Existing law, the California Endangered Species Act, prohibits the taking of an endangered or candidate species, except as provided. Under the act, the Department of Fish and Wildlife may authorize the take of listed species pursuant to an incidental take permit if the take is incidental to an otherwise lawful activity, the impacts are minimized and fully mitigated, and the issuance of the permit would not jeopardize the continued existence of the species. The act requires the department to adopt regulations for the issuance of incidental take permits. Existing law also generally provides that a violation of the Fish and Game Code is a crime.

The act also provides, until January 1, 2024, that the accidental take of a candidate, threatened, or endangered species resulting from an act that occurs on a farm or a ranch in the course of otherwise lawful routine and ongoing agricultural activities is not prohibited by the act, as provided, and would require a person, when an accidental take is known to occur under these provisions, to report the take to the department within 10 days.

This bill would require the department to conduct outreach to raise awareness of the above-mentioned reporting requirement within the agricultural community, as specified, and would extend the above-mentioned exception to the act and the related reporting requirement until January 1, 2029. By extending the duration of this reporting requirement, the violation of which would be a crime, 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.