Assembly Standing Committee on Water, Parks, and Wildlife

Please call in when the author of the Bill, you'd like to comment up against her presentation. We only have one Bill, so that will be immediately. The operator in the line will give you instructions about how to be placed in the queue. Make sure you mute your live stream, because otherwise we will hear it and it will sound echoey. We are now going to call the hearing of Water Parks and Wildlife Committee to order. We do not yet have a quorum right about that.

Okay, so we will begin as a Subcommittee, but allow Senator Ashby to begin her presentation for those of us that are here. Senator Ashby.

All right, well, thank you, Assembly colleagues, for having me and Madam Chair, for your hard work over the last few weeks, and really all of the Members of the Legislature and the Administration who have been working so hard for the last several weeks on these issues. It is my honor to appear in front of you today with one portion of that effort, which is Senate Bill 147. Little background on it. In the 1970s, the California Legislature designated several animals as fully protected species.

And then in 1984, the Legislature created the California Endangered Species Act, which is the comprehensive statutory regulatory process to protect species, designated by the California Fish and Game Commission as threatened or endangered. This Bill would allow the Department of Fish and Wildlife to authorize, by permit, the take of fully protected species, but for specified categories of projects pursuant to conditions designed to avoid, minimize, and mitigate for the take of, and impacts of those species.

SB. 147 establishes a robust permitting process for specific types of projects under the California Endangered Species Act, which we call CISA and protects environmental mitigation efforts. The Bill authorizes until January 1 of 2034, which is the sunset the Department of Fish and Wildlife to issue a permit under CISA that would authorize the take of a fully protected species resulting from impacts attributable to implementation of specified projects, but only if certain conditions are satisfied under existing law.

CISA allows the Department to permit projects pursuant to terms and conditions, but must avoid, minimize, and mitigate the takeoff and impacts to those species. However, the fully protected species statute prohibits the incidental take of any legislatively designated fully protected species, and existing law does not facilitate the permitting of projects. Over the last decade, the Legislature has amended CISA to carve out specific projects for the fully protected species list by authorizing the Department to permit the take.

SB 147 would allow take of fully protected species and permitting by the Department but for critical specific infrastructure projects only. The types of infrastructure projects included in this Bill are state and local water projects. But let me be clear, that does not include the Delta Tunnel, nor does it include ocean desalinization projects. Does include transportation, wind and solar projects, but only solar projects as defined in the Bill. This approach is modeled after prior legislative bills that have already been enacted for specific projects.

While the Bill allows the Department to issue permits, it also requires very specific and full mitigation to be undertaken as part of the permit approval. Lastly, SB One Four Seven requires the Department to develop two things in conjunction with this Bill. These are both very important. First, they must develop a plan by July 1 of 2024, so a year from now, to assess the population status of each fully protected species.

And second, two years from now, on July 1 in 2025, they must annually prepare and submit a report to the Legislature regarding specific information relating to each individual permit to take a fully protected species under this Bill. SB 147 reconciles existing CISA statutes with a modern approach to project permitting, while also ensuring that conservation and mitigation efforts are still in place. I do have with me Madam Chair, if we need them, Members of the Administration to answer questions.

I believe Mr. Bonham is with us, who's the Director of the Department of Fish and Wildlife, and I believe we have the Assistant General Counsel as well. Mr. Ingram, I ask for your aye vote.

Thank you, Senator. So we will start with any witnesses here in support of the Bill.

Good morning. Mike Robeson here on behalf Of The California Municipal Utilities Association. In support.

Thank you.

Madam Chair and Members. Alex Torres with the Bay Area Council, also here today on behalf of LA BizFed, we came together and formed the New California Coalition, representing hundreds of businesses up and down the state in strong support. Thank you.

Thank you. Seeing no additional witnesses in support, we will go to Witnesses in Opposition or Tweeners. I'm seeing the hand.

Good morning. Kim Delphino, representing Defenders of Wildlife and the California Native Plant Society. I just want to just say that we really appreciate all of the hard work by you. Assembly Member Bauer Kahan is one of the negotiators and the other negotiators for the package of trailer bills, including the fully protected the Bill package and the fully protected Bill were vastly improved over what was originally proposed.

And for that, we are removing our opposition and hope that perhaps in the next year, we can have maybe a more full and comprehensive and open conversation about how we manage our imperiled species in California. Thank you.

Thank you.

Good morning. My name is Erin Wooley. On behalf of Sierra Club California. We really appreciate the work that's gone in to improve this package and how it's been narrowed. We still do have questions about how this will be applied to specific projects. But again, appreciate the work and look forward to a future conversation about how.

To manage fully protected species.

Thank you so much. I see additional folks just walked in. If you want to come in, support or opposition, please join us at the mic. Thank you. Brenda Bass, California Chamber of Commerce and Support. Thank you.

Morning, Madam Chair. Chris Mckayley. On behalf of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce and Support thank you.

I know we're making it hard on folks with three hearings happening simultaneously, so appreciate you guys being here. Okay, seeing no additional folks in support or opposition, we will go to the phone lines. Moderator support or opposition on SB 147.

