Assembly Water Parks And Wildlife Committee

Good morning.

Do you have witnesses?

Okay. Witnesses, you can come up here.

when you're ready, go ahead.

Okay, go ahead.

and different things. But this organization is kind of outside of those bounds. So when we get a young person that wants to go hunting or fishing, we have 10 fishing trips this year, deep sea fishing, river fishing, whatever we can with the kids that we can get them in on, that they're capable of doing. But you just see the life come out of them. We take them from a hospital situation, and most of the time these families can't afford any sort of vacation or opportunity to go out. We pay for their airfare, whatever transportation, lodging and food, whatever they need, we take care of in our organization. and it opens up a great opportunity for him. But I'm starting to cheer up because I'm thinking about some of the kids that I've taken out that aren't with us. So, yeah, time. We're going to just get some time for these kids. It'd be great. Thank you. Well, thank you so much, and thank you for your dedication. With that, we will take any me-to's from the audience, the folks that want to come forward in support of the bill. Rick Travis on behalf of CCACAL, the state's largest offshore fishing group. We're in full support. Nick Villa with the California Rifle and Pistol Association in full support as well. Thank you. Amy Heiss as a youth advocate for CRPA in full support. Hi there, Mark Hanley with California Waterfowl in support. Bill Gaines on behalf of the California Chapter of the Wild Sheep Foundation, Rocky Mountain Help Foundation, California Deer Association, California Hounsmen for Conservation, and the California Hounsmen for Conservation, and the California Hockey Club all in support. Thank you. Karen Heiss, part of CRPA. I'm in full support. Lisa Spence, a Solano County CRPA member. I'm in full support. Thank you so much. Do we have any witnesses in opposition? Hello, Chair and members. Nicholas Sackett on behalf of Social Compassion in legislation and our thousands of supporters throughout California. Unfortunately, we remain opposed to the bill. Ultimately, we believe that the time, effort, and resources by the commission and the department are a zero-sum game. And while we certainly agree that getting kids out into nature is therapeutic and a good thing, we would like to see that time and effort by the commission and department focused on non-lethal activities to get out into nature. So with that respect, we ask for a no vote. Okay, thank you so much. Any other witnesses and or members of the audience who want to express opposition? Seeing none, we'll bring it back to the committee. Vice Chair Gonzalez. I want to thank the author for your leadership in this and gentlemen. As a veteran and as a dad to a disabled son, we've been on a trip called Fish for Life. And it's out of Dana Point, San Clemente area. And let me tell you something. It is, uh, I'm going to get choked up, but I'm going to try not to. It is life changing for the parents or the advocates or the volunteers, uh, let alone life changing for, for the, uh, the participants. So thank you for doing this. Uh, and I'll also ask the, the author to, to, uh, consider me as a coauthor. Thank you. Any other members of the committee? Okay. Well, thank you so much for bringing the bill and the good work that you're doing. Senator Choi, would you like to close? Thank you, Madam. This bill has bipartisan co-authors and including co-chairs of the Outdoor Sporting Caucus in both the Senate and the Assembly, which I am very appreciative of, and I'll be happy to add Assemblyman Jeff Gonzalez to the co-author list. Thank you, and I respectfully ask for your aye vote. Thank you so much, Senator Choi. We do have a quorum, so we're going to take roll. We don't? Who left? Bennett? Okay. When we have a quorum, we will take a vote on the matter, and we'll go from there. Okay thank you very much Thank you so much for your time today I see Senator Caballero Come on down Good morning, Senator Cavallaro. Get that coffee going. It was a little late last night here in the Capitol. So I heard. I wonder what you guys were doing. Yeah, nothing important. Anyway, whenever you're ready, welcome. Thank you very much, Madam Chair and members, for the opportunity to present SB 997, which addresses a narrow but important enforcement gap for the North Fork Kings Groundwater Sustainability Agency. agency. The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, or SGMA, established a framework for long-term groundwater sustainability and authorized GSAs to be formed either through joint powers agreements or special legislation. All groundwater sustainability agencies have a minimum enforcement authority granted to