BILL NUMBER: SB 1166 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 18, 2012
INTRODUCED BY Senator Berryhill
FEBRUARY 22, 2012
An act to amend Sections 3953, 4334, and 4902 of, and to
add Sections 715 and 715.1 to , the Fish and Game
Code, relating to fish and wildlife resources.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1166, as amended, Berryhill. Department of Fish and Game:
wildlife-dependent recreational activities.
Big Game Management Account funds.
Existing law requires all money collected under the provisions of
the Fish and Game Code, including money received as a result of the
sale of licenses issued under the provisions of the code, to be
deposited into the Fish and Game Preservation Fund, unless otherwise
provided. Existing law grants authority to the Department of Fish and
Game to issue tags, stamps, and licenses for the hunting of
antelope, elk, upland game birds, deer, wild pigs, bears, and bighorn
sheep upon payment of a fee, to be deposited into the fund. Existing
law establishes the Big Game Management Account within the fund to
permit separate accountability for the receipt and, subject to
appropriation, the prescribed expenditure of revenues from antelope,
elk, deer, wild pig, bear, and bighorn sheep tags, including
fundraising tags.
This bill would require the department to permit a nonprofit
organization associated with the sale of deer or bighorn sheep tags
that are sold on behalf of the department for the purpose of raising
funds for specified programs and projects to retain the lesser of
that organization's administrative costs of selling the tag or 10% of
the amount for which the tag is sold.
Existing law requires that funds deposited in the account be
available for expenditure upon appropriation to the department, as
specified.
This bill would limit those specifications to the purposes defined
in the statute that creates the fund, as specified.
The Wildlife Conservation Law of 1947 authorizes the Wildlife
Conservation Board to authorize the acquisition of real property,
rights in real property, water, or water rights by the Department of
Fish and Game. Other existing law authorizes the department, for the
purposes of propagating, feeding, and protecting birds, mammals, and
fish, and establishing wildlife management areas or public shooting
grounds, subject to the approval of the Fish and Game Commission, to
acquire and occupy, develop, maintain, use, and administer, land, or
land and nonmarine water, or land and nonmarine water rights,
suitable for state game farms, wildlife management areas, or public
shooting grounds.
This bill would require the department to exercise its authority
to manage lands in a manner to support, promote, and enhance
wildlife-dependent recreational activities, including hunting and
sport fishing opportunities, to the extent authorized by law. The
bill would prohibit, to the greatest practicable extent, department
decisions and actions relating to land management from resulting in
any net loss of available wildlife-dependent recreational
opportunities that exist on January 1, 2013.
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 715 is added to the Fish and Game Code, to
read:
715. The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) The National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and
Wildlife-Associated Recreation has been conducted since 1955 and is
one of the oldest and most comprehensive continuing recreation
surveys.
(b) The 2006 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and
Wildlife-Associated Recreation found all of the following:
(1) Eighty-seven million five hundred thousand United States
residents 16 years of age and older participated in wildlife
dependent wildlife-dependent recreation.
(2) Individuals participating in wildlife-dependent recreation
spent $122.3 billion in 2006 on their activities, which equated to 1
percent of the gross domestic product.
(3) Hunters and anglers spent $76.6 billion, while wildlife
viewers spent $45.7 billion.
(4) Seven million four hundred thousand California residents and
nonresidents 16 years of age and older fished, hunted, or viewed
wildlife in this state .
(5) State residents and nonresidents spent $8 billion on
wildlife-dependent recreation in this state .
(c) The department Department of Fish and
Game reported that , in 2006, hunters and anglers
spent seventy-eight million dollars ($78,000,000) on licenses,
stamps, tags, and access fees.
(d) Revenue generated by wildlife-dependent recreational
activities play plays an exceedingly
important role in California's economy.
(e) Revenue generated by hunters and anglers is
critical to the department's ability to protect, enhance, and manage
wildlife habitat.
SEC. 2. Section 715.1 is added to the Fish and Game Code, to read:
715.1. (a) It is the intent of the Legislature that lands managed
by the department be open to wildlife-dependent recreational
activities, including hunting and sport fishing, except as limited by
the commission or department for reasons of public safety or as
otherwise limited by law.
(b) The department shall exercise its authority to manage lands in
a manner to support, promote, and enhance wildlife-dependent
recreational activities, including hunting and sport fishing
opportunities, to the extent authorized by law. To the greatest
practicable extent, department decisions and actions relating to land
management shall not result in any net loss of available
wildlife-dependent recreational opportunities, including hunting and
sport fishing, that exist on January 1, 2013.
715.1. (a) The department shall permit a
nonprofit organization associated with the sale of deer or bighorn
sheep tags that are sold on behalf of the department for the purpose
of raising funds for specified programs and projects pursuant to
subdivision (a) of Section 4334 and subdivision (d) of Section 4902
to retain the lesser of that organization's administrative costs of
selling the tag or 10 percent of the amount for which the tag is
sold.
(b) The total amount retained from a sale pursuant to subdivision
(a) shall not exceed the lesser of the administrative costs of that
sale or 10 percent of the amount of the sale.
SEC. 3. Section 3953 of the Fish and
Game Code is amended to read:
3953. (a) The Big Game Management Account is hereby established
within the Fish and Game Preservation Fund.
(b) All Notwithstanding Section 715.1
, all revenues from the sale of antelope,
elk, deer, wild pig, bear, and sheep tags, including any fundraising
tags, shall be deposited in the Big Game Management Account to
permit separate accountability for the receipt and expenditure of
these funds.
