BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                    AB 1844


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          Date of Hearing:  March 29, 2016 


                  ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON WATER, PARKS, AND WILDLIFE


                                 Marc Levine, Chair


          AB 1844  
          (Gallagher) - As Amended March 10, 2016


          SUBJECT:  Hunting and fishing licenses: reduced license fees:  
          Veterans


          SUMMARY:  Requires the Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) to  
          reduce the fee for a hunting license, sport fishing license, and  
          lifetime licenses, sold to a Veteran of the United States Armed  
          Forces.  Specifically, this bill:  


          1)Requires DFW to reduce the fee required to obtain a lifetime  
            sportsman's license, an annual or lifetime hunting license, or  
            an annual or lifetime sport fishing license, by 25%, for any  
            resident of the state who is a Veteran of the United States  
            Armed Forces and who was honorably discharged.


          2)Prohibits the Fish and Game Commission (FGC) from increasing  
            license fees for non-veterans to make up the loss of revenue  
            to DFW from the Veteran discount.


          3)Requires DFW to reduce the fee required to obtain any sport  
            fishing report card, validation, or other entitlement required  
            in addition to a sport fishing license by 25% for any resident  
            of the state who is a Veteran of the United States Armed  








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            Forces and was honorably discharged, and by 50% for a Veteran  
            who has a 50% or greater service-connected disability.   
            Prohibits FGC from increasing the fee required to obtain a  
            sport fishing report card, validation, or other entitlement  
            for nonveterans to make up the loss of revenue to DFW from the  
            Veteran discount.   


          EXISTING LAW:


          1)Requires an annual hunting license to be issued to any  
            resident of the state age 18 years or older upon payment of a  
            base fee of $31.25, to persons under age 18 years upon payment  
            of a base fee of $8.25, and to nonresident adults upon payment  
            of a base fee of $108.50.  The base fees are applicable to the  
            2004 license year and are adjusted annually based on changes  
            in the Implicit Price Deflator.  With annual adjustments, the  
            current fee levels for annual hunting licenses for 2015 are:   
            $47.01 for an adult resident hunting license, $12.45 for a  
            junior hunting license, and $163.65 for a nonresident hunting  
            license.  


          2)Requires a sport fishing license to be issued to a resident,  
            16 years of age or older, for a base fee of $31.25, and to a  
            nonresident for a base fee of $84.  The base fees apply to the  
            2004 license year.  With annual adjustments, the current  
            license fee for a resident adult sport fishing license in 2015  
            is $47.01, and for nonresidents is $126.36.


          3)Authorizes a disabled Veteran or recovering service member to  
            purchase a reduced-fee hunting license, or a reduced-fee sport  
            fishing license, for a base fee of $4.00, which with annual  
            adjustments is currently $6.95.  Defines a disabled Veteran as  
            a person having a 50% or greater service-connected disability  
            and an honorable discharge from military service.  A  
            recovering service member is a member of the military,  








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            including a member of the National Guard or a Reserve, who is  
            undergoing medical treatment, recuperation, or therapy and is  
            in an outpatient status while recovering from a serious injury  
            or illness related to the member's military service.


          4)Requires a lifetime hunting license or lifetime sport fishing  
            license to be issued upon payment of a base fee that ranges  
            from $365 to $600, depending on the age of the applicant.  The  
            base fee is applicable to the 2004 license year.  Current  
            lifetime hunting and sport fishing license fees after annual  
            adjustments range from $517 to $844.50, depending on age.   
            Additional lifetime packages are also available for bird  
            hunting, big game hunting and additional fishing privileges.  


          5)Requires that the first $20 of fees collected from initial  
            sales of lifetime hunting and fishing licenses be deposited in  
            the Fish and Game Preservation Fund, and the balance deposited  
            in the Lifetime License Trust Account, with the principal  
            subject to investment.  Authorizes the money in the Trust  
            Account to be invested through the Surplus Money Investment  
            Fund of the State, and for the interest to accrue to the Trust  
            Fund.  Further requires that DFW transfer $29.25 from the  
            Lifetime License Trust Account to the Fish and Game  
            Preservation Fund upon issuance of each annual renewal of a  
            lifetime hunting or fishing license.       


