California Senate Bill SB1480 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: SB 1480AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 2, 2012 AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 9, 2012 INTRODUCED BY Senator Corbett (Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Hill) FEBRUARY 24, 2012 An act to amend Sections 4004, 4005, 4006, 4007, and 4008 of, and to add Sections 4013 and 4014 to, the Fish and Game Code, relating to trapping. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 1480, as amended, Corbett. Trapping.  (1) Existing law prohibits certain activities related to trapping, as specified.   This bill would add to those prohibitions the killing of a trapped mammal through certain specified actions. This bill would prohibit solicitation of trapping business from the public in certain specified situations. This bill would also prohibit the trapping of bats. This bill would permit certain exceptions to the prohibition against bat trapping where the removal of bats will prevent property damage or protect human health and safety, as prescribed.   Existing   (1)     Existing  law, except as specified, 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 have a trapping license from the Department of Fish and Game. Certain persons taking mammals injurious to growing crops or other property are exempted from the trapping license requirement, except those persons providing trapping services for profit are required to obtain a trapping license from the department. This bill would establish 2 classes of trapping licenses. The bill would authorize a person who has complied with all applicable licensing and license renewal requirements to trap wildlife for recreation or fur to be issued a class I trapping license. The bill would authorize specified persons trapping wildlife for a profit be issued a class II trapping license. The bill would require the department to publish a list of class II trapping licensees on its Internet Web site. The bill would authorize the commission to  suspend or revoke a trapping license at a regularly scheduled meeting of the commission on prescribed grounds   issue a formal warning or suspend a license when a licensee is found, after a duly noticed hearing, to have published inconsistent information on wildlife diseases, as specified  . The bill would establish the Trapping Enforcement Account in the Fish and Game Preservation Fund. The bill would require fee revenues to be placed in the account, to be available, upon appropriation, for specified purposes relating to the enforcement of existing laws and regulations governing trapping. The bill would require a class II trapping licensee to make a reasonable effort, as defined, not to leave dependent young animals, that are orphaned as a consequence of the trapping and killing of their mother, to die within an area of a home or business that is inaccessible to the licensee. The bill would further require class II trapping licensees to provide clients with a written contract, containing prescribed information, prior to setting traps. (2) Existing law, except as expressly provided, makes any violation of the Fish and Game Code, or any rule, regulation, or order made or adopted under that code, a misdemeanor.  Existing law makes certain actions relating to trapping unlawful.  The bill  also  would make it unlawful to kill any trapped mammal by listed methods or to solicit trapping services business from the public for reasons of health or safety pursuant to specified laws.  The bill also would prohibit the trapping of bats, as specified.  By specifying these new Fish and Game Code violations, thereby defining new crimes, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (3) 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. Section 4004 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to read: 4004. It is unlawful to do any of the following: (a) Use a trap with saw-toothed or spiked jaws. (b) Use or sell leghold steel-jawed traps with a spread of 51/2 inches or larger without offset jaws. (c) Use steel-jawed traps larger than size 11/2 or with a spread larger than 47/8 inches for taking muskrat. (d) Set or maintain traps which do not bear a number or other identifying mark registered to the department or, in the case of a federal, state, county, or city agency, bear the name of that agency, except that traps set pursuant to Section 4152 or 4180 shall bear an identifying mark in a manner specified by the department. No registration fee shall be charged pursuant to this subdivision. (e) Fail to visit and remove all animals from traps at least once daily. If the trapping is done pursuant to Section 4152 or 4180, the inspection and removal shall be done by the person who sets the trap or the owner of the land where the trap is set or an agent of either. (f) Use a steel leghold trap with a spread exceeding 71/2 inches or killer-type trap of the conibear type that is larger than 6 inches by 6 inches, unless partially or wholly submerged in water. (g) Set or maintain steel leghold traps within 30 feet of bait placed in a manner or position so that it may be seen by any soaring bird. As used in this subdivision, "bait" includes any bait composed of mammal, bird, or fish flesh, fur, hide, entrails, or feathers. (h) Set or maintain steel leghold traps with a spread of 51/2 inches or larger without a tension device. (i) Kill any trapped mammal in accordance with this section by intentional drowning,  thoracic compression, commonly known as chest crushing, or  injection with any chemical not sold for the purpose of euthanizing animals  , or thoracic compression, commonly known as chest crushing  . (j) Solicit trapping business from the public for reasons of health or safety  ,  or any reason other than damage to crops or property  ,  under a class II license, pursuant to Section 4152, 4180, or 4011.  (k) Trap a bat, except as provided in this subdivision.   (1) For the purposes of this subdivision, the following terms have the following meanings:   (A) "Exclusion," "exclude," or "excluded" means a nonlethal method of allowing a bat to leave an area but not to return to that area.   (B) "Owner" means an owner of a structure that humans occupy.   (C) "Protection of human health and safety" means preventing direct human contact with bats within a structure.   (2) A net may be used in a nonlethal manner to prevent a bat from causing property damage or for the protection of human health and safety.   (3) An owner may exclude a bat if the owner does so for the protection of human health and safety, in accordance with the following procedures:   (A) The owner shall attempt to seal, screen, or otherwise close any opening that allows bats to access the interior of the structure.   (B) If the action in subparagraph (A) is not feasible, the owner shall contact the appropriate regional office of the department and shall explain to the appropriate members of the department the nature of the owner's attempts to prevent the bats from entering the owner' s structure.   (4) If an owner informs the department that a bat is entering the interior of the structure, and that the owner is unable to close the bat's point of entry, the department shall provide an effective remedy to the owner.   (A) The department may recommend the appropriate course of action, and may request that the owner grant permission for a department warden or biologist to enter the affected structure so that the department may further assist the owner.   (B) The department may consider identifying the species of bat, the protected status of the bat, the size of the bat colony, or other factors necessary to protect both the health and safety of the occupants of the structure, and the health and safety of the bats.   (C) The department shall not impose a requirement with respect to removal or exclusion of bats that prevents a person from protecting human health or safety.   (D) Unless otherwise authorized by the department, bats may only be excluded outside of the periods during which nonflying young are present or when bats are in torpor or hibernation, which is defined as a period in which the weekday temperature consistently remains over 50 degrees Fahrenheit for seven consecutive days.   (5) The department may authorize healthy adult bats to be relocated to a warmer area of the state or temporarily confined at a licensed wildlife rehabilitation center until the department determines the temperature is warm enough for the bats to be returned to the area where they were collected. The department may facilitate the transport of adult protected bat species or their young, if the young were orphaned due to exclusion. Any policies adopted by the department wildlife rehabilitation coordinator relating to temporary confinement of healthy bats shall carry the same penalty as a violation of, and may be adopted into, Section 679 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations.   (6) This subdivision does not apply to a person acting pursuant to a scientific collector's permit issued to that person.   (k) (1) Trap bats, except that nets may be used for nonlethal control of property damage or for protection of human health or safety. Nets and exclusion are the only lawful methods of removing bats from a structure. Except as provided for in paragraph (2), bats may be excluded only outside of the periods during which nonflying young are present and when bats are in torpor or hibernation. This section shall not affect a person possessing a scientific collector's permit, pursuant to Section 2081.   (2) Bats may be excluded to protect human health or safety at any time when in accordance with subparagraphs (A) and (B).   (A) If there are holes or cracks in a structure that allow bats to enter the interior area of a structure that humans occupy, it is the responsibility of a property owner or a designated agent or licensee to seal or screen or otherwise close these holes to prevent bats from entering the structure. If the property owner or a designated agent or licensee is unable to seal, screen, or otherwise close the holes or cracks that allow bats to enter the structure, the property owner or a designated agent or licensee shall contact the nearest regional office of the department prior to taking any action to exclude the bats.   (B) If a property owner or a designated agent or licensee contacts a regional office of the department to report that bats are entering the interior of a structure that is occupied by humans and is unable to seal those access points that allow bats entry, the department shall assist the property owner or a designated agent or licensee in addressing this risk to human health or safety. The department may assist by recommending the appropriate course of action and may request that the property owner or a designated agent or licensee grant permission for a department warden or biologist to enter the affected structure to further assist the property owner or a designated agent or licensee. The department may want to identify the species of bat, the protected status of the bat, the size of the colony, or other factors in providing an effective remedy to protect the health or safety of all occupants of the structure and the protection of bats. The department shall not prohibit any person from excluding bats for the protection of human health or safety.   (3) For purposes of this subdivision, the following terms have the following meanings:   (A) "Exclusion" means a method of allowing an animal to leave an area but not return.   (B) "Protection of human health or safety" means preventing direct human contact with bats within any structure.   (C) "Torpor or hibernation" means a period in which the consistent weekday temperature remains consistently over 50 degrees Fahrenheit for seven consecutive days except as otherwise authorized by the department.  