident honorably discharged veterans, this bill would Establish a flat fee of $5.00 for a hunting or sport fishing license. Reduce the fee by 50 percent for a hunting tag, hunting tag drawing application, validation, sport fishing report card, stamp or other entitlement required in addition to a valid hunting or sport fishing license. For all resident and nonresident disabled veterans or recovering service members, this bill would Provide hunting and sport fishing license free-of-charge. Provide free-of-charge a hunting tag, hunting tag drawing application, validation, sport fishing report card or other entitlement required in addition to a valid hunting license or sport fishing license. In addition, this bill would prohibit raising the fees on all SB 1081 (Morrell) Page 3 of ? other hunters or anglers in order to recover the cost of the benefits provided pursuant to this bill. ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT According to the author, "there are only limited reductions for sport fishing and hunting licenses for the men and women who have devoted their lives to the service of their country." The author went further saying "this will allow those who devoted their lives to the service of our country to more easily participate in fishing and hunting in California." California Sportfishing League, the sponsor of this bill, stated that "this legislation intends to remove barriers to participation for American veterans so that they too can enjoy the great outdoors with their friends and family, especially during a time of physical rehabilitation." According to the California Waterfowl Association, the "high financial cost of hunting and fishing, which includes not only license related fees buts also equipment, travel, and access to land expenses can be a barrier to hunting and fishing participation. SB 1081 would help to address this cost issue for a well-deserving segment of our population." ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION None received. COMMENTS Creates a new category receiving a benefit: Under existing law, groups eligible for reduced fees have either a disability (including disabled veterans and recovering service members) or meet certain low income requirements. This bill would make a new category - honorably discharged veterans - eligible for reduced fees. Fiscal impact of reduced fees: The money collected through license, tags, stamps and other fees go into supporting CDFW's programs. Many of the hunting tags and stamps provide revenue for dedicated accounts. This bill does not provide direction for how to recoup the reduction in revenue. SB 1081 (Morrell) Page 4 of ? According to information provided by CDFW, veterans make up approximately 6.24% of the California population, and if a similar percentage is applied to all hunting and fishing licenses, the loss of revenue to CDFW would be approximately $3 million. Furthermore, approximately 17,500 resident and nonresident disabled veterans currently take advantage of reduced-fee licenses. Making licenses free-of-charge to disabled service members may reduce revenue on the order of $118,000. Recovering service members are a small group (less than 50 individuals since the law went into effect in 2013) and the benefits conferred to them by this bill would likely have very little fiscal impact. These estimates do not include the reductions in fees for hunting tags, fishing report cards, stamps, and other entitlements. The full fiscal impact, therefore, is likely to be higher. Assembly Bill 1844 (Gallagher): AB 1844 is a related bill, but it does not conflict or overlap with SB 1081. While SB 1081 reduces annual fees, AB 1844 reduces fees for lifetime licenses and certain lifetime report cards, validations and other fees. Specifically, AB 1844 would reduce the lifetime fishing license or lifetime hunting license fee by 25 percent for all honorably discharged veterans. The fee for sport fishing report cards, validations, or other entitlements would be reduced for all honorably discharged veterans by 25 percent; for veterans who also have a service-connected disability, the fees would be reduced by 50 percent. Federal Duck Stamp: SB 1081 would not alter the cost of the Federal Duck Stamp, which is administered by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. All hunters who take migratory waterfowl are required to purchase a Federal Duck Stamp, which currently costs $25. The majority of money raised through the Federal Duck Stamp Program goes into buying or leasing wetland habitat on national wildlife refuges. SUGGESTED AMENDMENTS None. SUPPORT California Sportfishing League (Sponsor) SB 1081 (Morrell) Page 5 of ? California Waterfowl Association American Legion - Department of California AMVETS - Department of California California Association of County Veterans Service Officers California State Commanders Veterans Council Military Officers Association of America, California Council of Chapters Vietnam Veterans of America, California State Council OPPOSITION None Received -- END --