Bill Text: CA AB645 | 2021-2022 | Regular Session | Amended

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Bill Title: Fish and wildlife: poaching: penalties: probation period.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 1)

Status: (Failed) 2022-02-01 - From committee: Filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56. [AB645 Detail]

Download: California-2021-AB645-Amended.html

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Amended  IN  Assembly  March 11, 2021

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 645

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Introduced by Assembly Member Gallagher

February 12, 2021

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An act to amend Section 12012 Sections 12002.3, 12012, 12013, and 12013.3 of the Fish and Game Code, relating to fish and wildlife.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 645, as amended, Gallagher. Fish and wildlife: poaching: penalties. penalties: probation period.

Existing law prescribes certain penalties for the illegal sale or purchase of abalone taken by a person required to be licensed, as specified. Existing law prescribes certain penalties for the illegal take, possession, import, export, sale, purchase, barter, trade, or exchange of a bird, fish, mammal, reptile, amphibian, or part of any of those animals, or the illegal take or possession in the field of more than 3 times the daily bag limit, or the illegal possession of more than 3 times the legal possession limit, of those animals. Existing law prescribes certain penalties for the knowing violation and conviction of certain provisions involving trophy deer, elk, antelope, bighorn sheep, or wild turkey.

This bill would prohibit, if the court grants probation to a person punished pursuant to the above provisions, the period of probation from exceeding 3 years. Because this bill would extend the maximum period of probation that may be granted pursuant to these provisions, and thereby would increase the penalty for a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Existing law provides that a person who takes, possesses, imports, exports, sells, purchases, barters, trades, or exchanges a bird, fish, mammal, reptile, amphibian, or part of any of those animals, for profit or personal gain is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine between $5,000 to $40,000, or imprisonment in the county jail for not more than one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment. Existing law makes a second violation punishable by a fine between $10,000 to $50,000, or imprisonment in the county jail for not more than one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment.

This bill would increase the minimum fine for a second violation from $10,000 to $15,000.

Digest Key

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

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Bill Text

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

SECTION 1.

 Section 12002.3 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to read:

12002.3.

 (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a A violation of Section 7121 for the sale, purchase, or receipt of fish taken by a person required to be licensed pursuant to Section 7145 is punishable by a fine of not less than two thousand dollars ($2,000) or more than seven thousand five hundred dollars ($7,500), except as provided in subdivisions (b) and (c).

(b) If the violation in question involved the illegal sale or purchase of abalone taken by a person required to be licensed pursuant to Section 7145, the violation is punishable by a fine of not less than fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000) or more than forty thousand dollars ($40,000).

(c) If the violation in question involved a person who knowingly purchased or received for commercial purposes, fish taken by a person required to be licensed pursuant to Section 7145, the violation is punishable by a fine of not less than seven thousand five hundred dollars ($7,500) or more than fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000).

(d) If the court grants probation to a person punished pursuant to subdivision (b), the period of probation shall not exceed three years.

SEC. 2.

 Section 12012 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to read:

12012.

 (a) A person who illegally takes, possesses, imports, exports, sells, purchases, barters, trades, or exchanges a bird, fish, mammal, reptile, amphibian, or part of any of those animals, for profit or personal gain, is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than five thousand dollars ($5,000) nor more than forty thousand dollars ($40,000), or imprisonment in the county jail for not more than one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment.

(b) If a person is convicted of a second or subsequent violation of subdivision (a), that person shall be punished by a fine of not less than ten thousand dollars ($10,000) nor more than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000), or imprisonment in the county jail for not more than one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment.

(c) If a second or subsequent violation of subdivision (a) also involves a violation of Section 8685.5, 8685.6, 8685.7, or 8688 that is punishable by subdivision (b) of Section 12004, the offense shall be punishable by a fine of not more than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000), or by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 12004, or by both that fine and imprisonment.

(d) Notwithstanding Section 802 of the Penal Code, prosecution of an offense punishable under this section shall be commenced within three years after commission of the offense.

(e) This section does not apply to fish taken pursuant to a commercial fishing license issued pursuant to Section 7852, or fish sold pursuant to a commercial fish business license issued in accordance with Article 7 (commencing with Section 8030) of Chapter 1 of Part 3 of Division 6.

(f) This section does not supersede Section 12005 or 12009.

(g) (1) Moneys equivalent to 50 percent of the revenue deposited in the Fish and Game Preservation Fund from fines and forfeitures collected pursuant to this section shall be allocated for the support of the Special Operations Unit of the department, and used for law enforcement purposes.

(2) Moneys equivalent to 50 percent of the revenue from any fine collected pursuant to this section shall be paid to the county in which the offense was committed, pursuant to Section 13003. The board of supervisors shall first use revenues pursuant to this subdivision to reimburse the costs incurred by the district attorney or city attorney in investigating and prosecuting the violation. Any excess revenues may be expended in accordance with Section 13103.

(h) If the court grants probation to a person punished pursuant to this section, the period of probation shall not exceed three years.

SEC. 3.

 Section 12013 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to read:

12013.

 (a) Any person who illegally takes or possesses in the field more than three times the daily bag limit, or who illegally possesses more than three times the legal possession limit, of fish, reptiles, birds, amphibians, or mammals is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be subject to a fine of not less than five thousand dollars ($5,000), nor more than forty thousand dollars ($40,000), or imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment.

