Assembly Standing Committee on Water, Parks, and Wildlife

Okay, we're going to gavel in. Assembly Member Kalra, it's lovely to see you. You got a bill to present?

Yeah, I do. All right. Whenever you're ready. Thank you. AB 1581 codifies and expands the Department efficient wildlife restoration management permit, also known as the RMP. Currently, long duplicative permitting processes hinder the efficient approval of important habitat restoration projects. In response, some state entities have begun streamlining certain aspects of the habitat restoration project approval process.

For example, the Department of Fish and Wildlife created the RNP to consolidate certain species take authorizations for voluntary restoration projects. Without the RMP, these projects would have to go through the arduous process of obtaining each authorization separately. However, the RMP is not currently codified and does not consolidate all the species tank authorizations needed by many restoration projects.

Furthermore, it does not include the additional authorizations that are needed by projects that restore river, lake, or stream bed habitats. These projects must also require a lake and steam bed alteration agreement which can duplicate or conflict with aspects of the RNP. AB 1581 addresses this issue by creating a pilot program that will codify and expand the RNP.

Under this program, the RNP will consolidate all the species take and lake and stream bed authorization agreement, authorizations that may be needed by qualified restoration projects. I've worked closely with the Department of Fish and Wildlife, environmental partners, and the Committee to ensure that this Bill strikes the right balance between much needed streamlining and crucial environmental prudence.

AB 1581 will help spare qualified restoration projects the slow processing times and administrative complications that currently impede their implementation. I ask for an aye vote.

Thank you so much, Senator Kohlra, do we have, you have any witnesses today, and do we have anyone in the audience that would like to come forward and express their support?

Good afternoon, Members of the Committee. Noel Kramers with Wine Institute. I want to express my appreciation to the author for taking amendments that will help further coordinate between the federal and state Endangered Species Act. Really appreciate it. And we're in support. Thanks.

Good afternoon. Erin Norwood, on behalf of the Allman alliance, I'd like to express that same. Thanks. And we're in support of the bill. Thank you.

Good afternoon. Kim Delfino, on behalf of Trout Unlimited, Sonoma Land Trust, Environmental Defense Fund, and Audubon California in support of the bill. And thank you very much for all your work.

Excellent. Thank you so much. I don't see any witnesses in opposition. Anyone in from the audience? In opposition. Excellent. So would you like to close? Wait. Anything from the Committee? Would you like to close?

We ask for an aye vote at the appropriate time.

As soon as we get a quorum, we shall do so. Thank you to my colleagues on this Committee. Please come forward. We need a total of eight. I got two more. Water Parks and Wildlife. Calling all Members. Excellent timing. Thank you, Mister Villapudua.

Okay, we're gonna take a roll and then we'll entertain a motion, all right?

[Roll Call]

Do we have a motion? Motion? Second. So we've got a motion from some of them. Alanis, a second from some of them are via boudoir. Let's go ahead and take a roll call vote, okay?

AB 1581. Motion is concur in Senate amendments. [Roll Call]

Excellent. We will wait about three minutes if anybody wants to add on, and then we'll conclude the hearing of to bring a monster.

AB 1581. Motion, concurrence and amendments? Addis. Addis, aye.

Excellent. That'll conclude the hearing.