BILL NUMBER: AB 1213 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 24, 2013
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 6, 2013
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 24, 2013
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 19, 2013
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Bloom
FEBRUARY 22, 2013
An act to amend Section 4000 of, and to add
Section 4013 to, 4155 to the Fish and
Game Code, relating to fish and wildlife.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1213, as amended, Bloom. The Bobcat
Protection Act of 2013.
Existing law enumerates the fur-bearing mammals that may be taken
only with a trap, a firearm, a bow and arrow, or poison under a
proper permit, or with the use of dogs, and requires every person,
other than a fur dealer, who traps fur-bearing mammals or nongame
mammals designated by the Fish and Game Commission, or who sells raw
furs of those mammals, to procure a trapping license. A violation of
any of the provision of the Fish and Game Code, or any rule,
regulation, or order made or adopted under those provisions, is a
misdemeanor, unless otherwise specified.
This bill would enact the Bobcat Protection Act of 2013 that
would, among other things, add the bobcat to the list of fur-bearing
mammals subject to the licensing and other requirements for
fur-bearing mammals specified above.
This bill would authorize the Department of Fish and Game
to prepare a management plan for the taking of bobcats pursuant to
trapping licenses that is based on various factors, including, among
others, statewide and regional population estimates for bobcats, and
an estimate of the costs to the department for implementing the
management plan. The bill would require the management plan to
include, among other things, a prohibition on trapping bobcats on
private land without the consent of the owner. The bill would
authorize the Fish and Game Commission to promulgate regulations
consistent with the management plan, and would specify that if
regulations are not promulgated by July 1, 2015, specified provisions
would take effect, including, among others, provisions that would
make it unlawful to trap or attempt to trap, or sell or export a
bobcat, as specified. This bill enact the Bobcat
Protection Act of 2013, which would, beginning January 1, 2014,
apply these provisions to make it unlawful
to trap any bobcat, or attempt to do so, or to sell or export any
bobcat or part of any bobcat taken in the area surrounding
Joshua Tree National Park, as specified. Because a violation
of the provisions of the management plan and regulations adopted by
the commission would be a misdemeanor The bill would
require the commission to amend its regulations to prohibit the
trapping of bobcats within, and adjacent to, the boundaries of a
national or state park, monument or preserve, national wildlife
refuge, and other public or private conservation area identified by
the commission for protection, as specified. The bill would prohibit
the trapping of any bobcat, or attempt to do so, on any private land
not belonging to the trapper without the express written consent of
the owner of that property, as specified. The bill would require the
commission to set trapping license fees for the 2014-2015 season, and
any subsequent seasons in which bobcat trapping is allowed, at the
level necessary to fully recover all reasonable admin
istrative and implementation costs of the Department of Fish and
Wildlife and the commission associated with the trapping of bobcats
in the state. The bill would provide that these provisions do not
limit the ability of the department or the commission to impose
additional requirements, restrictions, or prohibitions related
to the taking of bobcats. By changing the definition of a crime
, the 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.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the
Bobcat Protection Act of 2013.
SEC. 2. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) It is the intent of the Legislature in adopting this act to
ensure that the bobcat (Lynx rufus) remains a fully functional
component of the ecosystems it inhabits throughout its range in
California.
(b) The Legislature recognizes that bobcats are an irreplaceable
part of California's natural habitat, and that, as predators of small
mammals, bobcats play an important role in regulating the population
of rodents in California's deserts, forests, and grasslands.
(c) The Legislature further recognizes that millions of people
visit California's national and state parks and other public and
private conservation areas for the purposes of, among other things,
viewing wildlife, including bobcats, and that this visitation
contributes millions of dollars to California's economy.
(d) The Legislature further recognizes that bobcats and other
native wildlife often cross the boundaries of national parks and
other protected areas into adjacent areas where the taking of bobcats
is currently allowed pursuant to the Fish and Game Code and the
regulations adopted pursuant to that code.
(e) While bobcats are hunted and trapped primarily for
their fur, rather than being classified as "fur-bearing mammals"
under the Fish and Game Code, bobcats are considered "nongame mammals"
under the laws of this state and consequently current
Current California laws and regulations provide no limits on
the sex, age, location, or number of bobcats that may be taken by
licensed trappers on private and public lands in California where the
taking of wildlife is not otherwise prohibited.