SEC. 2. Section 4005 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to read: 4005. (a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, every person, other than a fur dealer, who traps fur-bearing mammals or nongame mammals, designated by the commission or who sells raw furs of those mammals, shall procure a trapping license. "Raw fur" means any fur, pelt, or skin that has not been tanned or cured, except that salt-cured or sun-cured pelts are raw furs. (b) The department shall develop standards that are necessary to ensure the competence and proficiency of applicants for a trapping license. A person shall not be issued a license until he or she has passed a test of his or her knowledge and skill in this field. (c) Persons trapping mammals in accordance with Section 4152 or 4180 are not required to procure a trapping license except when providing trapping services for profit. (d) (1) A person who has complied with all applicable licensing and license renewal requirements to trap wildlife for recreation or fur may be issued a class I trapping license. (2) A person who has passed the trapping license application test established by the department pursuant to subdivision (b) for persons trapping wildlife for a profit in accordance with Section 4152 or 4180 may be issued a class II trapping license. The department shall publish on the Internet Web site of the department a list of class II licensees authorized to provide trapping services to the public for a profit in accordance with Section 4152 or 4180  ,  and the registered business name under which the licensee operates. (3) A license shall be renewed only for the category of license that is currently possessed. (e) No raw furs taken by persons providing trapping services for profit may be sold. (f) The license requirement imposed by this section does not apply to any of the following: (1) Officers or employees of federal, county, or city agencies or the department, when acting in their official capacities, or officers or employees of the Department of Food and Agriculture when acting pursuant to the Food and Agricultural Code pertaining to pests or pursuant to Article 6 (commencing with Section 6021) of Chapter 9 of Part 1 of Division 4 of the Food and Agricultural Code. (2) Structural pest control operators licensed pursuant to Chapter 14 (commencing with Section 8500) of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code, when trapping rats, mice, voles, moles, or gophers. (3) Persons and businesses licensed or certified by the Department of Pesticide Regulation pursuant to Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 11701) and Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 12201) of Division 6 of, and Chapter 3.6, (commencing with Section 14151) of Division 7 of, the Food and Agricultural Code, when trapping rats, mice, voles, moles, or gophers. (g) Except for species that are listed pursuant to Chapter 1.5 (commencing with Section 2050) of Division 3 or Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 4700), nothing in this code or regulations adopted pursuant thereto shall prevent or prohibit a person from trapping any of the following animals: (1) Gophers. (2) House mice. (3) Moles. (4) Rats. (5) Voles.  (h) (1) Licenses issued in accordance with this section are subject to revocation pursuant to Section 12156.   (2) The commission may suspend or revoke a license issued under this section at a regularly scheduled meeting of the commission for publication of information about wildlife diseases that, in the determination of the commission, is false or misleading. The commission, in making that determination may consider, but shall not be limited to consideration of, information about wildlife diseases published by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and by the department on its Internet Web site.   (h) Notwithstanding Section 12156, the commission may issue a formal warning or suspend a license when a licensee is found, after a duly noticed public hearing, to have published information about wildlife diseases that is inconsistent with the information about wildlife diseases published by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or by the department. The commission may consider other sources of information as appropriate.  SEC. 3. Section 4006 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to read: 4006. A trapping license shall be issued as follows: (a) To any resident of this state over the age of 16 years upon payment of a base fee of forty-five dollars ($45), as adjusted under Section 713. (b) To any resident of this state under the age of 16 years upon payment of a base fee of fifteen dollars ($15), as adjusted under Section 713. (c) To any person not a resident of this state upon payment of a base fee of two hundred twenty-five dollars ($225), as adjusted under Section 713. A license shall not be issued to a nonresident if the state in which he or she resides does not provide for issuance of a nonresident trapping license to California residents. Also, a nonresident issued a license under this subdivision may take only those species, and may take or possess only that quantity of a species which a resident of California may take or possess under a nonresident trapping license or permit in the state of residence of that nonresident. (d) The Trapping Enforcement Account is hereby established within the Fish and Game Preservation Fund. Revenues of the license fees imposed pursuant to this section shall be deposited in the Trapping Enforcement Account and moneys in the account shall be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to fund the enforcement of the provisions of this code relating to trapping and of regulations adopted pursuant to those provisions. SEC. 4. Section 4007 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to read: 4007. A class I trapping license authorizes the person to whom it is issued to take, during the open season, fur-bearing mammals and nongame mammals for a term of one year from July 1st, or if issued after the beginning of that term, for the remainder of the term and to sell the raw fur of these mammals. SEC. 5. Section 4008 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to read: 4008. A trapping license shall not be issued to any applicant within one year following the expiration of any trapping license previously issued to that applicant unless the applicant has submitted to the department a sworn statement showing the number of each kind of fur-bearing mammals and nongame mammals taken under the previous license. A class I trapping licensee shall provide the names and addresses of the persons to whom furs were shipped or sold. SEC. 6. Section 4013 is