(1) Existing law, commonly known as the Lake and Streambed Alteration Program, prohibits an entity from substantially diverting or obstructing the natural flow of, or substantially changing or using any material from the bed, channel, or bank of, any river, stream, or lake, or from depositing or disposing of certain material where it may pass into any river, stream, or lake, unless certain requirements are met. Existing law also prohibits the take or possession of certain species, including, among others, a fully protected fish, except as provided.
This bill, the Restoration Management Permit Act, would authorize the department to (1) issue a restoration management permit to authorize the take, possession, import, or export of any species or subspecies of fish, wildlife, or plants in association with a management or propagation project that, among other things, has the primary purpose of restoring native fish, wildlife, plants, or their habitat and (2) authorize any impacts to fish and wildlife resources as a result of activities otherwise subject to the Lake and Streambed Alteration Program, as provided. The bill would exempt these management or propagation projects from various legal requirements, including, among others, the above-described prohibitions regarding the take or possession of fully protected fish, as specified. The bill would authorize the department to develop permit applications for restoration management permits and would require permit applications to contain specified information. The bill would prohibit the department from issuing a restoration management permit for the design, construction, operation, mitigation, or maintenance of isolated Delta conveyance facilities.
This bill would establish the Restoration Management Permit Program Fund in the State Treasury. The bill would authorize the department to establish a schedule of fees to be charged for all or a portion of the department's costs relating to the administration of restoration management permits, as provided. The bill would require the department to post on its internet website a list and description of every qualifying restoration project permitted by the department and would require the department to, on or before January 1, 2034, submit a report to the Legislature that evaluates the impacts and outcomes of the act on the pace and scale of restoration projects. The bill would repeal the above-described provisions on January 1, 2035. The bill would also make related findings and declarations.
(2) The California State Safe Harbor Agreement Program Act establishes a program to encourage landowners to manage their lands voluntarily, by means of state safe harbor agreements approved by the Department of Fish and Wildlife, to benefit endangered, threatened, or candidate species, or declining or vulnerable species, without being subject to additional regulatory restrictions as a result of their conservation efforts. Existing law, for purposes of the California State Safe Harbor Agreement Program Act, defines "landowner" to mean any person or nonstate or federal entity or entities that lawfully hold any interest in land or water to which they are committing to implement the requirements of the act. The act provides that, if a federal safe harbor agreement or a federal candidate conservation agreement with assurances contains species that are endangered, threatened, candidate, or declining or vulnerable species pursuant to the California Endangered Species Act, no further authorization or approval is necessary to take the species in accordance with the federal agreement, as provided.
This bill would revise the definition of "landowner" for these purposes to additionally include state entities. The bill would additionally provide that, if a federal conservation benefit agreement with an enhancement of survival permit contains species that are endangered, threatened, candidate, or declining or vulnerable species pursuant to the California Endangered Species Act, no further authorization or approval is necessary to take the species identified in and in accordance with the federal agreement, as specified.
(3) Under existing law, any violation of the Fish and Game Code, or of any rule, regulation, or order made or adopted under that code, is a misdemeanor, unless otherwise specified. To the extent that this bill's provisions create new crimes, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
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.

Statutes affected:
AB1581: 2089.4 FGC, 2089.22 FGC
02/17/23 - Introduced: 29002 PRC
03/16/23 - Amended Assembly: 1602 FGC, 1602 FGC, 29002 PRC
04/07/23 - Amended Assembly: 1602 FGC
06/06/24 - Amended Senate: 1602 FGC
08/23/24 - Amended Senate: 2089.4 FGC, 2089.4 FGC, 2089.22 FGC, 2089.22 FGC
09/04/24 - Enrolled: 2089.4 FGC, 2089.22 FGC
09/27/24 - Chaptered: 2089.4 FGC, 2089.22 FGC
AB 1581: 29002 PRC