BILL NUMBER: SB 1093 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 20, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 2, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JULY 1, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 21, 2010
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 19, 2010
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 5, 2010
INTRODUCED BY Senator Wiggins
FEBRUARY 17, 2010
An act to amend Sections 8276.2 and 8276.4 of, and to add Section
8276.5 to, the Fish and Game Code, relating to fish and game, and
making an appropriation therefor.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1093, as amended, Wiggins. Dungeness crab: pilot program.
(1) Existing law establishes the Ocean Protection Council and
requires the council to, among other things, coordinate activities of
state agencies that are related to the protection and conservation
of coastal waters and ocean ecosystems to improve the effectiveness
of state efforts to protect ocean resources within existing fiscal
limitations.
Existing law requires the council to make a grant, upon
appropriation of funding by the Legislature, for the development and
administration of a Dungeness crab task force, and specifies the
membership of the task force. Existing law requires the task force to
cease to exist on January 1, 2011.
This bill would extend that date to January 1, 2015.
(2) Existing law establishes the Dungeness crab
seasons for commercial purposes. Existing law authorizes the
Director of Fish and Game to authorize one or more operators of
commercial fishing vessels to take and land a limited number of
Dungeness crab in November of each year for the purpose of
quality testing according to a testing program and prohibits the sale
of crab taken pursuant to the testing program, except for edible
crab meat, which may be used for charitable purposes.
This bill would instead allow the crab taken pursuant to the
testing program to be sold after the opening of the Dungeness
crab season in specified districts , provided the proceeds of
the sale are allocated to legitimate costs of the testing program, or
used for charitable purposes.
(3) Existing law, until January 1, 2011, authorizes the placement
of restrictions on a person's eligibility to take crab in state
waters and offshore for commercial purposes.
This bill would delete the sunset date for this authority, and
would authorize the director to institute ,
in consultation with the task force, to develop a pilot program
for Dungeness crab trap limits for all California permits. The bill
would require the pilot program to contain specified requirements
, and prohibit the pilot program from being implemented,
modified, eliminated, or added to without at least
2/3 of the non ex officio members of the
Dungeness crab task force voting in favor ,
unless the director makes a specified finding. The bill would
require the director to submit the proposed program to the task force
for review and recommendations before implementing the program
. The bill would authorize the director to implement the
program, except as specified, if the director makes a prescribed
finding. The bill would require the director to submit a report that
includes the finding and the provisions of the final program to the
task force and to certain legislative committees. The bill would
authorize the task force to recommend the delay of the implementation
of the program by up to 18 months, under prescribed circumstances.
The bill would establish a corresponding procedure for modifications
to the implemented program .
(4) Existing law requires all money collected under the Fish and
Game Code, or under any other law relating to the protection and
preservation of birds, mammals, fish, reptiles, or amphibians, to be
deposited into the Fish and Game Preservation Fund, unless otherwise
provided.
The bill would require trap tag fees collected pursuant to the
pilot program to be deposited in the Dungeness Crab Account of the
Fish and Game Preservation Fund, created by this bill, and moneys in
the account would be continuously appropriated to the department for
purposes of administering the pilot program. The bill would authorize
the department to borrow money from the General Fund
council for purposes of meeting the necessary
expenses of initial organization and operation of the pilot program.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: yes. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 8276.2 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to
read:
8276.2. (a) The director may order a delay in the opening of the
Dungeness crab fishery after December 1 in Districts 6, 7, 8, and 9
in any year. The delay in the opening shall not be later than January
15 of any year.
(b) On or about November 1 of each year, the director may
authorize one or more operators of commercial fishing vessels to take
and land a limited number of Dungeness crab for the purpose of
quality testing according to a testing program conducted by, or on
behalf of, the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission or an
entity approved by the department. The department shall not approve a
testing program unless it is funded by the entity authorized to
conduct the testing program. Crab taken pursuant to this section may
be sold after the opening of the Dungeness crab season in
Districts 6, 7, 8, and 9 , provided the proceeds of the sale
are allocated to legitimate costs of the testing program as
determined by the director, or used for charitable purposes.
