BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1886
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 1886 (Chesbro)
As Amended April 11, 2012
Majority vote
WATER, PARKS & WILDLIFE 8-4
APPROPRIATIONS 12-4
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|Ayes:|Huffman, Campos, Fong, |Ayes:|Fuentes, Blumenfield, |
| |Gatto, Roger Hern�ndez, | |Bradford, Charles |
| |Hueso, Lara, Yamada | |Calderon, Campos, Davis, |
| | | |Gatto, Hall, Hill, Lara, |
| | | |Mitchell, Solorio |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Halderman, Bill |Nays:|Donnelly, Nielsen, Norby, |
| |Berryhill, | |Wagner |
| |Beth Gaines, Jones | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Increases the regulatory fees for aquaculture
facilities and expands the duties of the aquaculture program
coordinator position within the Department of Fish and Game
(DFG). Specifically, this bill :
1)Expands the duties of the existing aquaculture coordinator
position within DFG to include coordinating with the
Aquaculture Development Committee, and provides that the
duties of the aquaculture coordinator are to be performed as
part of DFG's aquaculture program.
2)Increases the registration, renewal, surcharge and penalty
base fees for aquaculture facilities, effective 2013, as
follows:
a) Increases the base registration fee from $549 to
$800;
b) Increases the base registration renewal fee from
$250 to $500;
c) Increases the registration surcharge for facilities
with gross annual sales of over $25,000 from $412 to
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$600; and,
d) Increases the penalty for engaging in aquaculture
without paying registration fees from $50 to $150.
3)Requires DFG to provide an accounting of the aquaculture
program account balance and expenditures upon request of the
Aquaculture Development Committee or the Joint Committee on
Fisheries and Aquaculture, and requires DFG to provide a
report to the Legislature by February 1, 2017, regarding the
aquaculture coordinator program as specified.
4)Requires that revenues received from the payment of
aquaculture registration fees and surcharges be used only for
costs incurred in the administration and enforcement of the
program.
5)Sunsets the fee increases authorized by this bill after five
years, effective January 1, 2018, after which time the fees
would revert to existing levels unless a later enacted statute
continues the fee increases in effect.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires the owner of an aquaculture facility to register
annually with DFG and provide specified information regarding
the aquaculture operation, and to pay a registration fee or
registration renewal fee. Makes it unlawful to conduct
aquaculture operations unless registered.
2)Authorizes DFG to review information provided in aquaculture
registrations to ensure the operation will not be detrimental
to native wildlife, and requires DFG to impose fees for the
costs of reviewing registrations. The amount of the
registration fees are set in statute and are required to be
adjusted annually for inflation.
3)Authorizes DFG to prohibit an aquaculture operation or the
culturing of any species at any location where it is
determined it would be detrimental to adjacent native
wildlife.
4)Provides for an aquaculture coordinator position within DFG
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whose duties include promoting understanding of aquaculture,
proposing methods of reducing the negative impact of public
regulation on the aquaculture industry, and providing
information on regulatory compliance to various sectors of the
aquaculture industry.
5)Establishes the amount of fees in statute for registration and
renewal of aquaculture facilities and surcharges, and requires
those fees to be adjusted by DFG annually based on changes in
the Implicit Price Deflator. The current statutory base fees
are $549 for registration, $275 for renewals, and $412
surcharge for larger aquaculture facilities. With annual
adjustments, the 2012 fees are effectively $736 for
registration, $372.25 for renewal, and $554.25 for the
surcharge.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, annual revenue increase of approximately $25,000
resulting from increased fee and surcharge amounts paid by the
state's approximately 145 aquaculture operators with gross
annual sales greater than $25,000 (Fish and Game Preservation
Fund (FGPF)); and absorbable annual costs to DFG for its
aquaculture coordinator to coordinate with the Aquaculture
Development Committee (FGPF).
COMMENTS : This bill increases aquaculture registration fees,
clarifies that the aquaculture coordinator position at DFG is
part of DFG's aquaculture program, requires an annual accounting
of account balances and expenditures, and requires a report to
the Legislature after four years. The fee increases are subject
to a five year sunset, after which time the fees would revert to
current fee levels. The author notes that DFG relates to the
aquaculture industry as both a regulator and a lead agency. The
aquaculture industry, which is the sponsor of this bill,
indicates its members are willing to pay increased fees to
assist DFG in offsetting DFG's costs for the services that the
Aquaculture Coordinator provides for the industry and to ensure
that funds are efficiently spent and accounted for. Examples of
the services the industry wants DFG to provide to meet industry
needs include but are not limited to a Programmatic
Environmental Impact Report for Coastal Marine Aquaculture,
state land leases for aquaculture, and private stocking permits.
The aquaculture coordinator position at DFG, whose function it
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is to assist the aquaculture industry with regulatory
compliance, has been vacant for about one year. A search for
candidates to fill the position is currently under way. This
bill, among other things, adds to the aquaculture coordinator's
duties the duty to coordinate with the Aquaculture Development
Committee. The Aquaculture Development Committee is an advisory
committee which consists of 12 members appointed by the DFG
director representing all sectors of the aquaculture industry.
The committee also includes one member from DFG, two members
from the University of California, and one member each from the
Department of Food and Agriculture, the California Coastal
Commission, the State Lands Commission, the State Water
Resources Control Board, the State Department of Health
Services, and the Joint Legislative Committee on Fisheries and
Aquaculture.
Analysis Prepared by : Diane Colborn / W., P. & W. / (916)
319-2096
FN: 0003398