Department-managed lands: wildlife areas: hunting.

Section 1745(b)(2) no longer explicitly authorizes contracts or agreements with nonprofit conservation groups or resource conservation districts 'for purposes of administrating hunting or other public use programs.' This narrows the stated scope of permissible contract uses, though the general authority to contract for management and operation of department-managed lands remains.

The new fund is renamed from 'Waterfowl Management Areas Operations and Maintenance Account Fund' to 'Waterfowl Management Areas Operations and Maintenance Fund' and is now created directly in the State Treasury rather than within the Fish and Game Preservation Fund. This changes the fund's structural placement in state accounting, potentially affecting how it is tracked and reported.

The bill no longer makes a direct appropriation. The act description removed 'making an appropriation therefor' and the vote line changed from 'Appropriation: yes' to 'Appropriation: no.' All spending now requires separate legislative appropriation.

The Waterfowl Management Areas Operations and Maintenance Account was renamed to 'Account Fund' and relocated from within the Fish and Game Preservation Fund to the State Treasury, changing where the money is held and potentially affecting oversight and access.

The continuous appropriation language ('continuously appropriated without regard to fiscal year') was removed. Funds in the account fund can now only be spent upon legislative appropriation, meaning they are no longer automatically available each year.

Section 1745(g)(3) was changed so that the department must use the Automated License Data System to sell entry permits for consumptive use, but may (rather than shall) use it for nonconsumptive use permits. This gives the department flexibility in how nonconsumptive users purchase their permits.

Section 1528.5(a) changed from a continuous appropriation (funds automatically available to the department without regard to fiscal year) to requiring legislative appropriation before funds can be expended. The digest appropriation line correspondingly changed from 'yes' to 'no.'

New Section 1528.5(c) requires the department to prepare and submit a detailed report to the appropriate policy and budget committees of the Legislature on or before October 1, 2033. The report must cover annual expenditures on operations, maintenance, administration, and hunting-related activities on department-managed lands for fiscal years 2026-27 through 2031-32, broken down by location, including revenue sources from the Waterfowl Management Areas Operations and Maintenance Account and agricultural leases.

New Section 5 adds a savings clause stating that nothing in the act invalidates, impairs, or requires rebidding of any memorandum of understanding, cooperative agreement, or partnership agreement entered into before January 1, 2027, between the Department of Fish and Wildlife and a nonprofit or other qualified entity for interpretive, educational, restoration, or public access programming on department-managed lands.

Section 1758 was restructured: the Assembly version contained both the hunter comment requirement (subdivision a) and the Waterfowl Management Areas account creation language (subdivision b). The Senate version removes the account language from Section 1758 entirely, leaving only the single-paragraph hunter comment requirement. The account creation is now solely in Section 1528.5.

The amendment to Water Code Section 1000 (defining 'water' to include 'use of water') is completely removed. The bill no longer touches the Water Code at all.

A new standalone Section 1528.5 is added to the Fish and Game Code, creating the Waterfowl Management Areas Operations and Maintenance Account in the Fish and Game Preservation Fund with a continuous appropriation (without regard to fiscal year) for operation, maintenance, and administrative costs of Type A and B Wildlife Areas. This language was previously embedded within Section 1758(b) but is now its own section.

In Section 1745.1(b), the language for moneys collected from agricultural leases changes from 'may be used' to 'shall be used' to support management, maintenance, restoration, and operations of department-managed lands, making the use of those funds mandatory upon appropriation rather than permissive.

The bill's appropriation status changes from 'no' to 'yes' and fiscal committee status from 'no' to 'yes', reflecting the continuous appropriation now contained in the new standalone Section 1528.5.

The bill now amends Sections 1745, 1745.1, and 1758 of the Fish and Game Code in addition to the original Water Code Section 1000 change, expanding scope from a single definitional fix to broad land management authority.

The bill now carries an appropriation (yes) and requires fiscal committee review (yes), whereas the introduced version had neither, reflecting the new continuous appropriation of waterfowl hunting revenues.

Section 1745 now authorizes the department to enter contracts with 501(c) nonprofit conservation groups or resource conservation districts to manage and operate department-managed lands, including for hunting and public use programs. These contracts are exempt from standard public procurement rules (Public Contract Code Part 2 and Military and Veterans Code Article 6).

Contracts for land management must adhere to approved management plans, be consistent with the purpose for which lands were acquired, and any changes to management plans require public review and comment.

The department must now include 'wetland floodup' as a topic for which licensed hunters can comment and make recommendations on public hunting programs at Type A and B Wildlife Areas.

Section 1745.1 changes agricultural lease revenue from 'may be used' to 'shall be used' (upon legislative appropriation) for management, maintenance, restoration, and operations of department-managed lands, making the spending mandatory rather than discretionary.

A new Waterfowl Management Areas Operations and Maintenance Account is created in the Fish and Game Preservation Fund. All revenues from waterfowl hunting reservation applications and daily/season entry passes at Type A and B Wildlife Areas are deposited there and continuously appropriated (no annual appropriation required) for operation, maintenance, and related administrative costs of those areas.

Entry permit fees collected under Section 1745 are deposited in the Native Species Conservation and Enhancement Account, with at least 35 percent required to be returned to the specific department-managed land where the fee was collected.