BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 752
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 752 (Tom Berryhill)
As Amended September 2, 2011
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :40-0
WATER, PARKS & WILDLIFE 9-2APPROPRIATIONS 16-0
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|Ayes:|Huffman, Halderman, Bill |Ayes:|Fuentes, Harkey, |
| |Berryhill, Blumenfield, | |Blumenfield, Bradford, |
| |Campos, Fong, Gatto, | |Charles Calderon, Campos, |
| |Jones, Olsen | |Davis, Donnelly, Gatto, |
| | | |Hall, Hill, Mitchell, |
| | | |Nielsen, Norby, Solorio, |
| | | |Wagner |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Roger Hern�ndez, Yamada | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Requires the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) to give
every person who is issued a hunting or fishing license, or
other entitlement, through DFG's Automated License Data System
(ALDS), the opportunity to authorize release of their personal
contact information to third party nonprofit conservation
organizations. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires DFG to give a person to whom a license, permit,
reservation, tag or other entitlement is issued through the
ALDS, the opportunity to voluntarily authorize release of
their personal contact information to eligible nonprofit
conservation organizations through means of a check-off box or
other means DFG determines appropriate.
2)Authorizes nonprofit conservation organizations seeking to
receive the personal contact information of persons who
purchase hunting and fishing licenses from DFG, to submit a
letter, in a manner determined by DFG, to DFG once every three
years providing evidence that the organization meets the
eligibility requirements to receive the contact information.
Requires DFG, if it determines that the organization is
eligible, to include it in a check-off box or other means as
DFG determines.
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3)Authorizes DFG to impose a charge on the nonprofit
conservation organization to pay to be included in the
check-off box and to receive the personal contact information.
The fee may not exceed DFG's reasonable direct administrative
costs.
4)Requires DFG, notwithstanding existing law otherwise making
such information confidential, to annually transmit personal
contact information collected from persons who are issued
hunting and fishing licenses or other entitlements to the
designated nonprofit conservation organizations.
5)Defines an eligible nonprofit conservation organization to
mean an entity that DFG determines meets all of the following:
a) Is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt nonprofit organization as
defined in the Internal Revenue Code and is registered
with the Attorney General;
b) Has goals and objectives directly related to the
conservation and management of fish and game species;
and,
c) In the prior three calendar years has entered into a
contract or other agreement, including but not limited
to, a license, easement, memorandum of understanding, or
lease, with DFG to perform habitat or other wildlife
conservation work, or to raise funds on behalf of DFG,
including, but not limited to, the sale of hunting
fundraising tags or related items.
6)Prohibits a nonprofit organization that receives contact
information from DFG from sharing that information with any
other third party without the prior written consent of the
individual to whom the contact information applies. Requires
DFG to remove the organization from the check-off box if the
organization violates this requirement, and provides that the
organization shall not be eligible to receive contact
information under this bill for at least 5 years after the
date the organization is determined ineligible.
7)Authorize DFG, upon appropriation of the Legislature, to use
moneys generated from the surcharge on entitlements purchased
through DFG's ALDS to pay a reasonable portion of the costs of
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making changes to the ALDS necessary to implement this bill.
8)Prohibit DFG from implementing this bill until the Fish and
Game Commission, by a majority vote, determines there is
sufficient interest among nonprofit conservation organizations
to allow DFG to recover, over a three year period, startup and
ongoing costs of implementing this bill.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides, with limited exceptions, that the names and
addresses of persons contained in records submitted and
retained by DFG for the purpose of obtaining recreational
fishing or hunting licenses are confidential and are not
public records (Fish and Game Code Section 1050.6).
2)Requires, with limited exceptions, the purchase of a fishing
or hunting license to take fish, birds or mammals.
3)Prohibits a state agency from disclosing any personal
information that would link the information disclosed to the
individual to whom it pertains unless the information is
disclosed with the prior written voluntary consent of the
individual to whom the record pertains, and only if that
consent has been obtained not more than 30 days before the
disclosure, or within the time limit agreed to by the
individual in the written consent (Civil Code Section
1798.24).
4)Prohibits all state government agencies from distributing or
selling any individual's electronically collected personal
information to any third party, without first obtaining the
individual's prior written consent. Defines personal
information to include any information that identifies the
individual, including but not limited to name, home address,
email address and phone number (Government Code Section
11015.5(b)).
5)Requires all state government agencies that collect personal
information electronically to notify the user that the agency
shall not distribute or sell any electronically collected
personal information about the user to any third party without
the permission of the user.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
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Committee:
1)Potential 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)Potential 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).
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.
The latest amendments may decrease the likelihood that this
would occur.
COMMENTS : This bill would allow members of the public to
voluntarily authorize release of their contact information to
eligible nonprofit conservation/sportsmen's groups when
purchasing a hunting or fishing license, tag, stamp or other
validation using DFG's online ALDS. The author asserts that by
providing a means for additional sportsmen to be in contact with
nonprofit conservation/sportsmen's groups, this bill provides a
way for DFG to help support private conservation efforts that
are consistent with DFG's goals and objectives. The author
notes this bill would also assist the nonprofit groups with
educational outreach.
Background information provided by the author indicates that
several other states, including North Dakota and Virginia,
currently allow hunters to voluntarily donate to nonprofit
organizations when purchasing their hunting licenses or other
entitlements. This bill would allow conservation and
sportsmen's groups to obtain personal contact information of
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people who buy hunting and fishing licenses from DFG so that
these groups could then solicit those individuals for
memberships or donations to their organizations. Groups
eligible to receive the contact information would be limited to
organizations that in the previous three years have entered into
agreements with DFG to perform conservation work, facilitate
fishing or hunting opportunities, or raise funds for DFG.
The author notes that conservation/sportsmen's groups provide
critical assistance to DFG in conserving wildlife and their
habitat. Examples include wetland restoration projects, big
game population surveys and research, controlled burns to
improve habitat, re-forestation projects, facilitation of
conservation easements on private land, and migratory bird
banding. Some nonprofit groups also raise funds for DFG by
selling big game fundraising tags and related items at their
events. According to the author, in 2010 the sale of bighorn
sheep, deer, elk and antelope fundraising tags by nonprofits
netted DFG $406,000 for research and management of those
species.
Supporters of this bill emphasize that this bill would help
connect individual hunters and fishermen with nonprofit
sportsmen's groups who perform habitat and other conservation
projects, and provide a means for DFG to support its traditional
non-governmental partners at minimal costs and effort.
Opponents of this bill express concerns this bill may only
benefit hunting groups but not other conservation groups, and
object to the mingling of public entitlement processes with
private organizations which could receive a competitive edge
from the sharing of information.
Analysis Prepared by : Diane Colborn / W., P. & W. / (916)
319-2096
FN: 0002603