added to the Fish and Game Code, to read: 4013. (a) A class II trapping licensee shall make a reasonable effort not to leave dependent young animals  ,  that are orphaned as a consequence of the trapping and killing of their mother  ,  to die within an area of a home or business that is inaccessible to the licensee. "Reasonable effort" is defined as taking  any of the following  steps to ascertain whether dependent young animals are present, including, but not limited to  , any of the following  : (1) Using the natural history information that is included in the class II trapping license application examination. (2) Requesting information from the potential client that would indicate whether dependent young animals are present, such as infant vocalization and other sounds and activity commonly associated with young being present. (3) Conducting a visual inspection of the area where sounds or activity have been reported. (4) Monitoring an entry point with a paper block or tracking powder to determine whether the entry is disturbed on a daily basis, indicating a mother returning to her young. (5) Using a heat sensor or other technology. (6) Affixing a one-way door attached to a holding cage across an entry point of a structure to visually confirm whether the animal is a lactating female. (7) Other methods of identifying whether young dependent animals are present. (b) A lactating female animal shall not be killed, and traps shall not be set if young animal sounds have been reported or it is known or suspected that dependent young animals exist on the premises and the removal of young is not possible due to the fact that the area from which the licensee is trying to remove the animals is inaccessible to the licensee. (c) If a licensee determines that young dependent animals are present, the licensee shall use lawful and humane methods to encourage the mother to relocate the young from the area from which the licensee is trying to remove the animals. SEC. 7. Section 4014 is added to the Fish and Game Code, to read: 4014. (a) Class II trapping licensees that provide trapping services for profit pursuant to Section 4152 or 4180 shall provide each client with a written contract prior to setting traps. (b) The written contract shall contain the following information and disclosures and shall be printed in at least 12-point typeface beginning on and continuing from the upper half of the first page of the contract: California law requires consumers to be provided with the following information and disclosures prior to traps being set, when hiring wildlife trapping services. Name and current contact information of the person setting a trap. The current year's trapping license number of the individual setting a trap  ,  and the business name under which the services are provided. "It is only lawful to trap wildlife for a profit in California if damage to crops or property has occurred. Animals posing a risk to human health or safety may only be taken by specified government officials (Sections 4011, 4152, and 4180 of the Fish and Game Code)." "This is a description of the property damage as confirmed by the licensed trapper through visual inspection: __________________________________________." "This is the target animal or species responsible for the damage: __________________________________________." "All furbearing and nongame mammals that are legal to trap must be immediately killed or released. Unless released, trapped animals shall be killed by shooting where local ordinances, landowners, and safety permit (Section 465.5(g)(1) of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations)." "Nontarget animals are defined as those animals that become accidentally trapped, but are not responsible for the documented property damage. These animals must be immediately released." "Traps must be inspected and all animals removed at least once each day by the licensed trapper, the person hiring the trapper, or an agent thereof, pursuant to Sections 4152 and 4180 of the Fish and Game Code." "This is the name and telephone number of the person charged with checking the traps each day: __________________________________________." "A reasonable effort must be made to prevent orphaning dependent animal young. It is prohibited to set traps for an animal when young are inaccessible or to kill a lactating female animal if young are inaccessible within a structure such as a home or business as a consequence of trapping and killing the mother (Section 4013 of the Fish and Game Code). A reasonable effort includes, but is not limited to  ,  (a) requesting information about sounds and activity that would indicate young animals are present, (b) inspecting the area where sounds or activity is occurring, and (c) monitoring an access point for evidence of a mother returning daily to her young (Section 4013 of the Fish and Game Code)." "The following methods of dispatching trapped mammals are prohibited: drowning, chest crushing, or injection with any chemical not sold for the purpose of animal euthanasia (Section 4004 of the Fish and Game Code)." An identifying tag issued by the Department of Fish and Game is required to be affixed to every trap that is set (Section 465.5(g) (1) of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations). A person shall not trap a bat. Bats may be excluded,  as defined in   pursuant to  Section 4004(k) of the Fish and Game Code, during certain time periods, as specified in Section 4004(k) of the Fish and Game Code. Where necessary to protect human health or safety, the department may exclude bats, as specified in Section 4004(k) of the Fish and Game Code. Address and signature of client: __________________________________________. Signature of licensed trapper who will be placing traps: __________________________________________. The following is a true and accurate list of each animal (by species) trapped at this address, the date each animal was removed, and the final disposition of the removed animal. Species Trapped: _________________________________ Date: __________________________________________ Final disposition: ________________________________ SEC. 8. 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.