(c) (1) Funds deposited in the Big Game
Management Account shall be available for expenditure upon
appropriation by the Legislature to the department . These
funds shall be expended solely solely for the purposes
described in this section. As the primary purpose of the Big Game
Management Account, the department shall expend these funds for
the purposes set forth in this section and
Sections 3951 and 3952, and Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 450)
of Division 1, Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 4650), and Chapter
11 (commencing with Section 4900), including acquiring land,
completing projects, and implementing programs to benefit antelope,
elk, deer, wild pigs, bear, and sheep, and expanding public hunting
opportunities and related public outreach. Any land acquired with
funds from the Big Game Management Account shall be acquired in fee
title or protected with a conservation easement and, to the extent
possible, be open or provide access to the public for antelope, elk,
deer, wild pig, bear, or sheep hunting. The
(2) As a secondary purpose, the
department may also use funds from the Big Game Management Account to
pay for administrative and enforcement costs of the programs and
activities described in this section. The amount allocated from the
account for administrative and enforcement costs shall be
limited to the reasonable costs associated with the direct
administration and enforcement of the programs and
activities described in this section.
(d) The department may make grants to, reimburse, or enter into
contracts or other agreements as defined in subdivision (a) of
Section 1571 with, nonprofit organizations for the use of the funds
from the Big Game Management Account to carry out the purposes of
this section, including related habitat conservation projects.
(e) An advisory committee, as determined by the department, that
includes interested nonprofit organizations that have goals and
objectives directly related to the management and conservation of big
game species and primarily represent the interests of persons
licensed pursuant to Section 3031 shall review and provide comments
to the department on all proposed projects , and administrative
and enforcement expenditures funded from the Big Game
Management Account to help ensure that the requirements of this
section have been met. The department shall post budget information
and a brief description on an Internet Web site for all
projects funded expenditures from the Big Game
Management Account.
(f) Big game projects authorized pursuant to this section are not
subject to Part 2 (commencing with Section 10100) of Division 2 of
the Public Contract Code or Article 6 (commencing with Section 999)
of Chapter 6 of Division 4 of the Military and Veterans Code.
(g) The department shall maintain the internal accountability
necessary to ensure compliance with the collection, deposit, and
expenditure of funds specified in this section.
SEC. 4. Section 4334 of the Fish and
Game Code is amended to read:
4334. (a) The commission shall annually direct the department to
authorize, pursuant to Section 1054.8, the sale of not more than 10
deer tags for the purpose of raising funds for programs and projects
as set forth in Section 3953. All Except as
provided in Section 715.1, all revenue from the sale of tags
pursuant to this section shall be deposited in the Big Game
Management Account established in Section 3953 and, upon
appropriation by the Legislature, shall be expended as set forth in
that section.
(b) These tags may be sold to residents or nonresidents of the
State of California at auction or by any other method and are not
subject to the fees prescribed by Section 4332.
(c) These funds shall augment, not supplant, any other funds
appropriated to the department for the preservation, restoration,
utilization, and management of deer. All revenues derived from the
sale of these tags shall be remitted to the department by the seller.
SEC. 5. Section 4902 of the Fish and
Game Code is amended to read:
4902. (a) The commission may adopt all regulations necessary to
provide for biologically sound management of Nelson bighorn sheep
(subspecies Ovis canadensis nelsoni).
(b) (1) After the plans developed by the department pursuant to
Section 4901 for the management units have been submitted, the
commission may authorize sport hunting of mature Nelson bighorn rams.
Before authorizing the sport hunting, the commission shall take into
account the Nelson bighorn sheep population statewide, including the
population in the management units designated for hunting.
(2) Notwithstanding Section 219, the commission shall not,
however, adopt regulations authorizing the sport hunting in a single
year of more than 15 percent of the mature Nelson bighorn rams in a
single management unit, based on the department's annual estimate of
the population in each management unit.
(c) The fee for a tag to take a Nelson bighorn ram may be
determined by the commission, but shall not exceed five hundred
dollars ($500). Fee revenues shall be deposited in the Big Game
Management Account established in Section 3953 and, upon
appropriation by the Legislature, shall be expended as set forth in
that section.
(d) The commission shall annually direct the department to
authorize not more than three of the tags available for issuance that
year to take Nelson bighorn rams for the purpose of raising funds
for programs and projects to benefit Nelson bighorn sheep. These tags
may be sold to residents or nonresidents of the State of California
at auction or by another method and shall not be subject to the fee
limitation prescribed in subdivision (c). Commencing with tags sold
for the 1993 hunting season, if more than one tag is authorized, the
department shall designate a nonprofit organization organized
pursuant to the laws of this state, or the California chapter of a
nonprofit organization organized pursuant to the laws of another
state, as the seller of not less than one of these tags. The number
of tags authorized for the purpose of raising funds pursuant to this
subdivision, if more than one, shall not exceed 15 percent of the
total number of tags authorized pursuant to subdivision (b).
All Except as provided in Section 715.1, all
revenue from the sale of tags pursuant to this subdivision shall be
deposited in the Big Game Management Account established in Section
3953 and, upon appropriation by the Legislature, shall be expended as
set forth in that section.
(e) No tag issued pursuant to this section shall be valid unless
and until the licensee has successfully completed a prehunt hunter
familiarization and orientation and has demonstrated to the
department that he or she is familiar with the requisite equipment
for participating in the hunting of Nelson bighorn rams, as
determined by the commission. The orientation shall be conducted by
the department at convenient locations and times preceding each
season, as determined by the commission.