Bill Text: CA AB1673 | 2025-2026 | Regular Session | Amended

California Assembly Bill 1673

Bill Title: County fish and wildlife propagation fund: wildlife coexistence: tear gas.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 1)

Status: (Engrossed) 2026-06-18 - In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author. [AB1673 Detail]

Download: California-2025-AB1673-Amended.html

Amended IN Senate June 11, 2026

Amended IN Assembly April 09, 2026

Amended IN Assembly March 04, 2026

Amended IN Assembly February 23, 2026

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 1673

Introduced by Assembly Member Hadwick

February 02, 2026

An act to amend Section 13103 of of, and to add Section 1501.8 to, the Fish and Game Code, relating to fish and wildlife.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 1673, as amended, Hadwick. County fish and wildlife propagation fund: ~~expenditure.~~ wildlife coexistence: tear gas.

Existing law allows a person to purchase, possess, or use tear gas or a tear gas weapon for the projection or release or tear gas if the tear gas or tear gas weapon is used solely for self-defense purposes, subject to specified requirements. Under existing law, anyone who uses tear gas or a tear gas weapon except in self-defense is guilty of a crime.
This bill would allow a person, who is authorized by the Department of Fish and Wildlife to apply aversive conditioning on wolves, to purchase, possess, or use any tear gas weapon that expels a projectile upon authorization from the sheriff of a county or the chief or other head of a municipal police department of any city or city and county.

Existing law requires certain fines and penalties paid to and retained in a county treasury to be deposited in a county fish and wildlife propagation fund and expended for the protection, conservation, propagation, and preservation of fish and wildlife, as specified. Existing law authorizes expenditures from a county fish and wildlife propagation fund for purposes relating to fish and wildlife, including, among other things, costs incurred by a district attorney or city attorney in investigating and prosecuting civil and criminal actions relating to fish and wildlife.

This bill would additionally authorize expenditures from a county fish and wildlife propagation fund for costs relating to wildlife coexistence programs to prevent human-wildlife conflict.

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: NO Local Program: NO

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

Section 1501.8 is added to the Fish and Game Code, to read:

1501.8.
Notwithstanding Section 22810 of the Penal Code, a person who is authorized by the department to apply aversive conditioning on wolves may purchase, possess, or use any tear gas weapon that expels a projectile upon authorization from the sheriff of a county or the chief or other head of a municipal police department of any city or city and county.

SECTION 1.SEC. 2.

Section 13103 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to read:

13103.

Expenditures from the fish and wildlife propagation fund of any county may be made only for the following purposes:

(a) Public education relating to the scientific principles of fish and wildlife conservation, consisting of supervised formal instruction carried out pursuant to a planned curriculum and aids to education such as literature, audio and video recordings, training models, and nature study facilities.

(b) Temporary emergency treatment and care of injured or orphaned wildlife.

(d) Breeding, raising, purchasing, or releasing fish or wildlife that are to be released upon approval of the department pursuant to Sections 6400 and 6401 onto land or into waters of local, state, or federal agencies or onto land or into waters open to the public.

(e) Improvement of fish and wildlife habitat, including, but not limited to, construction of fish screens, weirs, and ladders; drainage or other watershed improvements; gravel and rock removal or placement; construction of irrigation and water distribution systems; earthwork and grading; fencing; planting trees and other vegetation management; and removal of barriers to the migration of fish and wildlife.

(f) Construction, maintenance, and operation of public hatchery facilities.

(g) Purchase and maintain materials, supplies, or equipment for either the department’s ownership and use or the department’s use in the normal performance of the department’s responsibilities.

(h) Predator control actions for the benefit of fish or wildlife following certification in writing by the department that the proposed actions will significantly benefit a particular wildlife species.

(i) Scientific fish and wildlife research conducted by institutions of higher learning, qualified researchers, or governmental agencies, if approved by the department.

(j) Reasonable administrative costs, excluding the costs of audits required by Section 13104, for secretarial service, travel, and postage by the county fish and wildlife commission when authorized by the county board of supervisors. For purposes of this subdivision, “reasonable cost” means an amount that does not exceed 15 percent of the average amount received by the fund during the previous three-year period, or ten thousand dollars ($10,000) annually, whichever is greater, excluding any funds carried over from a previous fiscal year.

(k) Contributions to a secret witness program for the purpose of facilitating enforcement of this code and regulations adopted pursuant to this code.

(l) Costs incurred by the district attorney or city attorney in investigating and prosecuting civil and criminal actions for violations of this code, as approved by the department.

(m) Costs incurred by a county counsel in investigating and prosecuting an action for civil penalties, injunctive relief, or civil penalties and injunctive relief pursuant to Section 5650.1 resulting from unlicensed cannabis cultivation.

(n) Wildlife coexistence programs to prevent human-wildlife conflict, including education, public outreach, engagement, and nonlethal measures, as approved by the department.

(o) Other expenditures, approved by the department, for the purpose of protecting, conserving, propagating, and preserving fish and wildlife.