BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 1166
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Date of Hearing: August 8, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
SB 1166 (Berryhill) - As Amended: June 15, 2012
Policy Committee: Water, Parks and
Wildlife Vote: 13-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill allows the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) to
authorize a nonprofit organization involved in the auctioning of
big game hunting tags on behalf of the department retain the
administrative costs to the organization of selling the tag or
10% of the amount of the sale, whichever is less.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Potential annual revenue loss to DFG of in the range of
$35,000 to $100,000 (special fund). Actual revenue loss will
depend on (a) the amount of big game tag auction revenue and
(b) the amount of auction revenue retained by nonprofit for
purported costs to administer the auctions. (The department
reports recent big game tag auction annual revenue ranging
from $350,000 to $400,000.)
2)Annual costs to the department of an unknown amount, but
possibly in the tens of thousands of dollars, to review
retention of auction revenue by nonprofits, request adjustment
when necessary and resolve related disputes (special fund).
COMMENTS
1)Rationale . The author contends nonprofits that conduct big
game tag auctions on behalf of DFG expend considerable funds
to administer the auctions, which includes auction advertising
and promotion and credit card payment processing fees. The
author further contends these nonprofits may become reluctant
to administer DFG big game tag auctions if the state does not
subsidize their administrative costs to do so.
SB 1166
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2)Background. In addition to the direct sale of big game
hunting tags to the public, state law authorizes DFG to
provide a limited number of big game tags for sale through
fund-raising auctions conducted by nonprofit partners. Each
fall, DFG requests proposals from interested conservation
organizations and finalizes agreements for these organizations
to sell specific tags during the winter and spring. Auction
proceeds go to DFG's management programs for big game species.
At least at present, nonprofits enthusiastically administer
auction of DFG's big game tags without receiving a state
subsidy to do so. Auctions generally occur at multipurpose
events organized by the nonprofit organizations. The auctions
seem to be quite a draw to these events, and those seeking to
attend oftentimes pay a registration fee to the nonprofit.
Take, for example, a recent fundraiser and banquet of the
California Chapter Wild Sheep Foundation (CCWSF), a nonprofit
organization of sheep hunters that advocates for and
financially supports the conservation of sheep and the
opportunity to hunt them. As the chapter's president noted in
a recent CCWSF newsletter, "There can only be more �sheep
hunting] tags when there are more sheep, and there are more
sheep as a result of your participation with WSF."
Promotional material for the event highlight camaraderie,
fundraising, merchandise and education; however, tag auctions
(including auction of DFG big game tags) appear to be the
banquet's most notable events.
In addition, it is not clear how a nonprofit is to identify
its cost to administer the big game tag auction, especially if
the tags are auctioned at a multipurpose event, such as the
CCWSF fundraiser and banquet. The bill provides no definition
of administrative costs by which a nonprofit may retain
auction proceeds. It is possible that a nonprofit may retain
auction monies to cover all costs of promoting and managing an
event at which DFG big game tags are auction, even if DFG tag
auction is only one aspect of the event. At the very least,
DFG will need to review auction monies retained by nonprofits,
resolve accounting disputes and seek to collect auction
revenues it concludes to have been inappropriately retained by
a nonprofit.
Analysis Prepared by : Jay Dickenson / APPR. / (916) 319-2081
SB 1166
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