Bill Text: CA AB979 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Amended

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

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Bill Title: Hunting or fishing: local regulation.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Vetoed) 2010-09-28 - Vetoed by Governor. [AB979 Detail]

Download: California-2009-AB979-Amended.html

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BILL NUMBER: AB 979	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  JULY 1, 2009
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MAY 18, 2009
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MAY 6, 2009
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 15, 2009
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 2, 2009

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Tom Berryhill

                        FEBRUARY 27, 2009

   An act to add Sections 1020 and 1021 to the Fish and Game Code,
relating to fish and game.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 979, as amended, Tom Berryhill. Hunting or fishing: local
regulation.
   The California Constitution provides for the delegation to the
Fish and Game Commission of powers relating to the protection and
propagation of fish and game. Existing statutory law delegates to the
commission the power to regulate the taking or possession of birds,
mammals, fish, amphibia, and reptiles in accordance with prescribed
laws. Under existing law, the Department of Fish and Game exercises
various functions with regard to the taking of fish and game. Under
existing law, a city or county exercises certain limited authority
with regard to the regulation of fish and game for the protection of
public health and safety.
   This bill would provide that the state fully occupies the field of
hunting and fishing  , but permits  . The bill
would  provide that nothing in the bill would preclude
  prohibit  a city or county  to adopt
 from adopting an ordinance or regulation  within
its territorial jurisdiction that indirectly impacts  
that affects  the taking of fish and game,  if 
 unless  the ordinance or regulation is both necessary for
public health and safety and  has  only indirectly
impacts   an incidental impact on  the field of
hunting and fishing preempted by state law. The bill would also
provide that unless otherwise authorized by the Fish and Game Code or
other state or federal law, the commission and the department are
the only entities that may adopt or promulgate regulations regarding
the taking of fish and game on any lands or waters within the state,
except as specified.
   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 1020 is added to the Fish and Game Code, to
read:
   1020.  (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (1) The California Supreme Court in In re Makings (1927) 200 Cal.
474, determined that Section 251/2 of Article IV of the California
Constitution, as currently set forth in Section 20 of Article IV,
prohibits local governmental entities from regulating, or interfering
with, fish and game matters and places this responsibility with the
Legislature in order to conserve California's fish and wildlife
populations and permit the largest use of fish and game compatible
with the reasonable protection thereof.
   (2) The Fish and Game Commission was established in 1870 to assist
in the science-based management of California's fish and wildlife
resources. The California Constitution permits the Legislature to
delegate to the commission certain powers relating to the management
of fish and game, and the Legislature has delegated to the commission
regulatory powers over the taking and possession of fish and game,
as set forth in this code.
   (3) Hunting and fishing are statistically among the safest outdoor
recreational activities, particularly as they relate to impacts on
the general public, and are already well regulated by the state
through mandatory safety requirements, weapons laws, and regulations
adopted by the commission. Additional local regulation  is
both unnecessary and  significantly impedes the uniform,
science-based administration of fish and game laws. Hunting and
fishing activities are also compatible with other recreational uses
on many public lands and waters throughout the state.
   (b) In enacting this section and Section 1021, it is the intent of
the Legislature to affirm, subject to applicable state and federal
law, the exclusive legal authority granted to the commission and the
department with regard to the taking and possession of fish and game
and thereby ensure necessary comprehensive statewide control by the
commission and the department over all fish and game matters for
wildlife conservation purposes and the protection of, and access to,
hunting and fishing opportunities for  private landowners and
 the public.
  SEC. 2.  Section 1021 is added to the Fish and Game Code, to read:
   1021.  (a) (1) The state fully occupies the field of hunting and
fishing pursuant to this code, regulations adopted by the commission
pursuant to this code, and Section 20 of Article IV of the California
Constitution, and all local ordinances and regulations are subject
to this section. 
   (2) Nothing in this section or Section 1020 precludes a city or
county from adopting an ordinance or regulation within its
territorial jurisdiction that indirectly impacts the taking of fish
and game, if the ordinance or regulation is both necessary for public
health and safety and only indirectly impacts the field of hunting
and fishing preempted by state law. The ordinance shall 
    (2)     A city or county shall not adopt an
ordinance or regulation that affects the taking of fish and game
unless the ordinance or regulation is both necessary for public
health and safety and has only an incidental impact on the field of
hunting and fishing preempted by state law. The ordinance or
regulation shall  not indiscriminately extend or apply to any
areas where the taking of fish and game may occur without endangering
public health and safety nor to any lands or waters owned or managed
by the state or federal government.
   (b) The commission, the department, or any other governmental
entity legally authorized to affect the taking of fish and game on
navigable waters held in public trust shall, to the extent possible,
ensure that the fishing and hunting rights of the public guaranteed
under Section 25 of Article I of, and Section 4 of Article X of, the
California Constitution, are protected in a manner consistent with
those provisions.
   (c) (1) Unless otherwise authorized by this code or other state or
federal law, the commission and the department are the only entities
in this state that shall adopt or promulgate regulations regarding
the taking of fish and game on any lands or waters within the state.
   (2) Nothing in this section or Section 1020 prohibits a 
landowner, including a regional park or open-space district formed
pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 5500) of Chapter 3 of
Division 5 of the Public Resources Code on land the district owns in
fee, leases, manages, or holds an easement in, or the landowner's
designee from restricting the taking of fish and game in a manner
consistent with state law on property in which the landowner has an
ownership interest.   public or private landowner, or
the landowner's designee, from regulating public access or enforcing
reasonable safety measures on property that the landowner owns in
fee, leases, manages, holds an easement in, or otherwise lawfully
controls, in a manner consistent with state law.