them under SGMA, which includes the ability to impose fees that are only enforceable through a civil action. GSAs formed through JPAs have additional enforcement authority, such as the authority to impose liens, to collect money owed, which is derived from the GSA member agencies like Irrigation District. The North Fork King's GSA was created via special legislation rather than through the JPA, which limits the GSA's enforcement authority to civil litigation as the only viable enforcement tool. SB 997 simply grants lien authority to the North Fork Kings GSA, which ensures that the GSA can efficiently implement its groundwater sustainability plan and ensure compliance with it. With me to testify today in support of the bill is Alexis Salveria, the deputy general manager for North Fork Kings GSA. And just to preclude questions, we had the discussion with some of the other GSAs that are similarly situated and they had different issues they were concerned about and so this is really very limited to it's a district bill limited to this one and I respectfully ask for your aye vote. Good morning Madam Chair members. Understood. Perfect. Madam Secretary, please take roll. Papin? Here. Papin, here. Jeff Gonzalez? Here. Jeff Gonzalez, here. Alaniz? Alvarez? Avila-Farias? Baines? Bennett? Here. Bennett, here. Borner? Coloza? Here. Coloza, here. Hart? Here. Hart, here. Rodriguez? Here. Rodriguez, here. Rogers? Here. Rogers, here. Excellent. So we have a quorum. Please proceed. Thank you for your patience. Good morning, Madam Chair and members. My name is Alexis Silvera, and I serve as the Deputy General Manager of North Fort King's groundwater sustainability agency. North Fort Kings GSA is located within the King's subbasin and maintains an approved groundwater sustainability plan. As we continue reducing overdraft and addressing subsidence, it has become clear that we will likely be the first GSA within the King's subbasin to implement groundwater allocations. To successfully administer an allocation program, GSAs need effective enforcement tools. However, because North Fort Kings GSA was established through special legislation rather than a joint powers authority we do not currently have the same authority available to many other GSAs in California to enforce fees and penalties through liens SB 997 would provide North Fort King's GSA with authorities comparable to those already available to other GSAs formed as JPAs, helping ensure we can effectively implement SGMA and achieve our sustainability goals. We appreciate the committee's consideration of this measure and respectfully ask for your aye vote. Thank you, and I'm happy to answer any questions. Thank you so much. Any members? No other witnesses. No other witnesses. Okay, great. Any other members of the audience that would like to come forward to express support for lean authority in the North Fork? Good morning, Chair and members. Danny Merkley with the Guelco Group on behalf of Kings River Interest in support. Good morning, Eric Will, on behalf of Rural County Representatives of California, in strong support. Thank you. Good morning, Charles Delgado, on behalf of California State Association of Counties, in support. Morning, Chair and members. Richard Filgas with the California Farm Bureau in support. Thank you. Excellent. Do we have any witnesses in opposition to the bill? Seeing none, any members of the audience want to express any opinion on it? Okay, we'll bring it back to the committee. Any questions? Oh, we have a motion and a second from Mr. Hart and Vice Chair Gonzalez. And did you have a question or comment? I just wanted to comment. This is a really important bill for them and a good bill, and I really appreciate this bill moving forward. Thank you. Anyone else? Go forth and enforce is what I say. Would you like to close? I'll utilize that as my closing. Excellent. We ask for an aye vote. Great. We've got a motion, a second, and a quorum. The trifecta. Let's take a vote. Item number two, SB997. Motion is due pass to Judiciary Committee. Pappin? Aye. Pappin, aye. Jeff Gonzalez? Aye. Jeff Gonzalez, aye. Alaniz? Alvarez? Avila Farias? Baines? Bennett? Aye. Bennett, aye. Berner? Coloza? Coloza, aye. Hart? Hart, aye. Rodriguez. Rogers. Rogers. Aye. Okay. We'll have that on call and we'll get it out. I have confidence. Thank you. I think I saw Senator Ochoa Bogue, but she popped out. Yeah. Do we have a motion on assembly member? I mean, excuse me, Senator Choi's bill. Okay. Okay, we have a motion and a second. Let's go ahead and take a vote. Okay. Item number three, SB 1021. Motion is due pass as amended to appropriations. Pappen? Aye. Pappen, aye. Jeff Gonzalez? Aye. Jeff Gonzalez, aye. Alanis? Alvarez? Avila Farias? Baines? Bennett? Bennett not voting. Berner? Colosa? Colosa