(c) The director shall order the opening of the Dungeness crab
season in Districts 6, 7, 8, and 9 on December 1 if the quality tests
authorized in subdivision (b) indicate the Dungeness crabs are not
soft-shelled or low quality. The entity authorized to conduct the
approved testing program may test, or cause to be tested, crabs taken
for quality and soft shells pursuant to the approved testing
program. If the tests are conducted on or about November 1 and result
in a finding that Dungeness crabs are soft-shelled or low quality,
the director shall authorize a second test to be conducted on or
about November 15 pursuant to the approved testing program. If the
second test results in a finding that Dungeness crabs are
soft-shelled or low quality, the director may order the season
opening delayed for a period of 15 days and may authorize a third
test to be conducted on or about December 1. If the third test
results in a finding that Dungeness crabs remain soft-shelled or of
low quality, the director may order the season opening delayed for a
period of an additional 15 days and authorize a fourth test to be
conducted. This procedure may continue to be followed, except that no
tests shall be conducted after January 1 for that season, and the
season opening shall not be delayed by the director later than
January 15.
(d) This section shall become inoperative on April 1, 2012, and,
as of January 1, 2013, is repealed, unless a later enacted statute
that is enacted before January 1, 2013, deletes or extends the dates
on which it becomes inoperative and is repealed.
SEC. 2. Section 8276.4 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to
read:
8276.4. (a) The Ocean Protection Council shall make a grant, upon
appropriation of funding by the Legislature, for the development and
administration of a Dungeness crab task force. The membership of the
Dungeness crab task force shall be comprised of all of the
following:
(1) Two members representing sport fishing interests.
(2) Two members representing crab processing interests.
(3) One member representing commercial passenger fishing vessel
interests.
(4) Two ex officio members representing nongovernmental
organization interests.
(5) One ex officio representative of Sea Grant.
(6) Two ex officio members representing the department.
(7) Seventeen members representing commercial fishery interests,
elected by licensed persons possessing valid Dungeness crab permits
in their respective ports and production levels, as follows:
(A) Four members from Crescent City.
(B) One member from Trinidad.
(C) Two members from Eureka.
(D) Two members from Fort Bragg.
(E) Two members from Bodega Bay.
(F) Two members from San Francisco.
(G) Two members from Half Moon Bay.
(H) One member from ports south of Half Moon Bay.
(I) One member who has a valid California nonresident crab permit.
(b) For ports with more than one representative, elected members
and their alternates shall represent both the upper and lower, and in
some cases middle, production levels. Production levels shall be
based on the average landing during the previous five years, of valid
crab permitholders who landed a minimum of 25,000 pounds of crab
during the same period.
(c) The Dungeness crab task force shall do all of the following:
(1) Under the guidance of a professional facilitator hired by the
Ocean Protection Council for this purpose, review and evaluate
Dungeness crab management measures with the objective of making
recommendations to the Joint Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture,
the department, and the commission no later than January 15, 2010.
(2) Make recommendations, including, but not limited to, the need
for a permanent Dungeness crab advisory committee, refining sport and
commercial Dungeness crab management, establishing a Dungeness crab
marketing commission, and the need for statutory changes to
accomplish task force objectives.
(3) In considering Dungeness crab management options, prioritize
the review of pot limit restriction options, harvest allocation,
current and future sport and commercial fishery effort, season
modifications, essential fishery information needs, and short- and
long-term objectives for improved management.
(d) The task force may establish subcommittees of specific user
groups from the task force membership to focus on issues specific to
sport fishing, commercial harvest, or crab processing. The
subcommittees shall report their recommendations, if any, to the task
force.
(e) The Ocean Protection Council may include in a grant funding to
cover department staffing costs, as well as task force participant
travel.
(f) A recommendation shall be forwarded to the Joint Committee on
Fisheries and Aquaculture, the department, and the commission upon an
affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the task force members.
