BILL ANALYSIS
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 979
Author: Tom Berryhill (R)
Amended: 7/14/09 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE NATURAL RES. & WATER COMMITTEE : 8-0, 7/6/09
AYES: Pavley, Benoit, Hollingsworth, Huff, Kehoe, Padilla,
Wiggins, Wolk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Cogdill, Leno, Simitian
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 56-12, 06/02/09 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Hunting or fishing: local regulation
SOURCE : California Outdoor Heritage Association
DIGEST : This bill provides that the state fully occupies
the field of hunting and fishing. The bill prohibits a
city or county from adopting an ordinance or regulation
that affects the taking of fish and game, unless the
ordinance or regulation is both necessary for public health
and safety and has only an incidental impact on the field
of hunting and fishing preempted by state law. The bill
also provides that unless otherwise authorized by the Fish
and Game Code or other state or federal law, the Fish and
Game Commission and the Department of Fish and Game are the
only entities that may adopt or promulgate regulations
regarding the taking of fish and game on any lands or
CONTINUED
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waters within the state, except as specified. The bill
exempts from its provisions local ordinances and
regulations that regulate trapping.
ANALYSIS : The state constitution authorizes the
Legislature to delegate to the Fish and Game Commission
(Commission) the power to protect and propagate fish and
game. The Legislature delegated this responsibility to the
Commission which must act in accordance with state fish and
game laws. The constitution also guarantees the right to
fish on public lands and waters of the state and prohibits
laws to impede access to these lands for the purpose of
fishing.
The constitution confers on local governments the authority
to make and enforce, within their jurisdictions, ordinances
to provide police, sanitary, and other public welfare
protections that do not conflict with general law.
Comments
This bill is substantially similar to AB 815 (Berryhill) of
2008 that received a generic veto. That bill contained an
exemption from the state preemption of hunting and fishing
that would have allowed local ordinances that regulate
trapping. The Committee may wish to add that amendment to
the bill.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/19/09)
California Outdoor Heritage Association (source)
California Fish and Game Wardens' Association
San Diego County Wildlife Federation
California Fish and Game Commission
Foundation for North American Wild Sheep
Suisun Resource Conservation District
Golden Gate Chapter, Safari Club International
Outdoor Sportsmen's Lobby
The Mule Deer Foundation
California Council of Lands Trusts
California Waterfowl Association
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OPPOSITION : (Verified 8/19/09)
Animal Switchboard
California Federation for Animal Legislation
San Francisco Rescued Orphan Mammal Program
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The supporters of this bill,
mainly associations of hunters, argue that the law on this
topic is found mainly in the constitution, court opinions,
and formal opinions of the California Attorney General, and
as such, are not as easily accessible to the public as are
codified statutes. A major interest of the sponsors is
providing what they consider to be established law in a
more accessible form to the public. Additionally, the
supporters point to sporadic attempts by local government
to regulate fish and game matters that are adopted, in
part, as a reaction to a local issue, and in part, because
there is no definitive statutory language on this topic
that demonstrates that the state has pre-empted the
regulation of wildlife. According to the author's office
and the supporters, the benefit of this proposed law is to
avoid piecemeal regulation of hunting and fishing, and to
maintain this regulatory authority at the Department of
Fish and Game and the California Fish and Game Commission.
The supporters believe that a uniform process for setting
fish and game regulations will ensure better management
decisions for public trust resources.
The California Council of Land Trusts adds that the bill
balances state control over wildlife regulation while
simultaneously protecting the rights of private landowners,
nonprofits, and others to regulate public access and public
use on their lands.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : The San Francisco Rescued
Orphan Mammal Program opposes the bill for several reasons:
It does not accept the view that this bill re-states
existing constitutional, case-law, and opinions of the
Attorney General. Instead, it believes that this bill
changes the status quo by prohibiting local ordinances. It
believes that local governments should retain the right to
enact ordinances that are more restrictive than state law.
It also disagrees with the accuracy of some of the bill's
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findings and declarations such as the finding touting the
overall safety record of recreational hunting.
The opposition also argues that the bill effects existing
provisions in state law that gives local governments some
authority in setting hunting seasons. One such example is
a provision that allows boards of supervisors to veto
proposed antlerless (young) deer hunting seasons in a given
county. This is an existing provision of state law that
staff observes seems to be recognized by the bill, if
implemented into law. (See Section 1021 (c) (1)).
The opposition's major point is that local ordinances,
regardless of whether they are authorized by state law,
should be permissible. Staff observes that the bill does
allow local ordinances for public safety purposes that have
little effect on the regulation of hunting.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR:
AYES: Adams, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill Berryhill,
Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Charles Calderon, Carter,
Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon,
DeVore, Duvall, Emmerson, Fletcher, Fuentes, Fuller,
Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gilmore, Hagman,
Hall, Harkey, Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman, Jeffries,
Knight, Krekorian, Logue, Mendoza, Miller, Monning,
Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, John A. Perez, Portantino,
Salas, Silva, Smyth, Solorio, Audra Strickland,
Torlakson, Torrico, Tran, Villines, Bass
NOES: Ammiano, Blumenfield, Brownley, Feuer, Hayashi,
Lieu, Ma, Nava, V. Manuel Perez, Ruskin, Skinner, Swanson
NO VOTE RECORDED: Block, Buchanan, Caballero, Eng, Evans,
Fong, Jones, Bonnie Lowenthal, Price, Saldana, Torres,
Yamada
DLW:do 8/19/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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