BILL ANALYSIS
SB 1058
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Date of Hearing: August 4, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
SB 1058 (Harman) - As Amended: June 17, 2010
Policy Committee: Water, Parks and
Wildlife Vote: 11-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill establishes the Upland Game Bird Account (UGBA) and
the Big Game Management Account (BGMA) within the Fish and Game
Preservation Fund (FGPF). Specifically, this bill:
1)Establishes two accounts within the FGPF: (a) the UGBA, to
receive all revenue from the sale of upland game bird
validations and stamps; and (b) the BGMA, to receive all
revenue from the sale of antelope, elk, deer, wild pig, bear,
and sheep tags.
2)Makes funds in the UGBA available, upon appropriation of the
Legislature, to the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) for
acquisitions, projects and programs to benefit upland game
bird species and to expand public hunting opportunities.
3)Makes funds in the BGMA available, upon appropriation, to DFG
for acquisitions, projects and programs to benefit antelope,
elk, deer, wild pigs, bear, and sheep and to expand public
hunting opportunities.
4)Establishes two, separate stakeholder advisory committees to
review and comment on planned expenditures from the UGBA and
the BGMA, respectively.
5)Requires DFG to post UGMA and BGMA budget information on its
Web site.
6)Identifies hunting and fishing as particularly desirable uses
among the many uses of wildlife management areas to be
encouraged by the Fish and Game Commission.
SB 1058
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FISCAL EFFECT
1)Minor, absorbable one-time costs to establish UGBPA and BGMA
(FGPF.)
2)Redirection of approximately $8.7 million in nondedicated
funds from the FGPF to the two subaccounts created by this
bill-about $7.2 million to the BGMA and about $1.5 million to
the UGBPA.
3)Minor ongoing costs to DFG, likely less than $50,000 annually,
to administer funds and maintain required fund information on
its Web site. (FGPF.)
COMMENTS
1)Rationale . The author contends this bill allows greater
transparency and oversight to ensure hunting license tag and
stamp funds benefit bird and game species and their habitats.
2)Background .
a) Hunting Regulation and Revenue. Existing law
establishes hunting seasons, bag limits, and other
restrictions on hunting game in California, including the
requirement that hunters obtain a seasonal hunting license.
In addition, hunters may be required to purchase tags to
permit the hunting of specific animals, such as deer, elk,
bear, wild pigs, antelope, bighorn sheep, and upland game
birds. Revenue from the sale of these licenses and tags is
deposited in the FGPF. Some funds in the FGPF are
deposited in "dedicated accounts" and may be used only for
narrow purposes, such as species-specific habitat
restoration.
Other funds in the FGPF are "nondedicated" and may be used
for broader habitat benefit purposes. For example, DFG may
use funds from the sale of bear hunting licenses for
projects that benefit wild pig habitat or that benefit game
habitat overall.
b) History of Concern with Management of Fish and Game
Preservation Fund. In 2005, a state audit of DFG's
administration of the FGPF criticized the department's use
SB 1058
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of those funds to cover deficits in other funds.
Similarly, in 2006, the Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO)
found "inappropriate budgeting practices" in regard to
DFG's management of the FGPF, including inappropriately
shifting money within the FGPF to cover deficits within the
fund and failing to provide key budget information to the
Legislature.
3)Why Hunting and Fishing, in Particular ? "Wildlife management
areas" are lands managed by DFG to protect and enhance habitat
for wildlife and to provide for wildlife-related public uses.
Existing statute declares the desirability of "multiple
recreational use" of the state's wildlife management areas and
calls on the Fish and Game Commission to encourage that use.
This bill would modify existing statute in a way that elevates
the desirability of hunting and fishing in wildlife management
areas above other uses of those areas. It is unclear what
purpose is served by this subtle, yet significant, change in
state policy concerning management of the state's wildlife
management areas. Nor is it clear that a bill that concerns
DFG's accounting procedures is the appropriate vehicle for
such a policy change. The committee may wish to amend the
bill so that it does not promote hunting and fishing over the
other, coequal uses of wildlife management areas.
4)Related Legislation.
a) SB 589 (Harman, 2009 ), similar to this bill, passed the
Assembly 73-0 and was vetoed by the governor.
b) SB 1535 (Kuehl, Chapter 667, Statutes of 2006) adopted a
number of recommendations made by the LAO in its review of
DFG's management of the FGPF, including requiring the
Secretary for Resources to annually report on the fund
conditions accounts of the FGPF as part of the annual
budget process.
Analysis Prepared by : Jay Dickenson / APPR. / (916) 319-2081