BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1162|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1162
Author: Chesbro (D), et al.
Amended: 8/21/12 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE NATURAL RES. AND WATER COMMITTEE : 9-0, 6/28/11
AYES: Pavley, La Malfa, Cannella, Evans, Fuller, Kehoe,
Padilla, Simitian, Wolk
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-0, 8/16/12
AYES: Kehoe, Walters, Alquist, Dutton, Lieu, Price,
Steinberg
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 60-16, 6/2/11 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Wildlife: poaching
SOURCE : California Outdoor Heritage Alliance
DIGEST : This bill provides that the illegal take of
trophy deer, elk, antelope, or bighorn sheep shall be
subject to a fine from $5,000 to $40,000 and/or
imprisonment for up to one year. This bill provides that
the illegal take of trophy wild turkey shall be subject to
a fine from $2,000 to $5,000 and/or imprisonment for up to
one year. This bill provides that any person who uses a
signaling device to take a bear with the intent to sell
bear parts is subject to a fine of $10,000 per bear part in
possession.
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ANALYSIS :
Existing law prohibits a person, including the owner in
lawful possession of the land and a person obtaining
permission from the owner or person in lawful possession of
the land, from taking any protected mammal or bird or
discharging any firearm upon any land, where signs with
specified wording and size requirements are displayed at
specified intervals along all exterior boundaries and at
all roads and trails entering the land. Other existing law
makes it unlawful to enter any lands under cultivation or
enclosed by a fence, belonging to, or occupied by, another,
or to enter any uncultivated or unenclosed lands where
signs forbidding trespass are displayed at intervals not
less than three to the mile along all exterior boundaries
and at all roads and trails entering those lands, for the
purpose of discharging any firearm or taking or destroying
any mammal or bird, including any waterfowl, on those lands
without having first obtained written permission from the
owner of those lands, or his/her agent, or the person in
lawful possession of those lands.
This bill repeals the provision relating to signage and the
taking of protected mammals and birds. This bill expands
the trespass sign provision to encompass signs forbidding
trespass or hunting, or both.
Existing law provides that any person who illegally takes,
possesses, imports, exports, sells, purchases, barters,
trades, or exchanges any amphibian, bird, fish, mammal, or
reptile, or part thereof, for profit or personal gain, is
guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less
than $5,000, nor more than $40,000, or imprisonment in the
county jail for not more than one year, or by both that
fine and imprisonment. Existing law authorizes the
Department of Fish and Game (DFG), upon a conviction of
certain violations, to suspend or permanently revoke a
person's hunting or sport fishing license or permit
privileges and authorizes the seizure or forfeiture of any
device or apparatus used in the commission of specified
offenses. This bill authorizes the person whose privileges
are suspended or revoked to appeal the suspension or
revocation to the Fish and Game Commission (Commission),
and authorizes the Commission to restore those privileges.
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This bill subjects any person who knowingly violated and
was convicted of violating certain provisions relating to a
trophy deer, elk, antelope, wild turkey, or bighorn sheep
in specified ways to a fine of not less than $5,000, nor
more than $40,000, for deer, elk, antelope, and bighorn
sheep violations, and a fine of not less than $2,000, nor
more than $5,000, for wild turkey violations, or
imprisonment in the county jail for not more than one year,
or by both that fine and imprisonment. This bill requires
the Commission to adopt regulations to implement this
provision. This bill subjects any person convicted of
certain violations while using a signal-emitting device, as
defined, in conjunction with the take of bear for the
purpose of selling or trafficking in bear parts, to a fine
of $10,000 per bear part. This bill requires all revenue
from fines imposed pursuant to these provisions to be
deposited in the Big Game Management Account or the Upland
Game Bird Account, based on the violation. This bill
includes those offenses in those suspension, revocation,
and forfeiture provisions. This bill requires the
Commission, upon the appeal of a suspended or revoked
license, to consider specified factors.
Background
DFG's mission is to manage California's diverse fish,
wildlife, and plant resources, and the habitats upon which
they depend, for their ecological values and for their use
and enjoyment by the public. In order to achieve these
goals, DFG is authorized to oversee hunting and fishing
activities in California for both commercial and personal
purposes.
According to recent news reports, the economic downturn of
the past few years has coincided with a surge in illegal
poaching activity and its accompanying illicit gains. This
is consistent with the DFG's records which show an increase
in hunting violations to 3,371 in 2009, compared to the
1999 - 2009 mean of approximately 2,075 violations
annually. While there are likely to be variations in
enforcement efforts reflected in this data, hunting
violations are clearly an ongoing concern. On the
commercial black market, certain big game species or
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selected parts of species (e.g. bear gall bladder) can
reportedly be sold at a profit that, while difficult to
determine, may easily exceed any established penalties.
