BILL NUMBER: AB 1213 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE SEPTEMBER 3, 2013
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 20, 2013
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 add Section 4155 to the Fish and Game Code, relating to
fish and wildlife.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1213, as amended, Bloom. 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, which
would, beginning January 1, 2014, 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. The bill would require the commission to amend
its regulations to prohibit the trapping of bobcats adjacent to the
boundaries of each national or state park and national monument or
wildlife refuge in which bobcat trapping is currently
prohibited, and prohibited, as specified. The bill
would require the commission, commencing January 1, 2016, to consider
whether to prohibit bobcat trapping within, and adjacent to,
preserves, state conservancies, and any other public or
private conservation area areas
identified by to the commission
for by the public as warranting
protection, and to amend its regulations accordingly,
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 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 of Fish and Wildlife and the commission associated with
the trapping of bobcats in the state , as specified . 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) 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 nor the Fish and Game Commission possesses adequate data to
determine a sustainable harvest limit for bobcats.
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
adjacent to the boundaries of each national or state park and
national monument or wildlife refuge in which bobcat trapping is
currently prohibited, and within, and adjacent to, any other public
or private conservation areas 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).
(b) (1) Through the commission's next regularly scheduled mammal
hunting and trapping rulemaking process occurring after January 1,
2014, the commission shall amend its regulations to prohibit the
trapping of bobcats adjacent to the boundaries of each national or
state park and national monument or wildlife refuge in which bobcat
trapping is prohibited.
(2) Commencing January 1, 2016, the commission shall consider
whether to prohibit bobcat trapping within, and adjacent to,
preserves, state conservancies, and any additional public or private
conservation areas identified to the commission by the public as
warranting protection. The commission, as necessary, shall amend its
regulations through its next subsequently scheduled mammal hunting
and trapping rulemaking process to prohibit bobcat trapping in any
area determined by the commission to warrant protection.
(3) The commission shall delineate the boundaries of an area in
which bobcat trapping is prohibited pursuant to paragraph (1) or (2)
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.
(e) Consistent with the requirements of subdivision (c) of Section
4006, the commission shall set trapping license fees and associated
fees, including, but not limited to, shipping tags required pursuant
to Section 479 of Chapter 6 of Subdivision 2 of Division 1 of Title
14 of the California Code of Regulations, for the 2014-15 season, and
any subsequent seasons in which bobcat trapping is allowed, at the
levels 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, including, but not limited
to, enforcement costs.
(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. 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.