BILL ANALYSIS
SB 778
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 16, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON WATER, PARKS AND WILDLIFE
Jared William Huffman, Chair
SB 778 (Wiggins) - As Amended: April 2, 2009
SENATE VOTE : 30-4
SUBJECT : Commercial Fishing: Salmon Stamp
SUMMARY : Increases the price for purchase of a commercial
salmon stamp to $350. Specifically, this bill :
1)Increases the fee for purchase of a commercial salmon stamp to
$350.
2)States Legislative findings and declarations regarding the
decline of California's salmon fishery, the resulting ban on
ocean salmon fishing in 2007 and 2008, and the willingness of
commercial fishing interests to contribute to restoration
efforts.
3)States the Legislature's intent to request the Department of
Fish and Game (DFG) to provide an accounting for funds
generated from salmon stamps, to increase the price of the
stamps, and to ensure that the funding goes directly to
priority projects in a timely manner.
4)Deletes reference to an obsolete code section and makes other
technical changes.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Prohibits any person from taking salmon for commercial
purposes, or from being on board a vessel on which salmon are
taken for commercial purposes unless that person has a
commercial fishing salmon stamp affixed to their commercial
fishing license.
2)Requires DFG to issue a commercial fishing salmon stamp for a
payment of $85, except in years preceded by a season in which
commercial troll salmon landings were 3 million pounds or
more, in which case the stamp fee is increased by $12.50 for
every 250,000 pounds over 3 million pounds, not to exceed
$260.
SB 778
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3)Requires funds from the sale of commercial salmon stamps to be
deposited in the Commercial Salmon Stamp Account in the Fish
and Game Preservation Fund (FGPF). Monies in the fund are
continuously appropriated to DFG for salmon restoration and
enhancement programs to increase ocean salmon landings, and
for other related purposes.
4)Requires establishment of a Commercial Salmon Trollers
Advisory Committee, consisting of six members, to recommend
programs and a budget for expenditures from the account to
DFG. Requires DFG to make recommendations regarding these
items in the Governor's Budget and submit an annual report to
the Legislature. Prohibits DFG from recommending funding for
any program not contained in the committee's recommendations.
5)Provides that the commercial salmon stamp requirements and the
advisory committee shall sunset on January 1, 2012.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.
COMMENTS : The author indicates the purpose of this bill is to
continue the history of voluntary taxation among commercial
fishermen to pay for increasing freshwater production of young
salmon. Because of the salmon crisis, fishermen have
volunteered to raise the costs of a salmon permit to $350. This
bill also seeks to ensure that the funding is spent on priority
projects in a timely manner. The author notes that there is
growing concern among commercial salmon fishermen about where
the funding from salmon stamps is being spent. This bill is
intended to provide more transparency and accounting of these
funds, strengthen oversight of the program, and increase the
cost of the stamp to enhance restoration at a time of alarming
fishery decline.
The Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Association in 1978
sponsored the bill which created the Commercial Salmon Trollers
Enhancement and Restoration Program, and required the purchase
of the salmon stamp. The Association states that the stamp
program has been invaluable for California's salmon fishery by
funding hatchery programs and habitat restoration, and by
leveraging other funds for salmon restoration. The Association
notes that this bill addresses the need for an accounting of the
stamp funds by DFG, and replaces the current sliding scale based
SB 778
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on prior landings with a flat fee of $350.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Association
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Diane Colborn / W., P. & W. / (916)
319-2096