BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    




                   Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
                           Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair

                                           2063 (Huffman)
          
          Hearing Date:  07/15/2010           Amended: 06/14/2010
          Consultant:  Brendan McCarthy   Policy Vote: NR&W 5-2, GO 7-0
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          BILL SUMMARY: AB 2063 proclaims the goal of restoring Chinook  
          and Coho salmon populations to sustainable levels within ten  
          years. The bill also designates the Chinook salmon as the  
          official state anadromous fish.
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                            Fiscal Impact (in thousands)

           Major Provisions         2010-11      2011-12       2012-13     Fund
           
          Restoring salmon       Unknown costs, likely in the tens or Bond  
          * /
             populations            hundreds of millions over the  
          nextGeneral
                                    ten years                     

          * Proposition 84.
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          STAFF COMMENTS: This bill meets the criteria for referral to the  
          Suspense File.
          
          Salmon are anadromous fish, which means that they breed in fresh  
          waters but spend most of their lives in the ocean. Salmon  
          species are divided into separate "runs" depending on what time  
          of the year the population returns to inland waters to breed.

          In recent years, all runs of salmon have been in decline. For  
          example, the Central Valley Chinook fall run population has  
          declined by 95 percent over the last decade. Contributing  
          factors on the decline of salmon populations include loss of  
          breeding habitat, changes to flows within the Sacramento-San  
          Joaquin Delta, and changing ocean conditions. Due to the decline  
          of Central Valley Chinook populations, the commercial fishing  
          season was cancelled in both 2008 and 2009. In addition, two of  
          the four Central Valley Chinook runs have been listed under the  










          state and federal Endangered Species Acts.

          AB 2063 makes various findings and declarations regarding  
          Chinook salmon. 

          The bill proclaims a state goal of restoring Chinook and Coho  
          salmon populations to sustainable levels within a decade. The  
          bill states legislative intent that the Department of Fish and  
          Game to use the best available science for the restoration  
          effort.

          The bill also designates the Chinook salmon as the state's  
          official anadromous fish.

          The Department of Fish and Game indicates that it is not  
          feasible to restore salmon populations in such a short timeline.  
          Even given longer timelines, restoring salmon populations to  
          sustainable levels would potentially cost billions of dollars  
          over the coming decades.