From Director's Distribution of the Northern California Council,FFF



For the past year NCCFFF has been working with the Bay Delta SportFishing Enhancement Stamp committee members to sponsor legislation that would address the issue of DFG not spending the vast majority of funds collected under this program. As authorized, monies collected through the BDSFES program were supposed to be used solely for the long term, sustainable benefit of the primary Bay-Delta sport fisheries. In reality, $7.5 million of the $10 million collected since the inception in 2004 has been held back by the DFG while these fisheries continued to decline. Two separate audits on the DFG sited several fiscal improprieties regarding how these monies have been managed and spent.



Assembly member Caballero embraced our effort to enhance the BDSFES program earlier this year by introducing AB1052 . Unfortunately, after wrangling with DFG and legislative committees the resulting bill language does not represent the best interest of the fishing community, nor provide the tools necessary to assure DFG spend the remaining and future BDSFES funds properly.


The original intent of AB1052 was to provide the committee greater power in decision making and project selection with the DFG. We were looking for a way to better direct the DFG as to how to spend the money. The best rendition was for the bill to provide for a 2 year extension of the program without the use fee. The committee would remain intact to provide oversight and accountability of funds until spent down to an acceptable level. If the DFG showed they could comply with the law action would be taken to reactivate the program along with a fee at the end of this two year period. In the event this was not possible we had requested allowing the program to sunset at the end of this year.

The current version of the bill does little to accomplish any good. As written (July 14, 2009 version) the bill would extend the sunset date of the program another two years with full fees in place. Fishermen would be required to continue to buy a stamp for a fishing opportunity that has not seen the benefits of the original program, and has instead experienced serious degradation over the life of the program. The only positive conditions added to the bill were to address the findings of the audit. The current language requires the department to 1) develop a spending plan that focuses on identifying and funding viable projects, 2) Track and report the costs of projects. 3) Improve the tracking of individual project expenditures. 4) Require a project manager to approve all project expenditures. 5) Appropriately charge their time to projects. However, these are actions the department should have been practicing all along as acceptable management practices.


Assembly Bill 1052 will be heard by the Senate Appropriations committee on August 17. It is here that the fishing community will make their final stand to influence corrective amendments in cooperation with the author, or kill the bill. Without the proper language in the bill there is no assurance DFG will correct the audit's findings or spend the money on projects other then boat ramps and cleaning stations, or a creel senses. Besides, these programs will be useless if there are no fish remaining in the system.



Allowing DFG to continue using the BDSFES program as a revenue stream to subsidize their department budget is unacceptable!



On behalf of the NCCFFF committee we are asking this issue be supported by the SWCFFF directors and general membership with FAXes and phone calls to the contacts listed below. Please distribute this document to all club communication contacts immediately.

The following text covers the necessary points and serves the intent of our effort.





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Assembly Bill 1052 (Caballero) will be heard by Senate Appropriations on August 17th, 2009.

As an active user of the BDSFES resource (our group or I, if an individual) request/s to go on record as being in

Opposition to AB1052 unless amended to include



1) Extend the sunset date of the Bay Delta Sport Fishing Enhancement Stamp program through January 1, 2012.
2) Suspend the fee collection portion of the program during this period.
3) Retain the existing committee to provide accountability and oversight on application of existing funds according to the original authorizing legislation.
4) Add language to Section 7360 of the Fish and Game Code that would "require the DFG only act upon those projects and programs approved or brought forth by the committee".