SB 1397

Introduced by Senator Alvarado-Gil
An act to add and repeal Sections 4811, 4811.2, 4811.4, and 4811.6 of the Fish and Game Code, relating to mountain lions.
mountain lions
Mountain Lions: human-mountain lion conflicts program: scientific research.
Proposition 117, an initiative measure approved by the voters at the June 5, 1990, statewide primary election, enacted the California Wildlife Protection Act of 1990. The act classifies the mountain lion as a specially protected mammal under the laws of this state, and makes it unlawful to take, injure, possess, transport, import, or sell any mountain lion or any part or product thereof. The act authorizes the take of mountain lions under limited circumstances, including by authorizing the Department of Fish and Wildlife, or an appropriate local agency authorized by the department, to remove or take any mountain lion that is perceived to be an imminent threat to public health or safety. Existing law permits the department, as the department determines is necessary to protect mountain lions or the public, to authorize qualified individuals, educational institutions, governmental
			 agencies, or nongovernmental organizations to implement nonlethal procedures, which are defined as procedures that may include, among other things, capturing, pursuing, or hazing mountain lions. Existing law permits the department to authorize qualified individuals, educational institutions, governmental agencies, or nongovernmental organizations to conduct scientific research involving mountain lions pursuant to a scientific collecting permit, as specified.
This bill would require the department, contingent upon an appropriation by the Legislature, to maintain, enhance, and expand its human-mountain lion conflicts program in a specified region of the state in order to protect public health and safety, including by exercising its authority to authorize nonlethal procedures. The bill would require the department to continue and expand its scientific research effort to develop and evaluate methods to deter mountain lions from entering communities and to prevent
			 habituation to humans. In implementing these programs, the bill would require the department to engage in specified public outreach activities in a specified region of the state. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2033.
The bill would require the department to prepare and submit a report to the Legislature on or before October 1, 2031, describing these programs, the results of the programs, the number of department personnel involved in the programs, and recommendations to further improve the programs to protect human health and safety. The bill would require the Director of Fish and Wildlife, when requested, to appear before the appropriate policy or budget
			 committees of the Assembly and Senate to provide a status update on the programs.
The California Wildlife Protection Act of 1990 prohibits the Legislature from changing the act, with specified exceptions, except by a
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 vote of the membership of both houses of the Legislature and then only if consistent with, and in furtherance of, the purposes of the act.
This bill would declare that it is consistent with, and furthers the purposes of, that act.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) California has seen an increase in mountain lion activity, and the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, particularly in the County of El Dorado, are a “hot spot” for human-mountain lion conflicts.
(b) In the County of El Dorado alone, residents reported over 200 domestic animals killed by mountain lions in 2024, and sightings of mountain lions during the day and on or near the campuses of two western slope high schools. Tragically, two young brothers were badly attacked, one fatally, by a juvenile male mountain lion while
				looking for shed antlers in the spring of 2024.
(c) Multiple factors have been suggested as the cause of the increased human-mountain lion conflict, including recent nearby catastrophic wildfires, changes in deer population dynamics, the feeding of wildlife, fragmented habitat, and others. It may be that there is no single dominant cause.
(d) To protect public health and safety, the Department of Fish and Wildlife expanded its efforts to work on wildlife response management. The Human-Wildlife Conflicts program’s vision is to proactively address human-wildlife conflicts and improve wildlife incident responses; to support safe human-wildlife interactions; and to increase understanding, awareness, and appreciation of wildlife in California. Due to funding challenges, positions in the
				Human-Wildlife Conflicts program have not been maintained statewide.
(e) The Department of Fish and Wildlife regional office serving the County of El Dorado was able to maintain personnel dedicated to human-wildlife conflicts in 2024 at least temporarily despite the lack of specific funding.
(f) The Department of Fish and Wildlife is also partnering with Utah State University on a research project in the Counties of El Dorado, Amador, Calaveras, Nevada, and Yuba to develop improved strategies to reduce human-mountain lion conflicts. This project includes the hazing of mountain lions.