no. Hart? Hart, aye. Rodriguez, Rogers, Rogers, aye. Okay, that bill remains on call until we get other folks. Well, thank you so much, Assemblymember Rogers. And we have a second from Vice Chair Gonzalez. Let's go ahead and take a vote on the consent calendar. Items on the consent calendar. Item number one SB 832 Motion is do pass to appropriations Item number five SB 1062 motion is do pass to appropriations And item number seven, SB 1139, motion is do pass. Pappin? Aye. Pappin, aye. Jeff Gonzalez? Aye. Jeff Gonzalez, aye. Alanis? Alvarez? Avila Farias? Baines? Bennett? Bennett, aye. Berner? Colosa? Aye. Colosa, aye. Hart? Hart, aye. Rodriguez, Rogers, aye. Rogers, aye. Okay. We'll leave that on call until we are ready to add on. Good morning, Senator. Welcome. We've got Senator Ochoa Bogue with item number five, SB 1062. The Western Joshua Tree. Have a seat. wherever you want to be. That's fine by me. And you have two witnesses? We have two witnesses. Perfect. So why don't we have two witnesses? I'll sit over here. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you, Madam Chair. Good morning, Madam Chair and members. I would like to start by accepting the committee amendments to this bill. I am proud to present SB 1061, which is a narrow bill that clarifies how the Western Joshua Tree Act treats relocation and creates a simple permit pathway for homeowners to relocate up to 10 trees on a property under certain conditions. The act's current definition of take is built for wildlife that can be hunted or pursued, not for a rooted plant, so even a short-distance move of a tree on the same parcel can trigger a full take permit process. In practice, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife already often conditions permits on moving trees instead of cutting them down. So the real-world outcome is relocation, not destruction. SB 1061 recognizes the reality by clarifying that relocation does not result in a net loss of trees, is not a traditional take, and creates a streamlined relocation permit instead of routing homeowners through a full take permit framework. The implementation of the Western Joshua Tree Conservation Act has been extremely burdensome for residents of the high desert. The act has effectively stripped these folks of their right to make reasonable use of their properties by imposing high fees, complex mitigation requirements, and lengthy permitting processes to manage a species that was evaluated by both the Federal Fish and Wildlife Service and the State Department of Fish and Wildlife and determined to be widespread and abundant based on the best available science. I authored this bill because I believe we owe it to the communities of the high desert to right this injustice and allow them to have control over their property, just as every other Californian resident has. With me today, I have Rita De Silva from Yucca Valley and Apple Valley Mayor Pro Tem Carrie Leon to share their stories as high desert residents that are living under the hardship of the Western Joshua Tree Conservation Act. Before you, we have some folders that we have prepared for your convenience and for your information with both the executive summary from the California Fish and Wildlife Commission with the findings as well as the copy of the Department of Interior of Fish and Wildlife with the study findings ensuring that the Joshua Tree is not endangered in our desert communities. So with that in mind, I yield to my witnesses. Thank you. Good morning, Chair and members. My name is Rurita De Silva, and I live in Yucca Valley. My family has lived and owned property in the area since the 1970s. My parents moved to Yucca Valley with four children and $2,500 in their pocket. They worked and saved every penny so that they could give their children a better future and bought land for their children and grandchildren. What they thought would help us succeed is now a burden. I'm here to support SB 1061 because the current implementation of the Western Joshua Tree Conservation Act is creating a real unintended hardship. Understand the goal of protecting the Western Joshua Trees. Our communities love these iconic species, and we have been good stewards of our beautiful desert environment for years. But in practice, the Western Joshua Tree Conservation Act's permitting process has made my property unusable. I currently have a large fallen Joshua Tree on my property that is a fire hazard. I'm expected to get a hazard management permit just to remove safety risks, while my insurance and local authorities will eventually hold me responsible. I also have Joshua Trees uplifting my home's foundation. I've spent years trying to preserve both the trees and my home, but I'm being forced into a situation where I may need to