BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2402
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 24, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON WATER, PARKS AND WILDLIFE
Jared Huffman, Chair
AB 2402 (Huffman) - As Amended: April 18, 2012
SUBJECT : Department of Fish and Game Strategic Vision
SUMMARY : Renames the Department of Fish and Game as the
Department of Fish and Wildlife; articulates state policies
regarding ecosystem-based management, credible science, and
partnerships; requires establishment of an independent
scientific advisory panel to assist the Department and the Fish
and Game Commission; shifts certain fee authorities from the
Legislature to the Department and Commission; and makes other
changes to the Fish and Game Code. Specifically, this bill :
1)States legislative findings and declarations regarding a
strategic visioning process for the Department of Fish and
Game (DFG) and the Fish and Game Commission (FGC) that the
Natural Resources Agency facilitated over the past year,
pursuant to AB 2376 (Huffman), Chapter 424, Statutes of 2012,
and which involved appointment of an executive committee,
stakeholder advisory group and blue ribbon citizens
commission, and establishment of a public process for
development of recommendations for improving and enhancing the
capacity of the DFG and the FGC to protect and manage
California's fish and wildlife.
2)Renames DFG as the Department of Fish and Wildlife, and
provides that no existing supplies, forms, insignias, signs,
logos, uniforms, or emblems shall be destroyed or changed as a
result of changing the name, and that those materials shall
continue to be used until exhausted or unserviceable.
3)States that it is the policy of the state that DFG and the FGC
use ecosystem-based management, informed by credible science,
in all resource management decisions, and that scientific
professionals at DFG and the FGC be governed by a scientific
quality assurance and integrity policy, follow established
scientific protocols, and incorporate adaptive management into
resource management decisions to the extent possible. Defines
ecosystem-based management, credible science, and adaptive
management for these purposes.
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4)States legislative intent that DFG and the FGC seek to create,
foster, and actively participate in effective partnerships and
collaborations with other agencies and stakeholders to achieve
shared goals and to better integrate fish and wildlife
resource conservation and management with the natural resource
management responsibilities of other agencies. Encourages DFG
and the FGC to participate in interagency coordination
processes that facilitate consistency and efficiency in review
of projects involving multiple permits.
5)Requires establishment of an independent science advisory
panel to provide advice and recommendations to DFG and the
FGC, and to assist DFG and the FGC in establishing an
independent and objective view of the scientific issues
underlying policy decisions. Provides that the duties of the
panel shall include providing oversight of scientific
research, providing best available independent scientific
information and advice to guide and inform decisions,
promoting and facilitating independent scientific peer review,
promoting science-based adaptive management, and ensuring
scientific integrity and transparency. Provides that for
purposes of marine fisheries and other marine resources, DFG
may utilize the California Ocean Science Trust for these
purposes.
6)Requires DFG to develop and adopt a method to impose and
collect entry pass fees onsite for visitors engaging in
non-consumptive uses at state wildlife refuges and other lands
managed by DFG that are open to the public. Requires DFG to
modify its online processes for purchase of entry passes and
warden stamps to make these systems user-friendly for
non-consumptive users. Defines non-consumptive uses as
compatible uses other than hunting or fishing.
7)Requires DFG to modify its Automated License Data System to
include information on Fish and Game violations, and for
electronic field equipment utilized by fish and game wardens
to be modified to provide wardens with access to Automated
License Data System information in the field.
8)Authorizes the FGC to adjust statutory fees for certain
licenses and permits, including life time hunting licenses,
abalone cards, marine aquaria collector permits, guide
licenses and kelp harvesting licenses, as necessary, to fully
recover, but not exceed, all reasonable administrative and
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implementation costs relating to those license or permits.
Similarly authorizes the DFG to adjust statutory fees as
necessary for scientific collector permits.
9)States legislative findings and declarations regarding the
impacts of poaching and other fish and game violations, and
states legislative intent that the Uniform Bail and Penalty
Schedule be updated as necessary to include references to Fish
and Game Code provisions not included in the Bail and Penalty
Schedule currently.
10)Requires that funds remaining in various dedicated accounts
that were previously consolidated into the Big Game Management
Account be transferred to the Big Game Management Account, and
requires DFG to provide recommendations to the Legislature for
consolidation of additional accounts within the Fish and Game
Preservation Fund if consolidation would serve to reduce
administrative costs to DFG and enhance its ability to meet
current needs while preserving the purpose of the dedicated
accounts.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes DFG in the Natural Resources Agency and provides
that wildlife resources are held in trust by DFG for the
people of the state, and generally charges DFG with
administration and enforcement of the Fish and Game Code.
2)Establishes the FGC in the Constitution and authorizes the
Legislature to delegate to the FGC powers relating to the
protection and propagation of fish and game. The Legislature
has delegated by statute to the FGC the power to regulate the
taking or possession of birds, mammals, fish, amphibians and
reptiles in accordance with prescribed laws.