(g) Due to voter approval of Proposition 117, an initiative measure approved by the voters at the June 5, 1990, statewide direct
				primary election, mountain lions are a specially protected species in the state, and cannot be hunted or otherwise subject to take. However, the Department of Fish and Wildlife is required to issue depredation permits to kill mountain lions that are a risk to public health and safety, and the owner of livestock who encounters a mountain lion pursuing, injuring, or killing livestock is authorized to immediately kill the mountain lion. Bills affecting the laws affecting mountain lions instituted by Proposition 117 may only be changed with a
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 vote of both houses of the Legislature and the Governor’s approval. Therefore, broad consensus is needed to amend the mountain lion statutes.
(h) The existing resources of the Department of Fish and Wildlife
				are inadequate to maintain service at a sufficient level and gaps in that service level have been repeatedly identified through its Service Based Budgeting efforts. In order to protect public safety, it is critically important to ensure that the Department of Fish and Wildlife’s efforts to reduce human-mountain lion conflicts across the state are maintained, enhanced, and expanded upon.
SEC. 2.
Section 4811 is added to the
Fish and Game Code
, to read:
4811.
(a) Contingent upon on an appropriation by the Legislature, the department shall maintain, enhance, and expand its human-mountain lion conflicts program in the region identified pursuant to subdivision (b) in order to protect public health and safety, including, but not limited to, by exercising its authority pursuant to Section 4801.5. The program shall include public education and outreach regarding methods to minimize conflict, including, but not limited to, methods to protect livestock and domestic animals, and the development of best practices to minimize conflicts.
(b) The department shall identify which one of its regions has been most impacted by
						human-mountain lion conflict. In making this determination, the department may consider the number of depredation reports, reported mountain lion incidents, or other relevant factors, as applicable, for each of its regions.
(c)  This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2033, and as of that date is repealed.
SEC. 3.
Section 4811.2 is added to the
Fish and Game Code
, to read:
4811.2.
(a) The department shall continue and expand its scientific research effort to develop and evaluate methods to deter mountain lions from entering communities and to prevent habituation to humans, including improving understanding of the factors contributing to human-mountain lion conflicts.
(b) The department shall consult with the Department of Parks and Recreation and local agencies to ensure department and department-supported activities pursuant to this section conform to law and regulation.
(c)  This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2033, and as of that date is
						repealed.
SEC. 4.
Section 4811.4 is added to the
Fish and Game Code
, to read:
4811.4.
(a) It is the intent of the Legislature in implementing Sections 4811 and 4811.2 that the department shall work closely with the community and local leaders in the region identified pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 4811.
(b) The department shall regularly attend public meetings of local government entities in the region identified pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 4811 to provide updates on the status of the efforts undertaken pursuant to Sections 4811 and 4811.2 and updates on depredation permitting, including the time between when a completed application is received and the depredation permit is issued.
(c)  This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2033, and as of that date is repealed.
SEC. 5.
Section 4811.6 is added to the
Fish and Game Code
, to read:
4811.6.
(a) The director shall, when requested, appear before the appropriate policy or budget committees of the Assembly and Senate to provide a status update on the programs developed pursuant to Sections 4811 and 4811.2.
(b) On or before October 1, 2031, the department shall prepare and submit a report to the Legislature
						describing the programs developed pursuant to Sections 4811 and 4811.2 and transmit the report to the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Water, the Assembly Committee on Water, Parks, and Wildlife, the Senate Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review, and the Assembly Committee on Budget. The report shall include the results of the programs, the number of department personnel involved in the programs, and recommendations to further improve the programs to protect human health and safety.
(c) (1)  The requirement for submitting the report imposed under subdivision (b) is inoperative on October 1, 2035, pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code.
(2) The report to be submitted pursuant to subdivision (b) shall be submitted in
						compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
(d)  This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2036, and as of that date is repealed.
SEC. 6.
The Legislature finds and declares that the amendments made by this act are consistent with, and further the purposes of, the California Wildlife Protection Act of 1990.