(g) The task force shall cease to exist on January 1, 2015.
(h) Eligibility to take crab in state waters and offshore for
commercial purposes may be subject to restrictions, including, but
not limited to, restrictions on the number of traps utilized by that
person, if any of the following occur:
(1) A person holds a California Dungeness crab permit with
California landings of less than 5,000 pounds between November 15,
2003, and July 15, 2008, inclusive, as reported in California
landings receipts.
(2) A person has purchased a California Dungeness crab permit on
or after July 15, 2008, from a permitholder whose California landings
were less than 5,000 pounds between November 15, 2003, and July 15,
2008, inclusive, as reported in California landings receipts.
(3) The director institutes a pilot program for Dungeness crab
trap limits pursuant to Section 8276.5.
SEC. 3. Section 8276.5 is added to the Fish and Game Code, to
read:
8276.5. (a) In accordance with paragraph (1) of subdivision
(b), the director may institute a pilot program for
Dungeness crab (b), in consultation with the Dungeness
crab task force, or its appointed representatives, the director may
develop a pilot program for Dungeness crab trap limits for all
California permits. Except as provided in paragraph (2) of
subdivision (b), the pilot program Unless the director
finds that there is consensus in the Dungeness crab i
ndustry that modifications to the following requirements
are more desirable, with evidence of consensus, including, but not
limited to, the record of the Dungeness crab task force, the pilot
program shall include all of the following requirements:
(1) The program shall contain seven tiers of Dungeness crab trap
limits based on California landings receipts under California permits
between November 15, 2003, and July 15, 2008, as follows:
(A) The 55 California permits with the highest California landings
shall receive a maximum allocation of 500 trap tags.
(B) The 55 California permits with the next highest California
landings to those in subparagraph (A) shall receive a maximum
allocation of 450 trap tags.
(C) The 55 California permits with the next highest California
landings to those in subparagraph (B) shall receive a maximum
allocation of 400 trap tags.
(D) The 55 California permits with the next highes
Californiat highest California landings to those
in subparagraph (C) shall receive a maximum allocation of 350 trap
tags.
(E) The 55 California permits with the next highest California
landings to those in subparagraph (D) shall receive a maximum
allocation of 300 trap tags.
(F) The remaining California permits with the next highest
California landings to those in subparagraph (E), which are not
described in paragraph (1) or (2) of subdivision (h) of Section
8276.4, shall receive a maximum allocation of 250 trap tags.
(G) The California permits described in paragraphs (1) and (2) of
subdivision (h) of Section 8276.4 shall receive a maximum allocation
of 175 trap tags.
(2) The department shall do either or both of the following:
(A) Obtain new funding to cover the costs of the pilot program
from the council or other funding sources.
(B) Collect a fee for each trap tag issued pursuant to paragraph
(1) that covers the pro rata share of costs of the pilot program,
including, but not limited to, informing permitholders of the
program, collecting the fees, acquiring and sending trap tags to
permitholders, and monitoring the results of the program.
permitholders, paying for a portion of enforcement
costs, and monitoring the results of the program. The fee shall not
exceed two dollars ($2) per trap per year. In order to reduce the
cost of buying and distributing tags, and to increase the amount of
the proceeds of the sale of tags that are available for enforcement
or other costs, the director may require that tags be used for two
years. The cost of a two-year tag shall not exceed four dollars ($4).
All of the trap tags allocated to each permit pursuant to
subdivision (a) shall be purchased by the permitholder or the permit
shall be void.
(3) An Individual individual may
appeal a trap tag allocation received pursuant to paragraph (1) to
the director on a permit-by-permit basis for the purpose of revising
upward or downward any trap tag allocation based on evidence that a
permit's California landings during the period between November 15,
2003, and July 15, 2008, inclusive, were reduced as a result of
unusual circumstances and that these circumstances constitute an
unfair hardship, taking into account the overall California landings
history as indicated by landing receipts associated with the permit.