          6)Requires the Fish and Game Commission (FGC) to adjust the  
            amount of all of the above fees as necessary to fully recover,  
            but not exceed, all reasonable administrative and  
            implementation costs of the DFW and FGC relating to those  
            licenses.


          7)Makes reduced-fee sport fishing licenses available to low  
            income seniors for $6.95, and for free to low income Native  
            Americans and persons who are blind, developmentally disabled,  








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            or mobility impaired.  Also makes free motor vehicle hunting  
            licenses available to any mobility impaired disabled hunter  
            who must use a motor vehicle to pursue game, and is either  
            permanently or fully confined to a wheel chair, is an amputee,  
            or depends on the aid of a walker or crutches to walk.


          8)Requires the purchase of certain sport fishing report cards,  
            validations, or entitlements, in addition to a sport fishing  
            license, to fish for certain species of fish or in certain  
            locations.  Examples of sport fishing report cards include a  
            sport fishing ocean enhancement stamp, a steelhead trout  
            report card, a second rod sport fishing validation, and a  
            salmon punch card.  


          FISCAL EFFECT:  Unknown loss of revenues to DFW from discount  
          sales of hunting and fishing licenses to Veterans.


          COMMENTS:  This bill would require the DFW to issue reduced-fee  
          hunting and fishing licenses, and other sport fishing report  
          cards required to fish in addition to a sport fishing license,  
          to Veterans of the United States Armed Forces.


          1)Author's Statement: The current discounted fee for hunting and  
            fishing licenses in California only applies to disabled or  
            recovering Veterans.  The author of this bill seeks to give  
            Veterans more access to outdoor recreation opportunities in  
            California by providing discounted hunting and fishing license  
            fees to all Veterans, and to additionally provide discounts to  
            Veterans for sport fishing report cards that are required to  
            take specific fish or to fish in certain areas, in addition to  
            a sport fishing license.   



          The author intends with this bill to give more access to  








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            California Veterans and anticipates that increasing access  
            will expand participation in hunting and fishing by Veterans,  
            their families, and friends.  This expanded participation  
            should introduce more people to sport fishing and hunting and  
            could lead to increased sales of licenses in future years.   
            The author acknowledges that one concern with this bill may be  
            its potential fiscal effects on the DFW.  However, the author  
            asserts that the decrease in revenue from Veterans' purchases  
            of discounted fishing and hunting licenses should be made up  
            through an increased sales volume.    
          2)Background:  The DFW reports that in 2015, California issued  
            approximately 14,174 disabled Veteran sport fishing licenses,  
            which are issued on a calendar year basis. For the 2014/15  
            hunting license year, approximately 3,500 disabled Veteran  
            hunting licenses were issued.  Hunting licenses are issued on  
            a fiscal year basis, from July through June.  DFW also  
            indicates that fewer than 50 recovering service member  
            licenses have been issued each year since that program began  
            in 2013.  According to the Department of Veteran Affairs,  
            there are approximately 1.8 million Veterans living in  
            California, with 331,645 receiving monthly disability  
            compensation as of 2014.  This bill if enacted would therefore  
            increase from approximately 331,600 to 1.8 million the number  
            of individuals who would be eligible to purchase a reduced-fee  
            hunting or sport fishing license.    



          DFW Revenue Impacts: This bill prohibits the FGC from increasing  
            the fees for hunting and fishing licenses and sport fishing  
            report cards sold to nonveterans in order to recoup the loss  
            of revenue from increased sales of discounted licenses to  
            Veterans.  According to DFW, 17.1% percent of DFW's total  
            budget comes from sales of sport fishing and hunting licenses.  
             If the availability of discounted licenses to Veterans  
            results in a loss of revenue to DFW that is not made up  
            through increased license sales, as the author hopes will be  
            the case, DFW could face a deficit in the Fish and Game  
            Preservation Fund without a means of recouping it.  This could  








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            lead to a structural imbalance in the fund, unless that  
            imbalance is made up through increased appropriations to DFW  
            from other funding sources.  This bill, by offering discounted  
            lifetime licenses to an expanded pool of applicants could also  
            lead to a deficit in the Lifetime License Trust Account if  
            fees collected for lifetime fishing or hunting licenses are  
            insufficient to cover the costs of those licenses.