Ladies and gentlemen, on the phone, to register support or opposition, please press one, then zero. At this time, you'll be provided with a line number and we'll introduce you by your line number. Be one moment while we get a line number for the folks. We have one queuing up right now. Thank you for your patience. We'll go to line number six. Your line is open. Go ahead, please.

Chair Members, Adam Harper with the California. Construction and Industrial Materials Association in support. Thank you for your leadership.

Madam Chair. We have no additional callers in queue at this time.

Great, thank you. We'll bring it back to the dais. Any questions? Yes, Mr. Kalra?

Well, thank you, Madam Chair. And, Senator, I think the fact that we just had a couple of calls and folks speaking in the audience speaks as opposed to a room full of folks either supporting or opposed, I think speaks to the great work. That you've done in ensuring because I think at the hearing that we had previously, I and a number of folks, including our chair, raised a lot of issues at the original version of the Bill. And that's oftentimes the case.

That's part of the legislative process and why we asked to really be more vigorously part of the process in terms of the trailer Bill package in General, and certainly in serving on this committee specifically to this particular trailer Bill.

And so I want to thank the Senator, the Administration, certainly leadership in both houses, and specifically our chair here in Water Parks and Wildlife Committee for moving me from opposition to a support position, in agreement with some of the comments that obviously these are always continuing conversations, and it's not until it's actually put in place that you see the effects. But that's what we're here for, to kind of take a look and see if it needs tweaking, it needs some changes.

But I think that this does achieve some of the important goals of the Administration that I think we all agree with in terms of helping to facilitate projects, but while at the same time ensuring that we're not overstepping. In terms of the great leadership the state has shown over so many decades in protecting our wildlife and protecting species that are in danger. I do note that one of the fully protected species that will be removed is the peregrine falcon.

And I can attest to the fact that there's a very healthy pair on top of San Jose City Hall that seems doing very well because they have babies every single year and we have a falcon cam and everything going on there. And so that being said, grateful and at the appropriate time, happy to support.

Thank you. Mr. Culra.

If I could, I would just say first of know I'm a Senator in a room with a bunch of Assembly Members and I'm a first year. But I will say been I think the people of California should be very proud of their Legislature and their Administration because where we started to where we have landed is far improved. And there are many minds and many people both in the Administration and in the Legislature that have worked very hard to get us here.

I get to be the person that presents it today, but I was not the person in the room fighting so hard. There were many people doing that. And I think the citizens of California can feel very well represented today. And the species that you mentioned, the peregrine, there are two being removed as part of the cleanup. There are three actually being removed, but two for very good reasons because it worked. Because this worked. So the decision in the worked.

And two of those species are no longer endangered. And the third one that is being removed, sadly, was already too far gone and is now extinct. So it is a system that works. And I would just say to you, Assemblymember colred, that as you all know and you've been doing for a long time, California is all about balancing multifaceted goals, how to achieve our climate action goals, how to protect as many species as best as we possibly can.

And the good work that has been done here is really in that balance. Nothing can be done inside of this Bill without it being incidental, fully mitigated, permitted, still collaborated between agencies. The scope has to be critical infrastructure. It's narrow. It has been narrowed and it includes these important report backs and it has a sunset. So there are all the provisions there of good governance to hold us squarely in line. I appreciate everyone's input to get us to this point.

Thank you, Senator. Any other Mr. Villapudua?

First, thank the author. Also thank the chair for all of her help on this. The question I have and it's more of a comment, not more of a question, just because I get a lot of calls, people still not understanding the language. So if I could just on page four to clarify, the section does not apply to the design of the construction through the Delta convenience. That's out. The language is out.

And I just wanted to go on record and make sure that people understand for those who are listening, that they understand that that language is out of the language. That's it just a comment.

Assembly Member I think you know this about me. If the Delta tunnels were in this Bill, it would not have my name at the top. You would be looking at a different Senator. But in case folks are listening and they really want to know, section 20 eight 1.15 of the Fishing Game Code, sub paragraph E, sub one removes the Delta tunnel projects from being included in this and sub two removes ocean Desalinization. Neither one are included.

Yeah, again, as much as we were in these meetings for hours and hours. And I thank again the chair. I thank our staff. But for the record, I just wanted to go on record so that people can listen and hear this. Thank you.

Thank you. Assembly Member we have to call roll, but 1 second. We're almost ready for you and we're going to call roll in 1 second. I'll say that Assembly of Villapudua was an incredible, incredible leader in the conversations protecting the Delta, ensuring at every turn that his community was represented and their voice was heard. And we got where we are because of it. So thank you. Assembly Member and with that, we'll call the roll.

Bauer-Kahan. Here. Bauer-Kahan? Here. Mathis. Mathis? Here. Alanice. Alanice? Here. Bennett. Bennett? Here. Dolly Davies. Davies here. Friedman. Hart. Hart here. Kalra. Kalra? Here. Pellerin. Rubio? Schiavo. Vilipudua. Vilipudua here. Also ready to vote? Ward? Yeah, Ward? Here. Great.