The director shall initiate the appeal process within 12 months of
receiving an appeal request. The appeal shall be heard and decided by
an administrative law judge of the Office of Administrative
Hearings, whose decision shall constitute the final administrative
decision. An individual requesting an appeal shall pay all expenses
associated with the appeal process described in this paragraph.
(4) The Unless the director
finds that there is consensus in the crab industry that a longer
period is desirable, with evidence of consensus, including, but not
limited to, the record of the Dungeness crab task force, the
director shall not institute a pilot program for Dungeness crab trap
tags for a period longer than 3 years unless a longer period
is authorized by a two-thirds vote of the non ex officio members of
the Dungeness crab task force. three years.
(5) Unless new funding is made available specifically for
enforcement of the pilot program, the department shall not be
required to expend more time or funds on the enforcement of the pilot
program than is normally accorded to the crab fishery.
(6)
(5) A Dungeness crab trap that is fished shall contain
a trap tag that is fastened to the first buoy.
(7)
(6) The director shall impose penalties and fines for
noncompliance with the requirements of the pilot program in an
amount sufficient to discourage noncompliance. The portion of
monetary judgments for noncompliance that are paid to the
department shall be deposited in the Dungeness Crab Account
established in subdivision (c) .
(8)
(7) With assistance from the council, and if funding is
available, the department shall report on the results of the pilot
program. The Dungeness crab task force may periodically evaluate
the impacts of the program and recommend changes to the director,
who may modify its provisions in accordance with paragraph (2) of
subdivision (b).
(8) For the purposes of this section, a proposed recommendation
that receives an affirmative vote of at least 15 of the non-ex
officio members may be transmitted by the Dungeness crab task force
to the director or the Legislature as a recommendation, shall be
considered to be the consensus of the task force, and shall be
considered to be evidence of consensus in the Dungeness crab
industry. Any proposed recommendation that does not receive a vote
sufficient to authorize transmittal to the director or Legislature as
a recommendation shall be evidence of a lack of consensus by the
Dungeness crab task force, and shall be considered to be evidence of
a lack of consensus in the crab industry.
(b) (1) Prior to implementing the pilot program, the director,
with the assistance of the council, shall seek the concurrence of the
Dungeness crab task force. The program shall not be implemented
without at least two-thirds of the non ex officio members of the
Dungeness crab task force voting in favor of concurrence. Dungeness
crab task force nonconcurrence may be based on any factor or factors
the task force considers significant, including, but not limited to,
the amount of the proposed fee collected pursuant to subparagraph (B)
of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a).
(2) The pilot program shall not be modified, eliminated, or added
to without the concurrence of at least two-thirds of the non ex
officio members of the Dungeness crab task force voting in favor.
(b) (1) (A) The director shall submit the proposed program to the
Dungeness crab task force for review, and shall not implement the
program until the task force has had 60 days or more to review the
proposed program and recommend any proposed changes. The director may
implement the program earlier than 60 days after it is submitted to
the Dungeness crab task force for review, if recommended by the task
force.
(B) After the Dungeness crab task force has reviewed the proposed
program, the director may implement the program, subject to any delay
pursuant to subparagraph (D), if the director finds that the program
represents the consensus view of the crab fishing industry.
(C) The director shall submit a report that includes the finding
pursuant to subparagraph (B) and the provisions of the final program
to the Dungeness crab task force and to the Senate Committee on
Natural Resources and the Assembly Committee on Water, Parks and
Wildlife.
(D) If, upon receipt of the report, the Dungeness crab task force
disagrees with the finding made pursuant to subparagraph (B), the
task force may recommend the delay of the implementation of the
program by up to 18 months, by an affirmative vote at least 15 of the
non-ex officio members, and shall notify, within 60 days of receipt
of the report, the director, the Senate Committee on Natural
Resources, and the Assembly Committee on Water, Parks and Wildlife of
its recommendation. The director shall delay implementation in
accordance with the recommendation of the Dungeness crab task force,
and may thereafter implement the program. The Dungeness crab task
force may vote to rescind a delay recommendation pursuant to this
subparagraph.
