Habitat Restoration and Enhancement Act.

Existing law establishes the Department of Fish and Wildlife in the Natural Resources Agency, administered by the Director of Fish and Wildlife. Existing law requires the director to administer various programs for the protection and conservation of fish and wildlife resources. This bill would enact the Habitat Restoration and Enhancement Act and require the director to approve a habitat restoration or enhancement project, as defined, if specified conditions are met as determined by the director. The act would create the Habitat Restoration and Enhancement Account within the Fish and Game Preservation Fund and authorize the department to enter into an agreement to accept funds to achieve the purposes of the Habitat Restoration and Enhancement Act and deposit those funds into that account. The act would require the department to assess an application fee for a project submitted to the department consistent with specified fees adopted by the department but would prohibit the application fee from exceeding reasonable administrative and implementation costs of the department relating to the project. Moneys in the account would be available to the department, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for the purposes of administering and implementing the Habitat Restoration and Enhancement Act. The bill would require the department to submit a report on the implementation of the act to the Legislature no later than December 31, 2020. The bill would repeal the act on January 1, 2022.