BILL ANALYSIS Ó SENATE COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES AND WATER Senator Fran Pavley, Chair 2015 - 2016 Regular Bill No: AB 1844 Hearing Date: June 28, 2016 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Author: |Gallagher | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Version: |May 27, 2016 | ----------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes | ----------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Consultant:|Matthew Dumlao | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: Hunting and fishing licenses: reduced license fees: veterans BACKGROUND AND EXISTING LAW The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) is responsible for managing hunting and sport fishing within the state. Current law requires CDFW to issue hunting licenses to take birds or mammals and a fishing license to take fish, reptiles, or amphibians. In many cases, the license is the minimum level of certification a hunter or angler needs to take an animal. For some birds and mammals, CDFW issues tags to allow hunters to take specific animals from certain areas. Each year, the total number of tags issued by CDFW for each animal as well as the number of tags each licensee is eligible to receive is restricted. Similarly, CDFW requires report cards, stamps, or validations for certain fish and regions. Currently, annual hunting and sport fishing licenses each cost $47.01 for California residents. In addition to annual licenses, existing law requires CDFW to offer lifetime passes for hunting licenses, fishing licenses, and a combination pass called a sportsman's license (Fish and Game Code § 3031.2, 7149.2, and 714, respectively). To purchase a sportsman's license, the individual must buy the hunting and fishing licenses separately and there is no additional discount for buying both licenses at the same time. The cost of a lifetime license depends on the applicant's age. AB 1844 (Gallagher) Page 2 of ? Currently, the cost for a lifetime hunting or fishing license is $517.00 for persons 9 years or younger, $844.50 for persons 10 to 39 years old; $761.00 for persons 40 to 61 years old; and $517.00 for persons 62 years old or older. In addition to the lifetime license, CDFW also offers lifetime "privilege packages" for stamps, report cards, tags and other entitlements that are required to take certain mammals, birds, and fish. Under existing law, certain groups are provided hunting and sport fishing licenses for free or a reduced fee. Reduced fees for sport fishing licenses are provided to low income senior citizens, disabled veterans and recovering service members. A disabled veteran is defined as a person having a 50 percent or greater service-connected disability, as determined by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. Currently, the cost for a reduced-fee hunting or sport fishing license is $6.95 annually. Free annual sport fishing licenses are provided to low income Native Americans as well as to blind, developmentally disabled, or mobility impaired individuals. Hunting licenses are provided free-of-charge for mobility impaired individuals. Hunting tags are issued for big game animals, including bear, elk, deer, antelope, bighorn sheep, and wild pigs. Tags are also issued for bobcats. Since demand for big game hunting tags exceeds the number of animals that can be killed sustainably each year, most hunting tags are given out through a drawing. Applying for an animal-specific tag drawing costs between $5.97 and $38.62. The tags themselves cost between $22.42 and $445.35. Furthermore, taking ducks and some upland game birds requires a separate validation ($20.52 and $9.46, respectively). In addition to a sport fishing license, CDFW requires a report card for certain fish including abalone, sturgeon, North Coast salmon, steelhead, and spiny lobster. Report cards range from $6.22 to $22.42. Fishing with a second rod and fishing in certain ocean waters require a validation ($14.61 and $5.14, respectively). PROPOSED LAW This bill would require CDFW to reduce the fee to obtain AB 1844 (Gallagher) Page 3 of ? lifetime hunting, fishing or sportsmen licenses by 25 percent for a person who is a veteran of the United States Armed Forces, was honorably discharged, and is a California resident. The discount would not apply to the additional privilege packages. ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT The author argues this bill is necessary because it "recognizes the sacrifices of our veterans by granting them a well-deserved discount on hunting and fishing licenses. These recreational outdoor activities can help veterans rehabilitate from the stresses of their service. This bill helps veterans and also encourages participation in a vital California industry and pastime." The California Sportfishing League echoed the arguments made by the author and added that "California should consider this legislation as a first step to reforming its costly and antiquated fishing license program." ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION None received. COMMENTS How does the lifetime license program work? Anyone who purchases a lifetime license receives a new license each year at no cost from a CDFW license agent or from the CDFW Online License Sales site. The lifetime license program works by depositing the money for the purchase of a lifetime license into a dedicated account called the Lifetime License Trust Account. Each year, the money in that trust account earns interest and CDFW receives an allocation equal to one license fee for every person holding a lifetime fishing or hunting license. Over the course of your lifetime, the money taken from the trust account is offset by interest earned on the principal. Who would be affected by the discount and how much could they save? AB 1844 (Gallagher) Page 4 of ? All honorably discharged veterans of the United States Armed Forces with California residency are eligible. Individuals who leave California and become residents of another state either temporarily or permanently can keep their lifetime license. Lifetime licenses are not transferrable. As stated in the background section, the cost of the lifetime passes depends on the age of the applicant. Veterans can fall under the three upper age groups (no one between the ages of 0 and 9 could apply as a veteran) and the potential savings range from $129.25 to $211.10. Under existing law, disabled veterans receive a discount of approximately 85 percent on annual hunting and fishing licenses. It would be cheaper to apply for an annual hunting and/or fishing license than to purchase a lifetime license, even if discounted by 25 percent. Therefore, it is unlikely disabled veterans would benefit from this bill. That said, the primary aim of this bill is to assist all veterans, not just the veterans who were seriously injured while serving our country. While all veterans deserve Are other discounts offered for lifetime passes? CDFW does not currently offer discounts on lifetime passes. Since no group currently receives a discount on lifetime licenses, would this bill set a precedent and open the door for other groups to seek a discount? In contrast to the lifetime passes, certain groups are eligible for discounts on annual hunting and fishing licenses. Disabled veterans and recovering service members are eligible for reduced-fee hunting and fishing licenses. Additionally, reduced-fee fishing licenses are available to low income seniors, and free fishing licenses are available for low income Native Americans and blind, mobility impaired or developmentally disabled individuals. What is the potential fiscal impact of the proposed bill? According to the analysis from the Assembly Appropriations Committee, discounting hunting and fishing licenses could significantly reduce revenue for the Fish and Game Preservation Fund and Lifetime License Trust Account. Revenue from license sales is used to support CDFW's wide range of programs that AB 1844 (Gallagher) Page 5 of ? support hunting and sport fishing, including fish hatcheries, fish stocking, wildlife management, management of wildlife areas, law enforcement, habitat restoration, and education programs. According to the California 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 increases eligibility from a universe of approximately 331,600 to 1.8 million veterans. Related legislation. SB 1287 (Harman), Chapter 409, Statutes of 2012, and SB 1288 (Harman), Chapter 410, Statutes of 2012, required CDFW to offer reduced-fee sport fishing and hunting licenses, respectively, to military personnel who are recovering service members. 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 (Morrell) would have require the CDFW to provide free hunting licenses to disabled Veterans and recovering service members. SB 1081 was held in Senate Appropriations. SUGGESTED AMENDMENTS AB 1844 (Gallagher) Page 6 of ? None. SUPPORT American G.I. Forum of California American Legion - Department of California AMVETS - Department of California California Association for Recreational Fishing California Association of County Veterans Service Officers California Sportfishing League (sponsor) California Waterfowl Association Military Officers Association of America - California Council of Chapters National Marine Manufacturers Association Outdoor Sportsmen's Coalition of California Safari Club International Vietnam Veterans of America - California State Council One individual OPPOSITION None received. -- END --