BILL NUMBER: AB 1886 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Chesbro
FEBRUARY 22, 2012
An act to amend Sections 15100, 15101, 15103, 15104, and 15105 of,
and to add and repeal Section 15106 of, the Fish and Game Code,
relating to aquaculture.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1886, as introduced, Chesbro. Aquaculture.
Existing law establishes within the Department of Fish and Game an
aquaculture coordinator to perform prescribed duties relating to the
aquaculture industry. Existing law requires the owner of an
aquaculture facility to register certain information with the
department by March 1 of each year, and requires the department to
impose prescribed fees for registration and renewal. Existing law
also requires, in addition to the registration and renewal fees, a
surcharge fee to be paid at the time of registration by the owner of
an aquaculture facility if the gross annual sales of aquaculture
products of the facility during the prior calendar year exceed
$25,000. Existing law imposes a penalty fee for delinquent fees.
Existing law requires the department to maintain the internal
accountability necessary to ensure that all restrictions on the
expenditure of these fee revenues are met.
This bill would include in the duties of the coordinator the
requirement to coordinate with the Aquaculture Development Committee.
The bill would increase those registration, renewal, surcharge, and
penalty fees. The bill would require the department to provide an
accounting of the aquaculture coordinator program account balance and
expenditures upon request of the Aquaculture Development Committee
or the Joint Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture. The bill would
restrict the use of fee revenues to paying the costs of the
administration and enforcement of the program. The bill would require
the department to prepare and submit to the Legislature on or before
February 1, 2017, a report regarding the aquaculture coordinator
program. The bill would repeal the aquaculture coordinator program on
January 1, 2018.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 15100 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to
read:
15100. There is within the department an aquaculture coordinator
who shall perform all of the following duties as part of the
aquaculture coordinator program :
(a) Promote understanding of aquaculture among public agencies and
the general public.
(b) Propose methods of reducing the negative impact of public
regulation at all levels of government on the aquaculture industry.
(c) Provide information on all aspects of regulatory compliance to
the various sectors of the aquaculture industry.
(d) Provide such advice to aquaculturists on project siting and
facility design that may be needed to comply with regulatory
requirements.
(e) Coordinate with the Aquaculture Development Committee
regarding the duties described in subdivisions (a) to (d), inclusive.
SEC. 2. Section 15101 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to
read:
15101. (a) The owner of each aquaculture facility shall register
all of the following information with the department by March 1 of
each year:
(1) The owner's name.
(2) The species grown.
(3) The location or locations of each operation or operations.
(b) The department may provide registration forms for this
purpose, may establish a procedure for the review of the information
provided to ensure that the operation will not be detrimental to
native wildlife, and shall impose a registration fee of five
hundred forty-nine eight hundred dollars
($549) ($800) to recover the cost of
reviewing new registrations. For renewing registrations, the
department shall impose a registration fee of two hundred
seventy-five five hundred dollars
($275) ($500) . It is unlawful to conduct
aquaculture operations or to culture approved species of aquatic
plants and animals unless registered under this section. The
registration fees specified in this section are applicable to the
2004 2013 registration year and shall
be adjusted annually thereafter pursuant to Section 713.
(c) The annual registration of information required by subdivision
(b) is not a project for purposes of the California Environmental
Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the
Public Resources Code).
SEC. 3. Section 15103 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to
read:
15103. (a) In addition to the fees specified in Section 15101, a
surcharge fee of four hundred twelve six
hundred dollars ($412) ($600)
shall be paid at the time of registration by the owner of an
aquaculture facility if the gross annual sales of aquaculture
products of the facility during the prior calendar year exceed
twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000).
(b) Each registered aquaculturist shall maintain sales and
production records which shall be made available upon request of the
department to assist the department in the administration of this
chapter.
(c) Any person who fails to pay the surcharge fee required in this
section at the time of registration shall be assessed a delinquency
penalty pursuant to Section 15104.
(d) The surcharge imposed pursuant to this section shall be
applicable to the 2004 2013
registration year and shall be adjusted annually thereafter pursuant
to Section 713.
SEC. 4. Section 15104 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to
read:
15104. (a) If any person engages in the business of aquaculture,
as regulated under this division, without having paid the
registration fee or surcharge fee within one calendar month of the
commencement of business, or, for renewal of registration, on or
before April 1 of the registration year, the fees are delinquent.
(b) A penalty shall be paid at the time of registration for any
fees that are delinquent in the amount of fifty
one hundred fifty dollars ($50)
($150) .
(c) The penalty imposed pursuant to subdivision (b) shall be
applicable to the 2005 2013
registration year, and shall be adjusted thereafter pursuant to
Section 713.
SEC. 5. Section 15105 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to
read:
15105. (a) Notwithstanding Section 13001 or 13002, all moneys
collected by the department pursuant to this division shall be
deposited in the Fish and Game Preservation Fund and shall be
expended solely on the department's aquaculture program pursuant to
this division.
(b) Notwithstanding Section 13004, these moneys are available for
appropriation by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act for
purposes of this division.
(c) The department shall maintain internal accountability
necessary to ensure that all restrictions on the expenditure of these
funds are met and shall provide an accounting of the
aquaculture coordinator program account balance and expenditures
upon request of the Aquaculture D evelopment Committee or
the Joint Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture .
(d) Revenues pursuant to this chapter may be used only to pay the
costs incurred in the administration and enforcement of the program.
(e) The department shall prepare and submit to the Legislature on
or before February 1, 2017, a report regarding the aquaculture
coordinator program undertaken using revenues derived pursuant to
that program, the benefits derived, and its recommendations for
revising the aquaculture coordinator program requirement, if any. The
report submitted pursuant to this subdivision shall be submitted in
compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
SEC. 6. Section 15106 is added to the Fish and Game Code, to read:
15106. This chapter shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2018, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2018, deletes or extends
that date.