And then would you repeat the motion, sir? Just so we have a motion and a second by Mr. Alanis, Ms. Davies. But I know that Mr. Hart had.

Questions or comments, not a question or comment. Just want to add my voice to the remarks from my colleagues this morning. And thanks Senator Ashby for her leadership on this Bill and also for our Chair and Assembly Member Villa Poudois and Assembly Member Rivas, who really led the Assembly's negotiating team through this complex package of bills to the place where we are now, where things are significantly approved. I think everybody who's looking at this feels much, much better about the process.

The fact that we did do our best to have a public process a little truncated, significantly truncated. But nevertheless, we were determined to have the opportunity for people to come and speak directly to these issues. And as a result, the package that's being looked at today is significantly improved. And so I think that we can all be pleased that working together we can accomplish good things.

And probably just a reminder that if we'd started working together earlier in the year, we could have probably reduced a lot of the tension and friction maybe that's a message to the governor's team that we can get there if we just follow the regular process. But we got here this way and I think that the fact that so few folks are here in opposition does speak to we got there successfully.

Thank you. Assembly Member Mr. Bennett.

Well done to everybody.

Thank you. Anybody else seeing? None? Then I will add my voice to the chorus. And I do really want to thank Mr. Ingram's here, but also Director Bonham, Department of Fish and Wildlife. I see Ms. Ari from the governor's team here as well for being open to both the hearing we had initially they came, they engaged in the conversation with us in a very robust way and worked with us to get to where we are on these bills.

And I also want to give a huge shout out to my principal consultant for whom he's the one who does the legislation when we do project specific exemptions to the fully protected species. So this is going to help him a lot because now we're putting it in Mr. Ingram's court. You know, he was with us late into the night figuring out a path forward that I think we saw today, right?

I mean, when we have no opposition on a Bill that is moving, when just what was it, a week ago? Was it two weeks ago? We had the hearing know, robust conversation about what was going on. Speaks a lot to a lot of listening, a lot of talking, a lot of negotiating to get to a place where we can protect these species, we can move forward in building what California needs us to build.

And I think that is the goal here, is to be able to do it all as we like to do here in California. And I think this Bill achieves that goal. I also want to thank the Department for their Willingness to continue to be in relationship with us on this species.

Bill, both through the reporting that you heard the Senator talk about and also with the plan that we'll see on monitoring these species, making sure that nothing we're doing here today is doing any harm to the species that we so care about here in California. And with that, would you like to close?

Sure. I don't think it can be stated enough and I'm so glad that so many of you took the time to speak to it. But again, California can be quite proud. Strong leadership out of the Assembly, very strong leadership out of the Senate, really proud of my Senate colleagues who also stepped forward to fight for many of the same things you are all fighting for, and also proud of our Administration that sat down with the Legislature and talked through solutions.

They brought forward solutions to the table and the timing of it all could be questioned, but the intent certainly cannot. Everyone from the Administration through the Senate and the Assembly had the same goal in mind how best to serve the people of the state of California. And I think we have arrived at a very nice balance. And I'm honored to bring the Bill forward and ask for your aye vote.

Thank you. And thank you. I should have said that, but the Senate was an incredible partner to the Assembly on this. And the work of your colleagues was integral in getting to especially in this Bill, the protections that we see here today. So I want to thank your house for their partnership and work as well. And on the timing issue, I think no one wishes we started earlier more than ledge council with that let's call the roll.

SB 147 motion is due pass to the Assembly floor. Bauer-Kahan. Bauer-Kahan aye Mathis Mathis aye Alanice Alanice aye Bennett. Bennett aye Dolly Davies Davies aye Friedman Hart aye Kalra Kalra aye Pellerin Rubio Schiavo Villapudua Villapudua aye Ward Ward aye.

That has nine votes it's out. But we will leave the roll open for absent Members. Thank you, colleagues. Good job. Yes, thanks.

It's easy to be the closer the.

Hard work has come back. Thank you.

Yeah super nice. Can I add on yeah we will open the roll or call the roll.

Again SB 147 motion do pass to the Assembly for Pellerin aye. Pellerin aye.

Two places at once. You know how to go during that's it. Yeah, I'm waiting to hear about I'm waiting around. Don't worry. When I was presiding on the chamber before, I wasn't allowed to know. But I'm not going. To roll silence notice. I will. Sergeant said no dolls. Is that what you avoid me when they can't?

Yeah.

You talk to Graham? Actual person in my life, but no. You know, me and my Jordan do it, so sal is not convayed us just do you understand? Just so you know oh yeah that one yeah and they forces that they are negotiating ordinarily Jefferson for you guys but I wish you dream josh know each other really? Well, recently.

Good time. And yeah.

Like he's also.

Sleeping.

No. Are you kidding? Might be the witness.

SB 147 motion is due passed to the Assembly for Friedman. Friedman aye okay.

Sorry thank you.

SB 147 motion due pass to the Assembly floor. Schiavo Shiavo aye.

That SB 147 is twelve to zero. It is out and we will adjourn this hearing perfect record.