(E) The requirement for submitting a report imposed under
subparagraph (C) is inoperative four years after the report is due,
pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, and the report
shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government
Code.
(2) (A) If the program is implemented pursuant to paragraph (1),
the director may modify or eliminate the program, after consultation
with the Dungeness crab task force or its representatives, after the
task force has had 60 days or more to review the proposed
modifications and recommend any proposed changes. The director may
implement the modifications earlier than 60 days after it is sent to
the Dungeness crab task force for review, if recommended by the task
force.
(B) After the Dungeness Crab Task Force has reviewed the
modifications, the director may implement any proposed changes,
subject to any delay pursuant to subparagraph (D), if the director
finds that the proposed changes represent the consensus in the crab
fishing industry.
(C) The director shall submit a report that includes the finding
pursuant to subparagraph (B) and the proposed changes to the
Dungeness crab task force and to the Senate Committee on Natural
Resources and the Assembly Committee on Water, Parks and Wildlife.
(D) If, upon receipt of the report, the Dungeness crab task force
disagrees with the finding made pursuant to subparagraph (B), the
task force may recommend the delay of the implementation of the
proposed modifications by up to 18 months, by an affirmative vote of
at least 15 of the non-ex officio members, and shall notify, within
60 days of receipt of the report, the director, the Senate Committee
on Natural Resources, and the Assembly Committee on Water, Parks and
Wildlife of its recommendation. The director shall delay
modifications in accordance with the recommendation of the Dungeness
crab task force, and may thereafter implement the modifications. The
Dungeness crab task force may vote to rescind a delay recommendation
pursuant to this subparagraph.
(E) The requirement for submitting a report imposed under
subparagraph (C) is inoperative four years after the report is due,
pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, and the report
shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government
Code.
(3) For the purposes of this subdivision, evidence of consensus in
the crab fishing industry includes, but is not limited to, the
voting record of the Dungeness crab task force.
(c) The Dungeness Crab Account is hereby established in the Fish
and Game Preservation Fund and the fees collected pursuant to
subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) shall be
deposited in that account. Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the
Government Code, the money in the account is continuously
appropriated, without regard to fiscal years, to the department for
purposes of administering and enforcing the pilot program.
(d) If the director implements a pilot program, for purposes of
meeting the necessary expenses of initial organization and operation
of the pilot program until fees may be collected pursuant to
subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a), or other
funding sources may be received, the department may borrow money as
needed for these expenses from the General Fund in the State
Treasury. The borrowed money shall be repaid with interest
council. The borrowed money shall be repaid within one
year from the fees collected, or other funding sources received, as
provided in this section. The council shall give high
priority to providing funds or services to the department, in
addition to loans, to assist in the development of the pilot program,
including, but not limited to, the costs of convening the Dungeness
crab task force, environmental review, and the department's costs of
attending meetings with task force members.
(e) (1) It is the intent of the Legislature that the department,
the council, and the Dungeness crab task force work with the Pacific
States Marine Fisheries Commission and the Tri-state Dungeness Crab
Commission to move evaluate moving the
fair start line south to the border of California and Mexico.
(2) For purposes of this subdivision, "fair start line" means the
boundary line of a specific region fishing vessels are required to
commit to fishing for a period of time prior to being able to leave
that region to go fish another area.
(2) For the purposes of this subdivision, the evaluation of the
fair start line shall be limited to assessing the positive and
negative implications of including District 10 in the tri-state
agreement, including working with the Tri-state Dungeness Crab
Commission to amend Oregon and Washington laws to include District 10
in the regular season fair start clause, and discussion of providing
different rules for District 10 with regard to preseason quality
testing.
(f) For purposes of this section, "council" means the Ocean
Protection Council established pursuant to Section 35600 of the
Public Resources Code.