BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                     AB 298


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          CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS


          AB  
          298 (Gonzalez)


          As Amended  June 11, 2015


          Majority vote


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          |ASSEMBLY:  |80-0  |(April 20,     |SENATE: | 37-0 | (June 18, 2015) |
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          Original Committee Reference:  W., P., & W.


          SUMMARY:  Makes certain violations of regulations restricting  
          activities in Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) punishable as either  
          an infraction or a misdemeanor, unless the person who violates  
          the regulation holds a commercial fishing license or a  
          commercial passenger fishing boat license, or the violation  
          occurs within two years of a prior violation of the same  
          regulation, in which case the violation shall be a misdemeanor.


          The Senate amendments expand the exception to provide that a  
          second violation of the same regulation within two years of the  
          first violation shall be punishable as a misdemeanor.


          EXISTING LAW: 


          1)Provides that any violation of the Fish and Game Code or  








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            regulations adopted under the code is a misdemeanor, except  
            where expressly provided otherwise.  Makes a misdemeanor  
            punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000, imprisonment in  
            county jail for not more than six months, or by both the fine  
            and imprisonment.


          2)Provides that certain specified violations of the Fish and  
            Game Code or regulations may be punishable as an infraction or  
            a misdemeanor.  Infractions are punishable by a fine of not  
            less than $100 and not more than $1,000.


          3)Authorizes the FGC, under the Marine Life Protection Act  
            (MLPA) to approve a network of MPAs to protect and conserve  
            marine life and habitat, and to regulate commercial and  
            recreational fishing and any other taking of marine species in  
            MPAs.  Current regulations of the FGC regulate the public use  
            of MPAs, other marine managed areas, and special closure  
            areas.  


          FISCAL EFFECT:  None.  This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the  
          Legislative Counsel. 


          COMMENTS:  The author's purpose in introducing this bill is to  
          improve compliance with ocean wildlife and habitat protection  
          laws by providing additional tools to wildlife officers and  
          other law enforcement.  The MLPA authorized the FGC, following a  
          comprehensive public planning process, to establish a network of  
          marine protected areas to protect and conserve marine living  
          resources, habitats and ecosystems.  The process of establishing  
          a statewide MPA network in California was completed in 2012.  


          Under current law, any violation of the Fish and Game Code or  
          regulations adopted under the code, unless otherwise specified,  
          is punishable as a misdemeanor.  This bill would make certain  
          violations of regulations implementing the MLPA punishable as  
          either an infraction or a misdemeanor, commonly referred to as a  
          "wobblette."  This allows a prosecutor to decide whether to file  








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          a misdemeanor or an infraction charge, depending on the severity  
          of the circumstances.  Arguments in support of wobblettes  
          include that by allowing the option of either a misdemeanor or  
          an infraction to be charged, this flexibility may actually lead  
          to more prosecutions, since minor violations are often dismissed  
          and not prosecuted at all if the prosecution does not feel that  
          a misdemeanor charge is warranted.  In such a case, this bill  
          would allow the violator to be cited for an infraction.  On the  
          other hand, this bill would also allow a more serious violation  
          to be prosecuted as a misdemeanor, with the decision being left  
          up to the discretion of the charging entity. 


          Prior related legislation includes SB 392 (Berryhill), Chapter  
          346, Statutes of 2013, which amended the same code section to  
          make a violation of regulations prohibiting the possession of  
          birds taken in excess of daily bag and possession limits  
          punishable as either a misdemeanor or an infraction.  AB 1423  
          (Berryhill), Chapter 394, Statutes of 2009, similarly made  
          violation of the prohibition on willfully interfering with the  
          participation of an individual engaged in the lawful activity of  
          shooting, hunting, fishing, falconry, or trapping enforceable as  
          either an infraction or a misdemeanor, and made a 2nd violation  
          within 2 years of a prior violation punishable as a misdemeanor.  
           AB 1729 (Committee on Water, Parks & Wildlife), Chapter 285,  
          Statutes of 2007, also converted a number of violations of FGC  
          regulations from misdemeanors to infractions or misdemeanor  
          wobblettes, including regulations pertaining to the take of  
          squirrels, rabbits, small game and game birds, and bag and  
          possession limits for sport fish.


          The Senate amendments expand the exception to the wobblette such  
          that a second violation of the same offense within two years of  
          the first violation would still be subject only to the higher  
          misdemeanor penalty.


          Supporters of this bill assert that this bill will improve  
          enforcement of California's MPA network by providing law  
          enforcement with the authority to issue infractions instead of  
          misdemeanors.  They note that California's MPA network is the  








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          largest scientifically based network of MPAs in the United  
          States, and was crafted with significant stakeholder  
          involvement.  While compliance with MPAs appears to be high  
          overall, supporters assert that illegal poaching is occurring in  
          MPAs throughout the state.  However, due to the heavy caseloads  
          of district attorneys, evidentiary issues, and other competing  
          priorities, MPA laws are often under-enforced.  By allowing for  
          the issuing of infractions, violators may be prosecuted more  
          regularly and efficiently, while also allowing district  
          attorneys to focus on fully prosecuting more serious poaching  
          cases.  There is no known opposition to this bill.  


          Analysis Prepared by:                                             
                          Diane Colborn / W., P., & W. / (916) 319-2096     
                                                                  FN:  
          0000931