BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1423
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 1423 (Tom Berryhill)
As Amended May 5, 2009
Majority vote
WATER, PARKS & WILDLIFE 12-0
APPROPRIATIONS 15-0
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|Ayes:|Huffman, Fuller, |Ayes:|De Leon, Nielsen, Charles |
| |Anderson, Arambula, Tom | |Calderon, Davis, Duvall, |
| |Berryhill, Blumenfield, | |Fuentes, Hall, Harkey, |
| |Caballero, Fletcher, | |Miller, John A. Perez, |
| |Bonnie Lowenthal, John A. | |Price, Skinner, Solorio, |
| |Perez, Salas, Yamada | |Audra Strickland, |
| | | |Torlakson |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Modifies commercial hunting club licensure
requirements by adding several exemptions and adding a fee
schedule; modifies and requires implementation of the Shared
Habitat Alliance for Recreational Enhancement Program (SHARE
Program); and makes it unlawful to interfere with a field trial
or hunting dog training. Specifically, this bill :
1)Exempts from the requirement to obtain a commercial hunting
club license all of the following: property used for an
officially sanctioned field trial, property used in
conjunction with the SHARE Program, property licensed as a
game bird hunting club, property licensed as a migratory game
bird shooting area, property used in conjunction with the
private wildlife habitat enhancement and management program,
property subject to a state, federal or nonprofit wildlife
conservation or agricultural easement, private property
enrolled in a waterfowl habitat protection or enhancement
program, and any person who receives less than $100 per person
and less than $1,000 total per year in fees for hunting on the
property.
2)Establishes a fee schedule for commercial hunting club
licenses as follows: $200 for one property; $500 for two to
five properties; $1,000 for six to 10 properties; and, $2,000
for 11 or more properties. Defines property for these
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purposes as a number of contiguous parcels held by an owner or
combination of owners and held out for a common purpose.
3)Requires the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) to implement
the SHARE Program, to adopt regulations and to report to the
Fish and Game Commission (FGC) annually on the SHARE Program.
4)Authorizes DFG to use existing hunting and fishing license
stamps or tag fees from the Fish and Game Preservation Fund
(FGPF) to fund the SHARE Program.
5)Requires that all funding generated from grants, federal
funds, or other sources, where the person or entity providing
the funds specifically designates that the funds are intended
for purposes of the SHARE Program, and any user fees assessed
by DFG specifically for the Share Program, to be deposited in
the SHARE Account.
6)Modifies the existing requirement that lands be included in
the SHARE Program that are not open to hunting for
participation of the nonhunting public, and instead requires
DFG, to the extent possible, to include lands that permit
multiple wildlife-dependent recreational activities for
participation of the general public.
7)Expands the prohibition on interfering with legal hunting
activities to include interfering with field trials and
related dog training activities, blocking access to lands
without authority of the landowner or lessee, and placing food
on lands as bait to prevent legal hunting.
8)Provides that a person who violates the prohibition against
interference with lawful hunting activities shall be guilty of
either an infraction, punishable by a fine of not less than
$100 or more than $1,000, or of a misdemeanor.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires persons in control of property for which a fee is
collected for the privilege of hunting on the property to
obtain a commercial hunting club license. Exempts from this
requirement a hunting club licensed under another code
section, a landowner who rents or leases property to a
licensed hunt club who is not involved in operation of the
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club, and any person who receives less than $50 per person and
less than $500 total per year in fees for hunting on the
property.
2)Allows a commercial hunting club that leases more than one
property for hunting to submit one application listing each
property, and requires DFG to assess a separate license fee
for each property, at a base fee of $165.
3)Requires DFG to work cooperatively with nonprofit conservation
and other interested nongovernmental organizations to plan and
develop a program, known as the SHARE Program, to facilitate
public access to private property for wildlife-dependant
recreational activities, including hunting, fishing, wildlife
observation, conservation education and related outdoor
activities. Requires the FGC to verify that sufficient
private landowner and participant interest has been shown to
support the program.
4)Authorizes DFG, as part of the SHARE Program, to enter
voluntary agreements with private landowners that provide for
compensation to the landowner for public use of the land, not
to exceed $30 per acre, or to facilitate public access to
adjacent public land. Requires DFG to give greatest priority
to lands with the greatest wildlife habitat value, and to
include in the SHARE Program private lands on which hunting is
not allowed for participation of the nonhunting public.
5)Establishes the SHARE Account and requires the Department of
Finance to verify sufficient funds are in the account to start
the program. Requires the FGC to adopt regulations and fees
to cover costs of implementation and management of the SHARE
Program. Authorizes DFG to impose user fees or to apply for
grants, federal funds, or other nongovernmental sources to
fund the SHARE Program.
6)Prohibits any General Fund monies from being used for the
SHARE Program, and requires appropriation by the Legislature
before any other moneys are made available for the program.
7)Makes it unlawful to interfere with lawful hunting activities.
A violation of this prohibition is an infraction, punishable
by a fine of not less than $100 and not more than $500 for a
first violation, and not less than $100 and not more than
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$1,000 for a second violation.
FISCAL EFFECT : Ongoing annual costs of approximately $50,000 to
DFG to manage the SHARE Program, potential annual revenue
increase from enhanced enforcement and fees possibly in the tens
of thousands of dollars, and unknown likely minor increase in
nonreimburseable costs for increased local incarceration, offset
to a degree by increased fine revenue.
COMMENTS : The purpose of this bill is to clarify existing law
pertaining to commercial hunting club licensure requirements and
establish a new license fee structure, to update existing law
relating to the SHARE Program, and to expand penalties for
interfering with lawful hunting activities.
With regard to the SHARE Program, background information
provided by the author notes that as a result of the passage of
the 2008 Federal Farm Bill, California is eligible to compete
for millions of dollars of federal funds under the Open Fields
program for voluntary state run programs that provide incentives
to private landowners to allow public access for
wildlife-dependent activities on their lands. The SHARE Program
has had limited implementation in California due to a lack of
funding in the past. This bill also makes a number of changes
to the SHARE Program, including allowing state FGPF revenues to
be used for support of the program.
This bill expands existing law which makes it unlawful to
interfere with legal hunting activities by including within the
prohibition such activities as interference with field trials
and hunting dog training activities, blocking access to property
without authority of the landowner, and putting out bait to
prevent legal hunting from occurring. This bill also increases
the potential penalty for such a violation from an infraction to
either an infraction or a misdemeanor, and increases the maximum
authorized penalty.
Supporters note that this bill will address unexpected impacts
of SB 1200 (Hollingsworth), Chapter 396 of 2006, which
inadvertently raised the cost of operating many commercial hunt
clubs, will help California compete for federal funds under the
2008 Farm Bill, and will strengthen penalties for interfering
with lawful hunting activities in response to recent cases of
hunter harassment.
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Opponents believe this bill weakens requirements for obtaining
commercial hunting licenses and will reduce fee revenue to DFG.
Analysis Prepared by : Diane Colborn / W., P. & W. / (916)
319-2096
FN: 0000910