BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                  SB 752
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          Date of Hearing:   August 17, 2011

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Felipe Fuentes, Chair

                   SB 752 (Berryhill) - As Amended:  June 30, 2011 

          Policy Committee:                             Water, Parks and 
          Wildlife     Vote:                            9-2

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program: 
          No     Reimbursable:              No

           SUMMARY  

          This bill requires the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) to 
          share with a nonprofit conservation organization the contact 
          information of a person who voluntarily makes his or her contact 
          information available for this purpose at the time he or she 
          receives a hunting or fishing license through the department's 
          Automated License Data System (ALDS).  The bill requires a 
          nonprofit seeking to receive contact information from DFG to 
          submit, every three years, a request to the department and 
          authorizes DFG to charge a service fee to such nonprofit.  

          The bill prohibits a nonprofit that receives contact information 
          from sharing that information with any other party without 
          receiving the written consent of the affected individual.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          1)One-time costs to DFG to make programming changes to ALDS to 
            allow a person applying for a license to indicate his or her 
            preference to make his or her contact information available to 
            nonprofit conservation organizations.  (Fish and Game 
            Preservation Fund (FGPF).)

          2)Minor ongoing costs, in the tens of thousands of dollars 
            annually, to DFG to administer the contact-information-sharing 
            program.  (FGPF.)

          3)Potential annual fee revenue of an unknown amount, possibly 
            sufficient to cover DFG's start-up and ongoing costs.  (FGPF.) 
             









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            Actual fee revenue will depend upon the willingness of 
            nonprofit conservation organizations to participate in the 
            program, which will be influenced by the amount of the fees 
            charged by DFG to each organization.  The amount DFG charges 
            to each organization will depend upon the amount of start-up 
            and ongoing costs incurred by DFG, as well as the number of 
            nonprofits seeking to participate in the program over which 
            DFG can spread its costs.  Should few nonprofits seek to 
            participate, the amount DFG will need to charge each nonprofit 
            may be so high as to dissuade participation in the program.

           COMMENTS  

           1)Rationale  .  The author contends sharing of contact information 
            of hunters and anglers with nonprofit conservation 
            organizations will benefit all parties involved because these 
            nonprofits undertake conservation efforts that further DFG's 
            mission.  The author asserts that, because each hunter or 
            angler controls whether to allow DFG to share his or her 
            contact information, it is appropriate for the department to 
            make this information available for the agreed upon purpose.

           2)Background  .  Hunters and anglers be licensed by DFG before 
            "taking" wildlife.  DFG charges varying fees for these 
            licenses.  The department is in the process of transitioning 
            from a paper-based licensing system to the electronic ALDS, 
            which will be available online and at field locations, such as 
            kiosks.

           3)Supporters.   This bill is supported by the California Outdoor 
            Heritage Association (sponsor) and other conservation 
            nonprofits that undertake projects that further DFG's mission 
            and that could access the contact information made available 
            by this bill.

          4)  Opposition.   The only formal opposition registered to this 
            bill is from PAW PAC, which advocates for animal welfare.  
            Others have expressed concern about the appropriateness of a 
            public agency sharing the contact information of private 
            citizens with a private organization, which could use the 
            information for fundraising and other purposes.  
           
           Analysis Prepared by  :    Jay Dickenson / APPR. / (916) 319-2081 










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