BILL NUMBER: AB 1776 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 22, 2012
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Fong
(Coauthors: Senators Evans and Leno)
FEBRUARY 17, 2012
An act to amend Section 422.5 of, and to add Chapter 29.5
(commencing with Section 7593.5) to Division 7 of Title 1 of, the
Government Code, relating to state government.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1776, as amended, Fong. State government: Western
Pacific leatherback sea turtle.
(1) Existing law establishes the state flag and the state's
emblems, including, among other things, the poppy as the official
state flower, the California redwood as the official state tree, and
the California desert tortoise as the official state reptile.
This bill would establish the Western Pacific
leatherback sea turtle as the official state marine reptile.
(2) Existing law designates certain periods of time for specified
purposes , including, among other things, the first week in
January as Braille Literacy Week of celebration or
recognition .
This bill would designate October 15, 2012
2013 , and every October 15 thereafter, as Western
Pacific Leatherback Sea Turtle Conservation Day.
This The bill would encourage public schools,
state and federal agencies, nongovernmental agencies, fishers,
whale-watch coastal tour operators, and
other interested stakeholders to engage in certain activities, as
specified.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) California is a coastal state that is dedicated to the
protection of ocean resources, fisheries, and marine wildlife.
(b) Sea turtles, fish, seabirds, and marine mammals are
a central component of California's natural heritage and marine
biodiversity.
(c) The Legislature acknowledges that the Pacific leatherback
sea turtle population has experienced a catastrophic decline
over the past two decades and might be on the verge of
extirpation extinction .
(d) The Legislature further acknowledges that Pacific
leatherbacks leatherback sea turt les
are among the most imperiled of any sea turtle population in any
ocean basin on Earth and that populations of the Pacific leatherback
sea turtle , a 100-million-year-old species that outlived
the dinosaurs, have declined by approximately 90 percent in the last
25 years.
(e) Leatherbacks Pacific leatherback sea
turtles foraging off the coast of California are part of a
distinct Western pacific Pacific
breeding stock that nests on beaches in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea,
and the Solomon Islands.
(f) California's coastal waters are high-use foraging areas for
summer nesters from this critically endangered population of
Western Pacific leatherback sea turtles, according to the
National Marine Fisheries Service.
(g) Satellite tracking conducted over the past decade has
determined that after nesting hundreds of individual Western
Pacific leatherback sea turtles swim more than 6,000 miles
over 10 to 12 months to cross the Pacific to feed on jellyfish in
California coastal waters every year.
(h) The leatherbacks' Pacific leatherback
sea turtles ' trans-Pacific migration involved
multiple years of migrating between California coastal waters during
the summer and lower latitude wintering areas without returning to
western Western Pacific nesting
beaches.
(i) These movements and foraging strategies underscore the
importance of and the need for ecosystem-based management and
coordinated Pacificwide conservation efforts.
(j) The Legislature supports efforts to recover and preserve the
Western Pacific leatherback sea turtle population
in oceanic feeding and migration areas, which are identified as
important strategies for their continued survival.
(k) On February 26, 2012, the National Marine Fisheries Service
designated more than 16,000 square miles of California's coastal
waters, and a total of nearly 42,000 square miles along the United
States West Coast, as critical habitat to protect high-use foraging
areas and primary prey species for the endangered Western
Pacific leatherback sea turtle under the federal Endangered
Species Act.
SEC. 2. Section 422.5 of the Government Code is amended to read:
422.5. (a) The California desert tortoise (gopherus
(Gopherus agassizii) is the official state
reptile.
(b) The Western Pacific leatherback sea turtle
(dermochelys (Dermochelys coriacea) is
the official state marine reptile.
SEC. 3. Chapter 29.5 (commencing with Section 7593.5) is added to
Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code, to read:
CHAPTER 29.5. WESTERN PACIFIC LEATHERBACK
SEA TURTLE
7593.5. (a) October 15, 2012 2013 ,
and every October 15 thereafter, is hereby designated as
Western Pacific Leatherback Sea Turtle Conservation Day.
(b) The Legislature encourages California public schools to
include Western Pacific leatherback sea turtles
into in their teaching lessons and
curriculum whenever possible.
(c) The Legislature encourages state and federal agencies,
nongovernmental agencies, fishers, whale-watch
coastal tour operators, and other interested stakeholders
to establish and participate in a statewide, voluntary Pacific
leatherback sea turtle watch to record sightings of the
Western Pacific leatherback sea turtle in
California and West Coast waters.
(d) The Legislature encourages state and federal agencies to build
cooperative relationships with the Western Pacific island
nations where Western Pacific leatherback sea
turtles return to nest in order to increase awareness and
conservation of this critically endangered species.
(e) The Legislature urges state and federal agencies to take
proactive conservation measures and prevent further threats to
Pacific leatherback sea turtles and their habitats.