Commercial hunting clubs: Shared Habitat Alliance for Recreational Enhancement program: interference with hunting.

(1) Existing law establishes the Department of Fish and Game in the Natural Resources Agency. Existing law authorizes the department to regulate commercial hunting clubs. Existing law requires a person in possession or control of property who imposes or collects a fee for the privilege of taking birds or mammals on that property, or who imposes or collects a fee for any type of entry or use permit that includes the privilege of taking birds or mammals on that property, to obtain a commercial hunting club license from the department, as prescribed. Existing law requires that license to be issued to any person upon submission of a completed application on a form approved by the Fish and Game Commission and the payment of a fee, as specified. Existing law exempts from those provisions any hunting club or program licensed under other provisions of the Fish and Game Code and any person who receives less than $50 per entrant to the club and an annual total of fees that is less than $500. This bill would recast those provisions to establish a number of exemptions from the requirement to obtain a commercial hunting club license, including an exemption for property that is used in conjunction with the Shared Habitat Alliance for Recreational Enhancement (SHARE) program. The bill would require an application for a commercial hunting club license to be on a form furnished by the department. The bill would require the application to contain prescribed information. The bill would authorize the department to issue a license to any person upon submission of a completed application and payment of a fee, in accordance with a fee schedule based on the number of properties used by the club. (2) Existing law requires the Department of Fish and Game to establish the SHARE program to encourage private landowners to voluntarily make their land available to the public for wildlife-dependent recreational activities, as defined. Existing law establishes the SHARE Account in the Fish and Game Preservation Fund to be used for the program. This bill, among other changes, would require the department to adopt regulations for the management and control of wildlife-dependent recreational activities on land that is subject to the program, to report to the Fish and Game Commission annually on the status of the program, and to maintain data on the types of wildlife-dependent recreational activities preferred by users of the program. The department would be authorized to establish and impose user fees, use existing hunting and fishing license stamp or tag fees from the Fish and Game Preservation Fund, or apply for grants, federal funds, or other contributions from other sources. Money generated pursuant to this authorization, except as otherwise provided, would be deposited into the SHARE Account and would, upon appropriation by the Legislature, be available for expenditure by the department to fund the program. (3) Existing law prohibits a person from willfully interfering with the participation of any individual in the lawful activity of shooting, hunting, fishing, falconry, or trapping at the location where that activity is taking place. This bill would include in that list of actions hunting dog field trials and hunting dog training. The bill would authorize a violation of the prohibition above to be enforced as either an infraction or a misdemeanor, and would make a 2nd violation within 2 years of a prior violation punishable as a misdemeanor. By creating a new crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (4) 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.