In its 2009 session, California’s lawmakers voted on numerous bills that directly impacted sportsmen.

Some that benefited outdoor activities were passed and signed into law, while others failed or were vetoed.

There were a few bills that would hinder hunters and shooters, which also saw mixed results.

Good new laws

• AB 708 finally gives some teeth to poaching laws.

It established a fine of $5,000 to $40,000 and/or a penalty of up to one year in county jail for violators who are convicted of illegally selling, purchasing, or trading any amphibian, bird, fish, mammal, or reptile for profit or personal gain.

It also increases the fine and jail time for those who egregiously violate the daily bag limit or possession limit of fish, reptiles, birds, amphibians or mammals.

Additionally, an individual convicted of violating any provision of AB 708 would be subject to possible permanent hunting or fishing license revocation.

• AB 1423 limited the fees assessed to commercial hunting clubs, helping keep hundreds of operations in business and maintaining and improving hunting opportunities in our state.

The bill also facilitated full implementation of the Shared Habitat Alliance for Recreational Enhancement (SHARE) Program — a “public access to private lands” hunting program.

In addition, the bill makes it a crime to willfully interfere with hunting dog training and related hunt tests and field trials.

• AB 1442 contained a number of positive provisions for hunters and anglers, including:

1) Authorizing the Wildlife Conservation Board (WCB) to secure voluntary easements on private land to create public access for recreational activities, such as hunting and fishing opportunities;

2) Requiring WCB, as it acquires land for hunting and fishing purposes, to consider those areas of the state in which public access and opportunity for those activities is most needed;

3) Making technical changes to provisions of existing law relating to shooting near roads and other ways open to the public to ensure that hunting can continue to safely and legally occur in those areas;

4) Making it a crime to remove the collar of a hunting dog without the written permission of the owner;

5) And finally, reducing penalties for hunters who have been cited for not having their hunting license in the field but can produce the license in court.

A separate provision creates a voluntary stamp that may be purchased at Fish and Game license offices to support California game wardens.

• AB 94 extended the “Natural Heritage Preservation Tax Credit Act” for five years, and eliminated the monetary limit on the award of tax credits allowed under the act.

The bill maintains important financial incentives available to private property owners who voluntarily contribute lands to the State of California, local governments or nonprofits at a reduced cost to the public.

Such lands not only have significant wildlife conservation values, but could also provide much-needed recreational opportunities for the public, including hunting and fishing.

• SB 448 created the “California Safe Harbor Agreement Program Act” to encourage private landowners to voluntarily manage their property for the benefit of threatened and endangered species, without being subject to additional regulatory restrictions.

Most landowners truly want to help the environment, so this law makes it easier for them to help protect those species that need it most.

Bad new law

The controversial bill AB 962 will, as of Feb. 1, 2011, effectively ban mail order and Internet sales of handgun ammunition.

It will require purchasers of handgun ammunition to provide detailed personal information, including their thumbprint, name, address, driver’s license number, and amount of ammunition purchased.

This onerous law will only hurt the law-abiding members of the public who wish to purchase handgun ammunition for legal hunting and shooting activities.

It will also force sportsmen to rely entirely on local ammunition dealers, who may not have available all handgun ammunition calibers and types.

So much for the free market philosophy!

Great law that should have been

Despite garnering near unanimous support in the State Legislature, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed Senate Bill 589, which would have prevented hunting license tag/stamp monies from being misused for non-game conservation or non-hunting purposes.

Since the 1980s, a portion of hunting license tag and stamp monies has been siphoned away from game species conservation to other unrelated purposes.

SB 589 would have mandated that all user fee revenues (about $9.5 million total) from the sale of bear, elk, wild sheep, antelope, wild pig, deer and upland game bird tags and stamps be used exclusively for conservation activities and public hunting purposes.

The governor cited the complexity of accounting for the various tag monies as his reason for the veto, although many experts believe the bill would have actually simplified this process.

More likely, he just succumbed to pressures from the special interest groups who are now benefiting from the siphoning.

Bad ideas that got the ax

On the other side of the coin, the governor helped out hunters and shooters by vetoing two bills that would have made it more difficult to purchase firearms.

• SB 41 would have forced licensed firearms dealers to maintain unnecessarily detailed records on all deliveries of rifles, shotguns and handguns, including multiple steps of documentation-signing by all parties concerned.

For their trouble, the dealer then would have had to send a special fee to the government.

These procedures would have substantially increased the cost of buying a firearm.

• SB 585 would have prohibited the sale of firearms and ammunition at the Cow Palace exhibition facility near San Francisco, and made a violation of that prohibition a crime.

This bill could have set a precedent for the banning of all gun shows at state-owned facilities, where many hunters buy firearms and ammunition for hunting.

Outdoor ally in Sacramento

The California Outdoor Heritage Alliance (COHA) was instrumental this year in getting the good laws passed and quashing some of the bad ones.

They will continue to pursue the license and tag money issue in 2010.

COHA is a non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of wildlife conservation and the protection of our hunting heritage.

COHA was created by the California Waterfowl Association to enhance the political effectiveness of hunters and other wildlife conservationists and enthusiasts in the halls of our State Capitol and beyond.

For more information on COHA and its member organizations, visit www.outdoor

heritage.org.

Guy Carl is a CPA and partner with BDCo Accountants and Advisors in St. Helena (www.bdcocpa.com).

Contact Guy at GC.outdoors@sbcglobal.net.