Bill Text: CA AB2364 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: State amphibian: California red-legged frog.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2014-06-28 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 77, Statutes of 2014. [AB2364 Detail]

Download: California-2013-AB2364-Amended.html

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BILL NUMBER: AB 2364	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 26, 2014

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly  Members   V.
Manuel Pérez     and Bigelow
  Member   V. Manuel Pérez 

                        FEBRUARY 21, 2014

   An act to add Section 422.7 to the Government Code, relating to
state government.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2364, as amended, V. Manuel Pérez. State amphibian: California
red-legged frog.
   Existing law establishes the state flag and the state's emblems,
including, among other things, the poppy as the official state
flower, the California redwood as the official state tree, and the
California desert tortoise as the official state reptile.
   This bill would establish the California red-legged frog as the
official state amphibian.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (a) The California red-legged frog is the largest native frog in
the western United States and is found almost exclusively in
California with a few sightings in Baja California and Mexico.
   (b) The California red-legged frog is particularly well known as a
result of Mark Twain's famous short story "The Celebrated Jumping
Frog of Calaveras County," which featured the species.  To
this day, the County of Calaveras holds annual frog-jumping contests
as an important aspect of local history and tradition. 
   (c) The California red-legged frog's unique place in California's
history extends as far back as the 19th century gold rush. Miners,
known as forty-niners, consumed nearly 80,000 frogs per year, nearly
eating the species into extinction.
   (d) While the California red-legged frog no longer has to fear the
fork, the species continues to face myriad natural and manmade
threats, including the introduction of invasive species into the
California red-legged frog's habitat, as well as habitat loss. In
fact, according to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service,
populations of the California red-legged frog have disappeared from
nearly 70 percent of its historically known habitat. In May 1996, the
species was listed as a federal  endangered  
threatened  species, with the state also classifying it as
 endangered   a species of special concern 
and subject to protection in June 1996.
   (e) Declaring the California red-legged frog as the official state
amphibian of California will acknowledge the species' important
place in the ecology, culture, and history of California, as well as
broadcast and reinforce the state's commitment to protecting
endangered species.
  SEC. 2.  Section 422.7 is added to the Government Code, to read:
   422.7.  The California red-legged frog (Rana draytonii) is the
official state amphibian.