(f) Current regulations provide for the commercial sale and export
of bobcat pelts taken by hunters or trappers in California.
(g) The Legislature further finds that a rise in the demand for
bobcat pelts in China and other foreign markets has resulted in a
substantial increase in the number of trappers taking bobcats as well
as in the number of bobcats taken for commercial purposes in
California.
(h) Reliable population estimates do not exist for bobcats
statewide in California and neither the Department of Fish and
Wildlife or nor the Fish and Game
Commission possesses adequate data to determine a sustainable harvest
limit for bobcats.
SEC. 3. Section 4000 of the Fish and Game Code
is amended to read:
4000. The following are fur-bearing mammals: pine marten, fisher,
mink, river otter, gray fox, red fox, kit fox, raccoon, beaver,
badger, bobcat, and muskrat.
SEC. 4. Section 4013 is added to the Fish and
Game Code, to read:
4013. (a) The department may prepare a plan setting forth a
proposed management regime for the taking of bobcats pursuant to
trapping licenses. The management plan shall be based upon and
include the following:
(1) A current population estimate for bobcats at the statewide and
regional levels. The estimate shall be generated using modern
population census techniques, such as mark and recapture studies,
scat and track surveys, DNA sampling, and camera trapping. The
estimate may not be based solely upon harvest data or habitat
modeling. For each area included in the population estimate, the
department shall rely upon recent area-specific data on bobcat
abundance and population trend. Consistent with the requirements of
Section 703.3 that all resource management decisions be informed by
credible science, the department shall, to the maximum extent
practicable, rely upon recent published, peer-reviewed studies in
generating the population estimate.
(2) An estimate of maximum sustainable harvest limits for bobcats
at the statewide and regional levels. The estimate shall be based
upon California-specific studies on bobcat fecundity, survivorship,
and habitat use, accounting for the differences among ecosystems
within the state. The estimate shall take into account other sources
of human-caused mortality to bobcats such as road mortality,
rodenticide poisoning, and habitat loss. In determining a sustainable
harvest level, the department shall, consistent with the
requirements of Section 1755, consider not just the continued
viability of bobcats, but also the goal of maintaining bobcat
abundance so as to not appreciably diminish either their role in
ecosystem maintenance or the likelihood and opportunity of bobcat
encounters for nonconsumptive uses such as wildlife viewing.
(3) An estimate of the full costs to the department of
implementing the management plan, including the costs of
administering, monitoring, and enforcing a harvest regime.
(4) An estimate of the full economic and ecosystem values of
bobcats in California, including their role in regulating rodent
populations, and the economic contributions of nonconsumptive uses
such as tourism, wildlife viewing, photography, and property values.
(5) A full consideration of restrictions on harvest, including
no-harvest zones in and around state and national parks and other
protected areas, prohibitions within residential areas and other
areas where conflicts with nonconsumptive uses may be reasonably
anticipated to occur, area-specific limits, bag limits, and
restrictions of age and gender of animals taken.
(6) The management plan shall include, but is not limited to, the
following provisions:
(A) A prohibition on trapping within two miles from the boundaries
of national and state parks and preserves, national wildlife
refuges, and any other public or private conservation area identified
by the department or commission following consultation with the
public.
(B) A prohibition on trapping in any biologically significant
region of the state where the department lacks a reliable population
estimate generated from data gathered within the previous five years.
(C) A prohibition on trapping on private land without the express
written consent of the owner.
(D) Area and individual harvest limits sufficient to prevent
depletion of bobcat populations at the local scale.
(E) Trapping license and shipping tag fees sufficient to fully
offset on an annual basis the costs estimated by the department
pursuant to paragraph (3) and as otherwise required by subdivision
(c) of Section 4006.
(7) Any proposed management plan shall be prepared in conformance
with the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act
(Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources
Code) and other applicable laws, and be subject to public review and
comment. During the preparation of the management plan, the
department shall hold a minimum of six public hearings, including in
Los Angeles, San Francisco, and other representative areas of the
state.
(b) Upon completion of any proposed management plan prepared
pursuant to subdivision (a) by the department, the commission may
promulgate regulations consistent with that plan.
(c) If no final regulations are promulgated by the commission
pursuant to subdivision (b) by July 1, 2015, the following provisions
shall take effect and shall remain in effect unless repealed by
statute.
