BILL ANALYSIS
-----------------------------------------------------------------
| |
| SENATE COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES AND WATER |
| Senator Fran Pavley, Chair |
| 2009-2010 Regular Session |
| |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
BILL NO: AB 571 HEARING DATE: July 6, 2009
AUTHOR: Saldana URGENCY: No
VERSION: June 18, 2009 CONSULTANT: Marie Liu
DUAL REFERRAL: No FISCAL: Yes
SUBJECT: Commercial fishing: lobster management enhancement.
BACKGROUND AND EXISTING LAW
Section 8254 of the Fish and Game Code requires that a person
hold a permit for the taking of spiny lobsters for commercial
purposes. The base price for commercial permits costs $265
($333.25 adjusted for inflation) and a crew member permit is
$125 ($157.50 adjusted for inflation). The Department of Fish
and Game (DFG) may limit the number of commercial lobster
permits to prevent overutilization or to ensure efficient and
economic operation of the fishery.
It is illegal under 8253 to pickle, can or otherwise preserve
any spiny lobster except for freezing. Spiny lobsters may be
cooked for consumption in the "fresh state."
PROPOSED LAW
This bill would create the Lobster Management Enhancement
Advisory Committee which would be responsible for distributing
funds generated from a surcharge on commercial lobster permits
to fund projects and programs that support the long-term
sustainability or improved management of the California spiny
lobster fishery. Specifically, this bill would:
Raise the commercial permit fee to $565, commencing April 1,
2010 and sunsetting March 31, 2015. $300 of this increased fee
would be deposited into the Lobster Management Enhancement
Account (LMEA) within the Ocean Protection Trust Fund. Funds
would be continuously appropriated to the Ocean Protection
Council (OPC).
Suggest as potential uses of the LMEA, the obtaining of Marine
Stewardship Council sustainability certification and the
planning and development of a lobster fishery management plan.
Create the Lobster Management Enhancement Advisory Committee
1
(committee) which would consist of the Secretary of the OPC or
his/her designee, the director of DFG or his/her designee, and
three representatives for commercial lobster fishermen. The
three fishermen members must be elected by a majority vote of
valid lobster permit holders. Their term duration also must be
determined by a majority vote. At least two of the three
fishermen members must be members of the California Lobster
and Trap Fishermen's Association.
Require the committee to recommend to the OPC projects and
programs that will support long-term sustainability or
improved management of the lobster fishery.
Require that any expenditure from the LMEA be approved by both
the Secretary of OPC and a majority of the advisory committee.
Require that all five members of the advisory committee be
present for a vote to be valid.
Restrict DFG and OPC overhead to 5% of the account's annual
expenditures.
Require DFG to submit an annual report to the Legislature that
includes the LMEA revenues, the status and actual project
expenditures from the LMEA, and the OPC's rationale for any
expenditures that do not follow the advisory committee's
recommendations.
Allow the LMEA to also receive deposit of grants from the
federal government, private foundations, court settlements,
and donations.
Sunsets the whole article relating to the management of the
commercial lobster fishery on January 1, 2016.
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT
The author sates, "California lobster fishermen are interested
in engaging in and funding projects that would promote the
long-term conservation of the fishery while increasing fishing
profitability. A significant obstacle to doing so is the
fishermen's ability to establish a reliable mechanism for
collecting assessments to fund these projects on their own. To
address this problem, members of the commercial lobster
fishermen's trade group- the California Lobster and Trap
Fishermen's Association- voted in summer 2008 to pursue a new,
legislatively-required stamp on commercial lobster permits,
which would generate a steady source of funds to be used for
programs that support the lobster fishery."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION
None received.
COMMENTS
DFG or the Ocean Protection Council? DFG is charged with the
2
management and regulation of the lobster fishery. The author's
office maintains that there is no intention for this bill to
transfer the regulatory powers of DFG to OPC. While this bill
would have the OPC administer the funds in the LMEA, the bill
requires DFG and OPC to be involved collaboratively in
determining expenditures from LMEA as they are both members of
the advisory committee.
Is it appropriate for the committee to have control over the
expenditure of stamp funds?
This bill would prohibit any expenditure without the approval of
both the Secretary of the OPC and a majority of the advisory
committee members. Presumably it is the author's intent to
guarantee that the OPC follow the committee's recommendations
and advice. However, the committee may wish to consider whether
it is instead more appropriate to achieve this goal through
Legislative oversight and establishing stronger planning
responsibilities for the committee. This bill already requires
OPC to justify its rationale for any expenditures that did not
follow the advisory committee's recommendations (8263(f)(2)).
This information can assist in Legislative oversight efforts to
assure that the LMEA funds are being used appropriately. The
author may wish to consider to adding language that requires the
advisory committee to develop spending priorities for the LMEA
and to require that all LMEA expenditures be consistent with
those priorities to assure a close working relationship between
OPC and the committee. [See amendment 1]
Continuous appropriation and clarification on the use of LMEA
funds: The author estimates that this bill would raise
approximately $65,000 annually. While this is a small amount of
funds, the committee may wish to consider whether continuous
appropriation is appropriate given this is a new program. The
committee may also wish to amend 8262 of this bill to clarify
that the actual uses of the LMEA fund must be to support
long-term sustainability or improved management, not just the
recommended uses of the fund. [See amendment 2]
SUGGESTED AMENDMENTS
AMENDMENT 1
On page 4, delete lines 28-31 inclusively and insert:
(c) The secretary shall only fund projects that are consistent
with the priorities identified in subdivision (b) and are
consistent with this article.
3
On page 4, delete line 3 inclusively and insert:
(b) The committee shall develop a plan prioritizing expenditures
on projects and programs that
On page 4, line 6 and 7, delete "Code. Potential projects
and programs" and insert:
Code which
AMENDMENT 2
On page 3, line 37, delete "Notwithstanding" and delete
line 38-39 inclusively and insert:
The money in the account shall be used exclusively for projects
and
SUPPORT
California Lobster and Trap Fishermen's Association (co-sponsor)
Environmental Defense Fund (co-sponsor)
American Albacore Fishing Association
Avicena Network, Inc.
California Abalone Association, Inc.
California Fisheries Fund
Dana Cove Commercial Fisherman's Association
The Nature Conservancy
Ocean Conservancy
SB Seafood
7 individuals
OPPOSITION
None Received
4