California has many fewer wardens on patrol compared to
other large states with significant wilderness areas, such
as Florida and Texas, and the violations reported may
considerably understate poaching's true extent .
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
Senate Appropriations Committee staff estimates that the
costs to adopt the regulations required under this bill
will be up to $150,000. This bill will likely result in
increased fine revenues. The amount of that revenue is
unknown, but is not likely to be significant.
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/21/12)
California Outdoor Heritage Alliance (source)
California Fish and Game Wardens' Association
PawPAC
OPPOSITION : (Verified 8/21/12)
Outdoor Sportsman's Coalition of California (previous
version)
California Sportsmen's Lobby (previous version)
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The author states:
�T]his bill aims to increase criminal penalties for
serious poaching violations and help ensure that the full
market value of wildlife is reflected in those penalties.
Current financial penalties for the illegal take of
certain game species, particularly trophy big game
animals, do not adequately cover the market value of
those resources. As an example, some hunting tags for
big game species (elk, antelope, deer and bighorn sheep)
now sell for over $50,000 while the fines for illegally
taking those animals generally total only a fraction of
that amount.
In the last several years in California, there have been
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a number of high-profile poaching cases involving big
game, including the illegal take of trophy mule deer from
Yosemite National Park and the shooting and subsequent
abandonment of two elk at Fort Hunter Liggett in Monterey
County. Deer violations are one of the most common
violations, with many deer targeted solely for their
antlers or size.
AB 1162 would authorize similar penalties for commercial
bear violations. This would help address the continued
commercial demand for bear gall bladders and other bear
parts."
While higher fines would help create an important
deterrent for poaching big game animals, financial
penalties alone may not be sufficient. AB 1162 also
authorizes the Department to revoke a violator's hunting
license for certain egregious violations. In addition,
the bill authorizes a judge to order equipment seizure
for those same violations.
According to the California Outdoor Heritage Alliance, "AB
1162 �addresses] egregious poaching cases where violators
knowingly target trophy game with certain illegal methods,
including the use of bait, the use of artificial lights,
taking game out of season and wasting game meat. These
violations not only negatively impact opportunities for
legal hunts, but can also reduce the genetic pool necessary
for maintaining healthy wildlife populations ? �S]everal
other states, including New Mexico, Idaho, Ohio,
Pennsylvania, and Montana, have implemented laws similar to
AB 1162 in recent years to address ongoing big game
poaching problems, and the new laws have been well received
by state fish and game agencies, hunters and private
landowners alike."
The California Fish and Game Wardens' Association further
points out that "California has seen unprecedented poaching
of all forms of wildlife. Wildlife crime is prevalent in
our state ? It is appropriate to impose stiffer penalties
as deterrents upon those who purposefully violate wildlife
law."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : The California Sportsman's
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Lobby objected to a proposed increase in civil penalties in
an earlier version of this bill. The Outdoor Sportsmen's
Coalition of California (OSCC), also writing regarding an
earlier version of this bill, states that "�e]xisting law
should be sufficient to discourage most illegal activity.
If not, the increased penalties proposed in AB 1162 would
not be likely to deter it, either ? The relatively few
people who are hard core violators would probably ignore
the proposed higher penalties as well." The OSCC continues
that it does not believe "that AB 1162 would result in
significantly higher compliance, but it could cause the
imposition of excessive penalties for lower level
violations."
The most recent amendments to this bill remove any changes
to civil penalties. It is unclear from the OSCC's letter
if they object to the current proposed changes in potential
criminal fines, the deleted changes to proposed civil
penalties or both.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 60-16, 6/2/11
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall,
Bill Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford,
Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos,
Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro, Davis, Dickinson, Eng, Feuer,
Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Beth Gaines, Galgiani,
Gatto, Gordon, Hayashi, Roger Hern�ndez, Hill, Huber,
Hueso, Huffman, Jones, Lara, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma,
Mendoza, Mitchell, Monning, Morrell, Nestande, Olsen,
Pan, Perea, V. Manuel P�rez, Portantino, Skinner,
Solorio, Swanson, Torres, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada,
John A. P�rez
NOES: Conway, Cook, Donnelly, Grove, Hagman, Halderman,
Harkey, Jeffries, Knight, Mansoor, Miller, Nielsen,
Norby, Smyth, Valadao, Wagner
NO VOTE RECORDED: Garrick, Gorell, Hall, Silva
CTW/DLW:k 8/21/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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