(1) Notwithstanding Sections 4002, 4003, 4005, and 4006, and
Article 2 (commencing with Section 4030), or any provision of the
regulations adopted pursuant to this code, it is unlawful to trap any
bobcat, or attempt to do so, or to sell or export any bobcat or part
of any bobcat taken in California, or to receive, transport, or
possess any bobcat or any part or product of any bobcat taken in
violation of this code or regulations adopted pursuant to this code.
(2) The prohibition on the trapping of bobcats pursuant to
paragraph (1) does not apply to the taking of any bobcat by employees
of the department acting in an official capacity or to a taking in
accordance with the conditions of a scientific or propagation permit
by the holder of that permit, or to the lawful taking of bobcats
found to be injuring crops or property pursuant to Section 4180 or
other provisions of this code, or the regulations adopted pursuant to
this code.
(3) The prohibition on the sale or export of bobcats or any part
of a bobcat pursuant to paragraph (1) does not apply to any bobcat or
any part or product of any bobcat lawfully possessed before July 1,
2015.
(d) Beginning January 1, 2014, it is unlawful to trap any bobcat,
or attempt to do so, or to sell or export any bobcat or part of any
bobcat taken in the area surrounding Joshua Tree National Park,
defined as follows: East and South of State Highway 62 from the
intersection of Interstate 10 to the intersection of State Highway
177; West of State Highway 177 from the intersection of State Highway
62 to the intersection with Interstate 10; North of Interstate 10
from State Highway 177 to State Highway 62. The prohibition shall
remain in effect irrespective of whether the management plan and
regulations contemplated in subdivisions (a) and (b) are adopted.
This prohibition on the trapping of bobcats does not apply to the
taking of any bobcat by employees of the department acting in an
official capacity or to a taking in accordance with the conditions of
a scientific or propagation permit by the holder of that permit, or
to the lawful taking of bobcats found to be injuring crops or
property pursuant to Section 4180 or other provisions of this code,
or the regulations adopted pursuant to this code.
SEC. 3. Section 4155 is added to the
Fish and Game Code , to read:
4155. (a) Beginning January 1, 2014, it shall be unlawful to trap
any bobcat, or attempt to do so, or to sell or export any bobcat or
part of any bobcat taken in the area surrounding Joshua Tree National
Park, defined as follows: East and South of State Highway 62 from
the intersection of Interstate 10 to the intersection of State
Highway 177; West of State Highway 177 from the intersection of State
Highway 62 to the intersection with Interstate 10; North of
Interstate 10 from State Highway 177 to State Highway 62.
(b) At its next regularly scheduled mammal hunting and trapping
rulemaking process to occur after January 1, 2014, the commission
shall amend its regulations to prohibit the trapping of bobcats
within, and adjacent to, the boundaries of a national or state park,
monument or preserve, national wildlife refuge, and other public or
private conservation area identified by the commission for
protection. The commission shall delineate the boundaries of any
prohibited area using readily identifiable features, such as highways
or other major roads, such as those delineated for Joshua Tree
National Park in subdivision (a).
(c) The prohibition on the trapping of bobcats in the areas
designated pursuant to subdivisions (a) and (b) shall not apply to
the taking of any bobcat by employees of the department acting in an
official capacity, to a taking in accordance with the conditions of a
scientific, educational, or propagation permit pursuant to Section
1002 by the holder of that permit, or to the lawful taking of bobcats
found to be injuring crops or other property pursuant to Section
4152 or other provisions of this code or regulations adopted pursuant
to this code.
(d) Notwithstanding Section 2016 or any other provisions of this
code, on and after January 1, 2014, it shall be unlawful to trap any
bobcat, or attempt to do so, on any private land not belonging to the
trapper without the express written consent of the owner of that
property. The placing or possession of any trap or the possession of
a bobcat or part thereof on any land is prima facie evidence of a
violation of this subdivision.
(e) Pursuant to the requirements of subdivision (c) of Section
4006, the commission shall set trapping license fees for the 2014-15
season, and any subsequent seasons in which bobcat trapping is
allowed, at the level necessary to fully recover all reasonable
administrative and implementation costs of the department and the
commission associated with the trapping of bobcats in the state.
(f) This section does not limit the ability of the department or
the commission to impose additional requirements, restrictions, or
prohibitions related to the taking of bobcats, including a complete
prohibition on the trapping of bobcats pursuant to this code.
SEC. 5. SEC. 4. 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.