BILL ANALYSIS
SB 904
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 29, 2010
(FOR VOTE ONLY)
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON WATER, PARKS AND WILDLIFE
Jared William Huffman, Chair
SB 904 (Hollingsworth) - As Amended: April 6, 2010
SENATE VOTE : 34-0
SUBJECT : Commercial Hunt Clubs
SUMMARY : Reduces the license fee for commercial hunt clubs
with more than 11 properties. Specifically, this bill :
1)Reduces the license fee for a commercial hunt club with more
than 11 properties from $2,000 to $1,000, making the $1,000
fee applicable to any club with 6 or more properties.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Authorizes the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) to issue a
commercial hunting club license to any person upon submission
of a completed application and payment of a fee as follows:
a) For one property, $200
b) For 2 to 5 properties, $500
c) For 6 to 10 properties, $1,000
d) For 11 or more properties, $2,000
2)Requires the fees for commercial hunt clubs to be adjusted
annually for inflation.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee analysis, reduced annual fee revenue to DFG of $10,000
to $20,000 per year, potentially offset by increased fee
revenues from additional compliance if currently unlicensed
clubs are licensed.
COMMENTS : Prior legislation enacted in 2006 (SB 1200
(Hollingsworth), Chapter 396, Statutes of 2006) authorized
commercial hunt club operators to file a single consolidated
license application for multiple properties and required a
separate fee to be paid for each property. Legislation enacted
in 2009 (AB 1423 (T.Berryhill), Chapter 394, Statutes of 2009)
established a tiered license fee structure, based on the number
of properties covered under each license. AB 1423 also added
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exemptions to the commercial hunting club license requirement,
including exemptions for lands enrolled in conservation
programs, and clubs at which entrance fees are less than $200
per person and whose total receipts are less than $2,000 per
year.
This bill eliminates the top tier which currently requires
payment of a fee of $2,000 for applications covering more than
11 properties, and instead requires payment of a $1,000 fee for
any license application covering 6 or more properties. DFG
estimates there are approximately 10 to 20 licensed commercial
hunt clubs statewide that would be subject to the lower fee.
According to DFG, 73 commercial hunt clubs were licensed in
2009. DFG also estimates there are hundreds of unlicensed hunt
clubs operating in the state that have not complied with the
licensure requirement. DFG has been issuing warnings to clubs
that they need to comply but has not yet taken enforcement
actions against any of the unlicensed clubs.
Arguments in Support : The California Outdoor Heritage Alliance
states that prior legislation created an unintended consequence
by subjecting several hunting clubs to fees amounting to several
thousand dollars. They also contend that the reduction in the
maximum fee is in line with DFG enforcement costs, a contention
DFG disagrees with.
Arguments in Opposition : The Department of Fish and Game
opposes this bill and believes that concerns regarding the
hunting club program were addressed with passage of AB 1423
(T.Berryhill) in 2009. With regard to the fee schedule, DFG
asserts that the fees now in statute are fair, and that single
property owners or lessees are now paying less than they were in
2009. The 2009 fee for a hunt club license was $354 and is $210
in 2010. Larger landowners and lessees are also paying less
than in the past, since they previously had to pay a separate
fee for each property owned or leased for hunting. For example,
under the prior scheme an owner or lessee that owned or leased
12 properties would have been required to pay $4,248, but under
the law as enacted last year that payment is reduced to $2,000.
This bill would result in a loss of revenue to DFG which would
lower the amount of resources available to DFG to enforce the
laws governing the clubs.
Since this committee just last year passed legislation which
lowered commercial hunting club license fees, and since this
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bill would reduce revenues available to DFG for enforcement, at
a time when the department is already facing funding shortfalls,
the committee may wish to consider whether further reduction in
the licensing fees is justified at this time.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Outdoor Heritage Alliance
California Rifle and Pistol Association
California Sportsmen's Lobby
National Rifle Association
Outdoor Sportsmen's Coalition of California
Safari Club International
Opposition
Department of Fish and Game
Analysis Prepared by : Diane Colborn / W., P. & W. / (916)
319-2096