BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2485
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 3, 2006
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Judy Chu, Chair
AB 2485 (Jones) - As Amended: April 24, 2006
Policy Committee: Water, Parks &
Wildlife Vote: 11-0
Revenue & Taxation 5-2
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill establishes a process for enhancing penalties imposed
for activities that can harm sea otters and other marine
mammals, and establishes a sea otter research program and
options for funding that program, including a personal income
tax (PIT) checkoff.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Minor penalty revenue, probably less than $50,000 annually
starting in FY 2006-07, generated by enhanced penalties
related to mammals, marine mammals, and fully-protected
mammals, including sea otters. (Fish and Game Preservation
Fund.)
2)Moderate costs, perhaps $250,000 annually starting in FY
2007-08, to the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) to
investigate sea otter mortality and enhance related
enforcement. These costs are covered by money from the
California Sea Otter (CSO) Fund and other funds that may be
appropriated by the Legislature. (CSO Fund and GF)
3)Moderate costs, perhaps $250,000 annually starting in FY
2007-08, to the California Coastal Conservancy (conservancy)
to conduct research and other programs related to sea otters.
(CSO Fund and GF.)
4)Minor GF revenue loss, about $15,000 annually starting the
year following the CSO Fund checkoff's appearance on the PIT
form. If the checkoff first appears on the 2008 tax return
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due in April 2009, annual GF revenue loss is $15,000 beginning
in FY 2009-10.
SUMMARY CONTINUED
Specifically, this bill:
1)States legislative intent to enact legislation to establish a
research program to reduce sea otter mortality from Nonpoint
source pollution and to develop treatment for pathogens
affecting this mortality.
2)Increases, from either $1,000 or $5,000 to $25,000, the
maximum fine imposed for each unlawful taking of a marine
mammal or a fully-protected mammal.
3)Requires a warning label to be affixed to cat litter products
that discourages consumers from flushing used cat litter down
the toilet or dumping it in gutters or storm drains.
4)Adds mammals to the list of fish, plants, and birds protected
by a provision that subjects persons who release deleterious
substances or materials into water to a maximum $25,000 fine.
5)Authorizes the addition of the CSO Fund income tax checkoff to
the personal income tax form upon the removal of another
income tax checkoff from the form, but expresses legislative
intent that the sea otter checkoff appear on the 2008 tax
form.
6)Creates the CSO Fund, from which the following allocations are
made:
a) 50% of available funds is allocated to the DFG to
increase investigation, prevention, and enforcement to
decrease sea otter mortality, for research programs,
education programs, and related assistance with sea otter
recovery.
b) 50% of remaining funds to the conservancy for research
and programs related to sea otters.
COMMENTS
1)Rationale . The author contends that, while sea otter
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populations along California's coast have increased
significantly in recent years due to the enactment of enhanced
protections and the establishment of various coastal and
marine sanctuaries, sea otter mortality rates have begun to
increase. There is evidence to indicate that water quality
degradation, in particular the introduction of pathogens into
the marine environment that are harmful to sea otters, is the
primary cause for this increased mortality. Necropsies
performed on dead sea otters reveal the presence of used cat
litter containing cat feces that contain these harmful
pathogens. The used cat litter is presumably introduced into
the marine environment when it is flushed down toilets or
disposed into gutters or storm drains along the coast.
2)Background . Cat feces carrying Toxoplasma parasites are
appearing in coastal waters, where they can infect sea otters,
causing brain damage and eventual death. Toxoplasma caused 17%
of sea otter deaths examined from 1998 to 2001, and individual
sea otters with moderate to severe brain inflammation were
four times more likely to die from a shark attack. Cats are
infected by eating infected birds or rodents. As a result, sea
otter researchers have urged owners to keep their cats indoor
and to dispose of used cat litter so as not to introduce
infected cat feces into the marine environment. Once the
Toxoplasma reached the ocean, it may be concentrated in
mussels, oysters and clams, major food sources for some
otters.
3)Sea Otter populations along the California coast, after having
been virtually eliminated by the fur trade of the 18th and
19th centuries, staged a partial comeback to about 2,400 in
1995. Since then, however, the number of sea otters has
declined to around 1,900. Sea otters face, in addition to
brain damage caused by the Toxoplasma parasite, several
maladies caused by concentrations of DDT and other pesticides
washed into the coastal waters from agricultural operations
(primarily adjacent to Monterey Bay) and concentrations of
polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and heavy metals from
stormwater and industrial discharge. In the past three years,
dead and dying sea otters have been found with domoic acid, a
toxin produced by decaying algae produced by increased organic
matter in the nearshore environment.
Oil pollution continues to be the primary threat to sea otters.
An oil spill can cause hypothermia and organ damage in sea
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otters when their insulating fur becomes matted by oil.
4)Tax Checkoffs . State taxpayers contribute money to one or
more of 13 voluntary contribution funds by checking a box on
their PIT return. California law requires contributions made
through checkoffs to be made from taxpayers' own resources
(not from their tax liability, as is possible on federal
income tax returns). Checkoff amounts may be claimed as
charitable contributions on taxpayers' returns during the
subsequent year.
To address concerns that a proliferation of checkoffs will
cause California's PIT form to grow to three pages, at
considerable cost to the state, all checkoff bills are
required to include a sunset date, a $250,000 minimum
contribution requirement indexed for inflation, and queuing
language to ensure that any new checkoff is not added to the
PIT form until an existing checkoff is removed. This boil is
consistent with that policy.
Analysis Prepared by : Steve Archibald / APPR. / (916)
319-2081