3)Provides in the Fish and Game Code for various licenses and
permits, the fees for which are in some cases set in statute
and in other cases set by DFG or the FGC. Most of the fees
set in statute are subject to annual adjustments based on the
Implicit Price Deflator index.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : AB 2376 (Huffman), Chapter 424, Statutes of 2010,
authorized implementation of a strategic visioning process for
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DFG and the FGC, to determine changes needed to better meet the
fish and wildlife needs of the 21st century. Pursuant to AB
2376, the State Natural Resources Agency Secretary appointed a
state executive committee, a blue ribbon citizen's commission
(BRCC), and a broad-based stakeholder advisory group (SAG) in
2011, and facilitated a year-long public process to collaborate
and develop recommendations on ways to improve and enhance the
capacity and effectiveness of DFG and the FGC in protecting and
managing California's fish and wildlife for the benefit and use
of the people of the state. The groups met over several months,
solicited public input, and released a draft interim strategic
vision in November 2011 for public review. That document was
followed by release of another interim strategic vision report
in February 2012, and a final report was approved by the
Executive Committee and released publicly this month. The
Strategic Vision report includes numerous recommendations on
such issues as mission, scope of responsibilities, scientific
capacity and integrity, principles that should guide natural
resource decisions such as ecosystem-based management, the
importance of partnerships and collaborations, permitting, and
enforcement.
The author of this bill, as chair of the Assembly policy
committee with primary jurisdiction over fish and wildlife
matters, and the chair of the Senate Natural Resource and Water
committee, have introduced companion measures to serve as
vehicles to implement recommendations coming out of the
strategic vision process. The provisions of this bill include
recommendations from the SAG and the BRCC, and ideas that were
suggested in earlier draft reports. As the final report was
just released less than a week prior to this hearing, the author
and other interested parties are continuing to review and digest
the recommendations contained in the report. This bill is thus
recognized as a work in progress which will be further amended
as it moves through the legislative process.
With regard to the specific provisions of this bill, the policy
statements on ecosystem-based management and credible science
were among the primary recommendations of the final SAG and
Strategic Vision reports adopted. The recommendations also
included a strong emphasis on the need for enhancing the
scientific capacity of DFG, including an emphasis on independent
peer reviewed science, and the importance of ensuring scientific
integrity and transparency. Information provided by staff of
DFG and the FGC early on in the process also emphasized the need
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for financial stability, and the difficulty both entities face
with unfunded mandates. In particular, DFG and the FGC noted
that 57% of the fees for licenses and permits in the Fish and
Game Code require legislative action to change. This bill
begins the process of correcting that problem by shifting
authority from the Legislature to the FGC and DFG to make
adjustments in specified fees as necessary to recover reasonable
administrative and implementation costs relating to the
particular license or permit.
The change in the name of DFG to the Department of Fish and
Wildlife was a recommendation of the BRCC which recommended that
the name be changed to more accurately reflect the scope of the
department's jurisdiction in the 21st century. The BRCC reached
consensus that the mission around the management of wildlife
resources needs to be strengthened to include the preservation
and conservation of natural resources for current and future
generations. While the SAG did not make a final recommendation
on a name change, the SAG did reach general agreement that the
current name does not accurately reflect the current mandates of
the DFG. Specifically, the SAG stated that "There was general
agreement during discussions that the name "California
Department of Fish and Game" reflects the historical origins of
DFG (and the FGC) as an agency primarily concerned with managing
hunting and fishing. The existing name does not accurately
reflect the modern, broad mandates of DFG to manage species and
habitats for a variety of purposes both ecological and
utilitarian. DFG manages seven major program areas:
biodiversity conservation; hunting; fishing and public use
administration; management of department public lands;
enforcement; communications, education and outreach; spill
prevention and response, and the California Fish and Game
Commission. Clearly this range of responsibilities extends far
beyond regulations of hunting and fishing as the current name
implies." Potential benefits of a name change cited by the SAG
included improved alignment between the name and DFG's current
broad range of duties, and improved understanding, appreciation
and support on the part of the wider public for the mission and
work of the department. It was also noted that polling efforts
leading up to the Proposition 21 campaign in November of 2011
found that the term "wildlife" and protection of wildlife
attracted wider support from diverse constituency groups than
virtually any other term or concept.
Support Arguments : Supporters include organizations that
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participated in the strategic vision process as members of the
stakeholder advisory group. Supporters state this bill would
further the objectives of that effort to ensure a positive
future for DFG and FGC and their critical public trust
stewardship responsibilities.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Audubon California
Ocean Conservancy
PAW PAC
Public Interest Coalition
The Nature Conservancy
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Diane Colborn / W., P. & W. / (916)
319-2096