Department-managed lands: wildlife areas: hunting.

Full Bill Text

Amended IN Senate June 11, 2026 Amended IN Assembly March 25, 2026 Amended IN Assembly March 02, 2026 CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION Assembly Bill No. 1987 Introduced by Assembly Members Aguiar-Curry and Hadwick (Coauthors: Assembly Members Jeff Gonzalez and Soria) (Coauthor: Senator Cortese) February 13, 2026 An act to amend Sections 1745, 1745.1, and 1758 of, and to add Section 1528.5 to, the Fish and Game Code, relating to fish and wildlife, and making an appropriation therefor. wildlife. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 1987, as amended, Aguiar-Curry. Department-managed lands: wildlife areas: hunting. Existing law requires the Department of Fish and Wildlife to operate department-managed lands on a nonprofit basis and authorizes the department to enter into contracts or other agreements for the management and operation of the department-managed lands with a nonprofit conservation group, as defined. Existing law authorizes the department to lease department-managed lands for agricultural activities if certain conditions are met and requires money collected from the lease of these lands to be deposited by the department in the Wildlife Restoration Fund or the Fish and Game Preservation Fund, and authorizes the department, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to use the funds to support the management, maintenance, restoration, and operations of department-managed lands. This bill would authorize the department to enter into contracts or other agreements for the management and operation of the department-managed lands for the purposes of administrating hunting or other public use programs. The bill would also require, upon appropriation by the Legislature, the above-described agricultural lease funds to be used by the department to support the management, maintenance, restoration, and operations of department-managed lands. Existing law requires the department to annually provide an opportunity for licensed hunters to comment and make recommendations on public hunting programs, including anticipated habitat conditions in hunting areas on Type A and Type B wildlife areas, as provided. This bill would add wetland floodup to the topics that the department is required to provide an opportunity for comment and recommendation on as described above. This bill would create the Waterfowl Management Areas Operations and Maintenance Account in the Fish and Game Preservation Fund and would require all revenues generated from the sale of waterfowl hunting reservation applications and daily and season long entry passes from Type A and Type B Wildlife Areas to be deposited into the account. The bill would continuously appropriate require the department to, upon appropriation by the Legislature, expend those revenues for the operation and maintenance of, and the reasonable administrative costs directly related to to, the public hunting programs for, for Type A and Type B Wildlife Areas. The bill would require the department to, on or before October 1, 2033, prepare and submit a report to the appropriate policy and budget committees of the Legislature, as specified. Digest Key Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: YES NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NO Bill Text The people of the State of California do enact as follows: SECTION 1. Section 1528.5 is added to the Fish and Game Code, to read: 1528.5. (a) All revenues generated from the sale of waterfowl hunting reservation applications and daily and season-long entry passes from Type A and Type B Wildlife Areas, as defined under the commission’s regulations, shall be deposited into the Waterfowl Management Areas Operations and Maintenance Account that is hereby created in the Fish and Game Preservation Fund to permit separate accountability. Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code, Upon appropriation by the Legislature, moneys in the account shall be continuously appropriated without regard to fiscal year to expended by the department for both of the following purposes: (1) Operation and maintenance of Type A and Type B Wildlife Areas. (2) Reasonable administrative costs directly related to the public hunting programs for Type A and Type B Wildlife Areas. (b) The funds in the Waterfowl Management Areas Operations and Maintenance Account shall augment, and shall not replace, current spending levels for the operation and maintenance of Type A and Type B Wildlife Areas. (c) (1) On or before October 1, 2033, the department shall prepare and submit a report to the appropriate policy and budget committees of the Legislature. The report shall include, but is not limited to, detailed information on annual department expenditure on the operations and maintenance and administration of, and other hunting or public use program-related activities on, department-managed lands for fiscal years 2026–27 to 2031–32, inclusive, including detailed revenue sources for and expenditures from the Waterfowl Management Areas Operations and Maintenance Account, as applicable, and any other revenue sources, including agricultural leases. Expenditures shall be provided by location. (2) For purposes of the report described in paragraph (1), data collection efforts shall avoid duplication and data collected for other purposes shall be used to the extent feasible. (3) A report submitted pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code. SEC. 2. Section 1745 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to read: 1745. (a) For purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings: (1) “Department-managed lands” includes lands, or lands and water, acquired for public shooting grounds, state marine (estuarine) recreational management areas, ecological reserves, and wildlife management areas. (2) “Nonconsumptive uses” means compatible uses other than hunting and fishing. (b) (1) Department-managed lands shall be operated on a nonprofit basis by the