BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1423|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1423
Author: Tom Berryhill (R)
Amended: 9/3/09 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE NATURAL RES. & WATER COMMITTEE : 9-0, 7/6/09
AYES: Pavley, Benoit, Hollingsworth, Huff, Kehoe, Padilla,
Simitian, Wiggins, Wolk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Cogdill, Leno
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 12-0, 8/17/09
AYES: Kehoe, Cox, Corbett, Denham, Hancock, Leno, Oropeza,
Price, Runner, Walters, Wolk, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Wyland
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 73-4, 6/2/09 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Commercial hunting clubs: Shared Habitat
Alliance for
Recreational Enhancement
SOURCE : California Outdoor Heritage Alliance
DIGEST : This bill makes several changes to statutes
relating to hunting and fishing. The bill revises several
of the components of the Shared Habitat Alliance for
Recreational Enhancement program, which encourages
recreational access to private lands, and revises the
permitting requirements for commercial hunting clubs,
replacing the existing fee with a new fee schedule.
CONTINUED
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Senate Floor Amendments of 9/3/09 allow governmental
entities to be eligible for Shared Habitat Alliance for
Recreational Enhancement grants, in addition to nonprofit
organizations, limit "field trials" to "hunting dog field
trials" and include several minor, clarifying amendments.
ANALYSIS : Current law requires that every person in
possession or control, including a renter or lessee, of
property where a fee is charged to hunt birds or mammals
must obtain a commercial hunting club license. Exemptions
to this requirement include hunting clubs or programs under
other provisions of the Fish and Game Code; any person who
receives less than $50 per entrant and receives a less than
a total of $500 in fees per year; and any landowner who
rents or leases their land to a hunting club and is not
involved in the operation of the club.
Current law establishes a licensing procedure for clubs
with multiple property leases, the amount of the license
fee which is adjusted for inflation, conditions for
transferring a license, the term of the license, and
license revocation.
The Shared Habitat Alliance for Recreational Enhancement
(SHARE) Program was established in the Fish and Game Code
in 1993. It allows landowners to make their lands
available to the public for hunting, fishing, and
recreational activities in exchange for compensation under
specified conditions.
It is currently unlawful to interfere with lawful hunting
activities. A violation of this section 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 $1,000 for a second violation.
This bill modifies three provisions in the Fish and Game
Code. The bill (1) modifies commercial hunt club licensure
requirements by adding several exemptions and adding a fee
schedule, (2) modifies the Shared Habitat Alliance for
Recreational Enhancement Program, and (3) makes it unlawful
to interfere with a field trial or hunting dog training.
It also makes numerous technical changes.
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1. Commercial Hunting Clubs
This bill proposes a fee schedule for commercial hunting
club license which requires payment of $200 for one
property, $500 for two to five properties, $1,000 for six
to ten properties, and $2,000 for 11 or more properties.
The bill defines property for these purposes as a number
of contiguous parcels held by an owner or combination of
owners and held out for a common purpose.
The bill adds exceptions to the commercial hunting club
license, including exemptions for lands enrolled in
conservation programs, lands covered by an agricultural
or conservation easement, officially sanctioned field dog
trials, and clubs at which entrance fees are less than
$200 per person and whose total receipts is less than
$2,000 per year.
2. SHARE Program
This bill deletes the requirement for the Fish and Game
Commission (FGC) to verify sufficient public interest
before initiating the program. It switches
responsibility from the FGC to the Department of Fish and
Game (DFG) for purposes of adopting regulations and
imposes a reporting requirement on DFG to inform the FGC
on the status of the program. In addition, this bill
modifies the requirement that lands be included in the
program that are not open to hunting for participation in
the nonhunting public, and instead required DFG, to the
extent possible, to include lands that permit multiple
wildlife-dependent recreational activities for
participation of the general public. The bill also
authorizes compensation to landowners of $50 per public
participant per day or the current authorized payment of
$30 per acre.
3. Interference with Hunting
The bill extends the prohibition on interfering with
legal hunting activities to include interfering with
hunting dog field trials and related dog training
activities, extends the definition of "interfering with"
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to include blocking access to lands without authority of
the landowner or lessee, and placing foods on lands as
bait to prevent legal hunting, and increases the penalty
for interfering with lawful hunting activities from an
infraction to a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of not
more than $1,000 or six months in jail.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2009-10 2010-11
2011-12 Fund
SHARE implement- $50 $50
$50 Special*
ation
Enforcement of Minor and
absorbable Special**
hunting laws
Licensing of hunting Unknown potential
revenues Special**
clubs
*Fish and Game Preservation Fund. Potentially offset
with fees and/or
federal funds.
**Fish and Game Preservation Fund.
SUPPORT : (Verified 9/4/09)
California Outdoor Heritage Alliance (source)
California Fish and Game Commission
OPPOSITION : (Verified 9/4/09)
California Animal Association
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT :
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ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill Berryhill,
Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Blumenfield, Buchanan,
Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter, Chesbro, Conway,
Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon, DeVore, Duvall,
Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes,
Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gilmore,
Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber,
Huffman, Jeffries, Knight, Krekorian, Logue, Bonnie
Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Monning, Nestande,
Niello, Nielsen, John A. Perez, V. Manuel Perez,
Portantino, Price, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Silva, Smyth,
Solorio, Audra Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres,
Torrico, Tran, Villines, Yamada, Bass
NOES: Ammiano, Brownley, Lieu, Skinner
NO VOTE RECORDED: Block, Jones, Nava
JJA:cm 9/4/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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