          National Security Providers:  Benefits for Veterans such as  
            reduced-fee hunting and sport fishing licenses, or state park  
            day use passes, have traditionally been extended in this state  
            to Veterans with disabilities.  This bill would expand such  
            benefits to all Veterans of the Armed Services.  In today's  
            complex and interconnected world, the universe of individuals  
            who provide national security services has arguably expanded  
            to include other service professions.  In addition to the  
            armed services, there are other forms of public service that  
            also put the service providers potentially in harm's way.   
            Extending reduced-fee benefits to all Veterans could raise  
            policy questions as to why such benefits shouldn't also be  
            extended to individuals who serve their country or community  
            in other ways, including but not necessarily limited to, fire  
            fighters, peace officers, National Security Administration  
            officers, ambulance drivers, and other first responders.   
            Where to draw the line in determining who is deserving of such  
            benefits also raises fiscal challenges regarding how to fund  
            such state services.   

          3)Double-Referral:  If this bill is approved by this committee  
            it is double-referred to and will be heard next in the  
            Assembly Committee on Veterans Affairs.


                    
          4)Prior and Related Legislation: SB 1287 (Harman), Chapter 409,  
            Statutes of 2012, and SB 1288 (Harman), Chapter 410, Statutes  
            of 2012, required DFW to offer reduced fee sport fishing and  
            hunting licenses to military personnel who are recovering  
            service members.








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            AB 1387 (Runner) of 2007 would have required reduced fee  
            hunting and fishing licenses and free state park passes to be  
            made available to members of the California National Guard.   
            AB 1387 was held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.


            AB 1527 (Committee on Water, Parks & Wildlife), Chapter 154,  
            Statutes of 2015, made technical changes to clarify the  
            documentation that is sufficient to demonstrate eligibility  
            for a disabled Veterans reduced-fee hunting license.


            AB 1972 (Chau) would extend eligibility for the state's  
            existing Distinguished Veteran State Park day use pass, which  
            currently is available to Veterans with disabilities who  
            served during war time, to also include Veterans with a  
            service-connected disability who served during peace time.  AB  
            1972 is also pending in this committee.



            SB 1081 (Morell) which is currently pending in the Senate  
            Natural Resources and Water Committee would require the DFW to  
            provide free hunting licenses to disabled Veterans and  
            recovering service members. 
          5)Support Arguments:  The California Sport Fishing League is  
            sponsoring this bill to make fishing and hunting more  
            accessible to California Veterans.  They assert that  
            California is the most expensive state in the Nation to fish,  
            making the need for this bill timely.  According to a study  
            developed by the League, fishing license sales have decreased  
            by over 50% since 1980, and the League believes that the high  
            cost of fishing licenses is a barrier to participation.  The  
            League considers this bill as a first step to reforming the  
            state's costly and antiquated fishing license program.  Most  
            importantly, the League is sponsoring this bill to reward  
            American Veterans who have defended our freedom with honor,  








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            and to assist them with rehabilitation by providing access to  
            recreation for them and their families. 


          6)Opposition Arguments:  No formal opposition was received,  
            however, since this bill would significantly expand the pool  
            of individuals eligible for a reduced-fee hunting or fishing  
            license, and prohibits the DFW from increasing license fees  
            for nonveterans in order to recoup the loss of revenue, this  
            bill could result in a significant loss of licensing fee  
            revenue to DFW, and a structural imbalance in the Fish and  
            Game Preservation Fund, if the revenue loss is not recouped by  
            some other means.


          REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:




          Support


          California Sport Fishing League (Sponsor)


          California Waterfowl Association




          Opposition


          None on file.












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