department. (2) The department may enter into contracts or other agreements for the management and operation of department-managed lands with nonprofit conservation groups, recognized under Section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code, or resource conservation districts, as described in Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 9151) of Division 9 of the Public Resources Code, including for purposes of administrating hunting or other public use programs. (A) The contracts or other agreements authorized pursuant to this paragraph are not subject to Part 2 (commencing with Section 10100) of Division 2 of the Public Contract Code or Article 6 (commencing with Section 999) of Chapter 6 of Division 4 of the Military and Veterans Code. (B) The contracts or other agreements authorized pursuant to this paragraph shall adhere to the goals and objectives included in an approved management plan and shall be consistent with the purpose for which the lands were acquired and managed by the department. Any changes to the management plan shall be subject to public review and comment. (c) Multiple recreational use of department-managed lands is desirable and that use shall be encouraged by the commission. Except for hunting and fishing purposes, only minimum facilities to permit other forms of multiple recreational use, such as camping, picnicking, boating, or swimming, shall be provided. (d) (1) Hunting, fishing, wildlife viewing, wildlife photography, conservation education, and fish and wildlife research are priority uses compatible with department-managed lands, except for ecological reserves where uses shall be considered on an individual basis. (2) Public uses of department-managed lands not described in paragraph (1), or subdivision (c) or (f), shall be authorized by regulations adopted by the commission. The commission may require the purchase of a special use permit for these other uses. (e) Except as provided in Section 1765 and subdivision (h), and to defray the costs associated with multiple use, the commission may determine and fix the amount of, and the department shall collect, fees for any use privileges. Only persons holding valid hunting licenses may apply for or obtain shooting permits for department-managed lands. (f) Commencing January 1, 2015, the department shall require the purchase of an entry permit for nonconsumptive uses of department-managed lands if the department finds that it is practical and would be cost effective for the state to collect entry permit fees. (g) The following shall apply if the department requires the purchase of an entry permit pursuant to subdivision (f): (1) The department shall require the purchase of an entry permit for nonconsumptive uses of a department-managed land only if a sign providing notice of the requirement has been posted at the department-managed land. (2) To the extent feasible, the department shall allow nonconsumptive users to purchase an entry permit onsite. (3) The department shall use the Automated License Data System to sell an entry permit. (4) A nonconsumptive user shall have an entry permit in their immediate possession while on department-managed lands. (h) Failure to obtain a permit as required pursuant to this section shall be an infraction as described in Section 12002.2.1. A person in possession of a valid hunting license, sport fishing license, or trapping license shall be exempt from a requirement to obtain a permit. (i) The moneys generated pursuant to this section shall be deposited in the Native Species Conservation and Enhancement Account within the Fish and Game Preservation Fund, and shall be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the department for the management and operation of its lands. To the extent that the department is able to identify the source of the fee revenue collected, the department shall provide no less than 35 percent of the funds generated pursuant to this section to the department-managed lands from which the fee revenues were collected. (j) The commission and department may continue to allow free access to a department-managed land if the commission or department finds the best interests of that area would be served by not fixing a fee for use privileges. SEC. 3. Section 1745.1 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to read: 1745.1. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code, the department may lease department-managed lands for agricultural activities, including, but not limited to, grazing, where consistent with the purpose for which the lands were acquired and compatible with the department’s approved management plan for the area, if available. (b) The moneys collected from agricultural leases entered into pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be deposited by the department into the Wildlife Restoration Fund or the Fish and Game Preservation Fund and, upon appropriation by the Legislature, shall be used to support the management, maintenance, restoration, and operations of department-managed lands. SEC. 4. Section 1758 of the Fish and Game Code is amended to read: 1758. The department shall annually provide an opportunity for licensed hunters to comment and make recommendations on the public hunting programs, including anticipated wetland floodup and habitat conditions in the hunting areas on Type A and Type B Wildlife Areas, as defined under the commission’s regulations, through public meetings or other public outreach. In complying with this section, the department may hold regional meetings on its hunting programs for several different wildlife areas. SEC. 5. Nothing in this act shall be construed to invalidate, impair, or require the rebidding of any memorandum of understanding, cooperative agreements, or partnership agreements entered into before January 1, 2027, between the Department of Fish and Wildlife and a nonprofit organization or other qualified entity for the provision of interpretive, educational, restoration, or public access programing on department-managed lands.