(b) If a person is convicted of a second or subsequent violation of subdivision (a), that person shall be punished by a fine of not less than ten thousand dollars ($10,000), nor more than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000), or imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment.

(c) Any person who maliciously and intentionally maims, mutilates, or physically tortures any fish, reptile, bird, amphibian, or mammal provided for in this code is guilty of a crime punishable in accordance with subdivision (a). Nothing in this subdivision affects any legal activity pursuant to this code, including, but not limited to, hunting, fishing, trapping, hunting dog training, hunting dog field trials, predation control, and efforts to dispatch a wounded mammal, bird, or fish taken legally.

(d) Nothing in this section prohibits a person from giving, receiving, or possessing the legal possession limit of lawfully taken fish, reptiles, birds, amphibians, or mammals.

(e) Nothing in this section prohibits a person from giving, receiving, or possessing, at the personal abode of the donor or donee, lawfully taken migratory game birds that are not required to be tagged pursuant to the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. Sec. 703 et seq.) or regulations adopted pursuant to that act.

(f) This section does not supersede Section 12005, 12006.6, or 12009.

(g) Moneys equivalent to 50 percent of the revenue from any fine collected pursuant to this section shall be paid to the county in which the offense was committed, pursuant to Section 13003. The board of supervisors shall first use revenues pursuant to this subdivision to reimburse the costs incurred by the district attorney or city attorney in investigating and prosecuting the violation. Any excess revenues may be expended in accordance with Section 13103.

(h) If the court grants probation to a person punished pursuant to this section, the period of probation shall not exceed three years.

SEC. 4.

 Section 12013.3 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to read:

12013.3.

 (a) Notwithstanding Section 12002, 12003.2, 12008, or 12008.5, the punishment for a person who knowingly violated and has been convicted of the following provisions where the violation involved a trophy deer, elk, antelope, or bighorn sheep shall be a fine of not less than five thousand dollars ($5,000) nor more than forty thousand dollars ($40,000), and where the violation involved a wild turkey, a fine of not less than two thousand dollars ($2,000) nor more than five thousand dollars ($5,000), or imprisonment in the county jail for not more than one year, or both that fine and imprisonment:

(1) Section 2001, if the person took an animal outside the established season.

(2) Section 2005.

(3) Section 257.5 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations.

(4) Section 4304.

(5) Section 4330.

(6) Section 1054.2, if the person failed to procure the required license or tag prior to taking a deer, elk, antelope, or bighorn sheep.

(b) The commission shall adopt regulations to implement this section, including establishing a trophy designation and monetary value based on the size or related characteristics of deer, elk, antelope, bighorn sheep, and wild turkeys.

(c) All revenue from fines imposed pursuant to this section for deer, elk, antelope, and bighorn sheep violations shall be deposited in the Big Game Management Account established in Section 3953 and shall be used for the big game management purposes described in that section.

(d) All revenue from fines imposed pursuant to this section for wild turkey violations shall be deposited in the Upland Game Bird Account established in Section 3684 and shall be used for the upland game bird conservation purposes described in that section.

(e) Moneys equivalent to 50 percent of the revenue from any fine collected pursuant to this section shall be paid to the county in which the offense was committed, pursuant to Section 13003. The county board of supervisors shall first use revenues pursuant to this subdivision to reimburse the costs incurred by the district attorney or city attorney in investigating and prosecuting the violation. Any excess revenues may be expended in accordance with Section 13103.

(f) If the court grants probation to a person punished pursuant to this section, the period of probation shall not exceed three years.

SEC. 5.

 No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.

SECTION 1.Section 12012 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to read:

12012.

(a)A person who illegally takes, possesses, imports, exports, sells, purchases, barters, trades, or exchanges a bird, fish, mammal, reptile, amphibian, or part of any of those animals, for profit or personal gain, is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than five thousand dollars ($5,000) nor more than forty thousand dollars ($40,000), or imprisonment in the county jail for not more than one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment.

(b)If a person is convicted of a second or subsequent violation of subdivision (a), that person shall be punished by a fine of not less than fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000) nor more than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000), or imprisonment in the county jail for not more than one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment.

(c)If a second or subsequent violation of subdivision (a) also involves a violation of Section 8685.5, 8685.6, 8685.7, or 8688 that is punishable by subdivision (b) of Section 12004, the offense shall be punishable by a fine of not more than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000), or by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 12004, or by both that fine and imprisonment.

(d)Notwithstanding Section 802 of the Penal Code, prosecution of an offense punishable under this section shall be commenced within three years after commission of the offense.

(e)This section does not apply to fish taken pursuant to a commercial fishing license issued pursuant to Section 7852, or fish sold pursuant to a commercial fish business license issued in accordance with Article 7 (commencing with Section 8030) of Chapter 1 of Part 3 of Division 6.

(f)This section does not supersede Section 12005 or 12009.

(g)(1)Moneys equivalent to 50 percent of the revenue deposited in the Fish and Game Preservation Fund from fines and forfeitures collected pursuant to this section shall be allocated for the support of the Special Operations Unit of the department, and used for law enforcement purposes.

(2)Moneys equivalent to 50 percent of the revenue from any fine collected pursuant to this section shall be paid to the county in which the offense was committed, pursuant to Section 13003. The board of supervisors shall first use revenues pursuant to this subdivision to reimburse the costs incurred by the district attorney or city attorney in investigating and prosecuting the violation. Any excess revenues may be expended in accordance with Section 13103.