navigate this burdensome permitting process. Beyond my home, I own multiple parcels, but because of the cost and complexity of the Western Joshua Tree Conservation Act, the land is now effectively valueless, despite decades of paying property taxes. Furthermore, I've been encouraging the growth of these trees and new seedlings, which are now a burden to me and the neighboring houses. By creating a fee-free relocation permit for up to 10 trees, SB 1061 provides a path to balance environmental goals with the practical realities of owning property in the high desert. I respectfully ask for an aye vote so that the residents like me can responsibly care for our property, protect public safety, and continue contributing to our communities. Thank you. Madam Chair and members, good morning. My name is Carrie Leon, and I'm the Mayor Pro Tem for the Town of Apple Valley, and I respectfully urge you to support Senate Bill 1061. Western Joshua trees are a distinctive part of our landscape, and our residents share the desire to have these trees in our communities for generations to come. But unfortunately, the implementation of the Western Joshua Tree Conservation Act has created significant hardship for homeowners that are trying to manage the trees on their land. Senate Bill 1061 provides a common sense approach by allowing property owners to relocate up to 10 Western Joshua trees to a commonly owned parcel within a defined radius of the tree original location This flexibility reduces unnecessary obstacles for housing basic property improvements and critical infrastructure on land that is already privately owned. In communities like the high desert, Joshua trees are often found throughout large areas of land that can be developed. Current regulation projects can face increased costs, delays, and uncertainty even when property owners are willing to relocate and preserve these trees. As California works to address a housing shortage and invest in critical infrastructure, we need policies that balance environmental stewardship with real-world community needs. I have spoken with several residential property owners who adopted and preserved Joshua trees on their land, only to later discover they cannot build an accessory dwelling unit because a tree was located within the proposed building area. Even when willing to relocate and protect the tree, current rules limit their ability to use their property for needed family housing. Senate Bill 106-1 offers a practical alternative that allows reasonable land use decisions instead of treating every permitting case as if it were untouched, sensitive, and habit. This is especially important for our homeowners who need to maintain access to life-sustaining infrastructure and make basic improvements to their property. Residents may need to connect or reconnect to electricity, water, or sewer service, and western Joshua trees may be in the only feasible alignment for a utility trench. Living in a rural area, we have seen situations where a homeowner's septic system fails and must be replaced. When Western Joshua trees are located within the replacement area or along with a path to connect to the sewer or power, these homeowners should not be prevented from restoring safe, functional service to their homes if they are prepared to relocate the trees. Senate Bill 1061 recognizes that property owners need clear, reasonable options. It allows families to meet their housing needs, maintain access to essential infrastructure, and make basic improvements to their property without the financial burden and technical complexity of the existing permitting process. For these reasons, I respectfully urge your aye vote on Senate Bill 1061, and thank you for your consideration. Move the bill. Okay, we've got a motion and a second. Thank you so much. Any witnesses in opposition? I mean, any members of the audience in support of this bill? I'm getting ahead of myself. Good morning, Madam Chair and members. Ben Turner from Axiom Advisors, representing the High Desert Water District and the California Building Industry Association in support. Good morning. Orachi Gonzalez on behalf of the Community Water Systems Alliance. Strong support. Good morning, Tiffany Fan on behalf of the Town of Apple Valley in support. Thank you. Good morning again Chair and members Richard Filgas with the California Foreign Bureau in support Thank you Chad May is here for the Town of Yaco Valley and the county of San Bernardino in support David Bullock SFV Alliance in support Thank you. Okay. Do we have any witnesses in opposition? Seeing none, any members of the audience wish to chime in and against? Okay. Without further ado, we'll bring it back to the committee. Questions, comments? We've got a motion and a second. Oh, my gosh, it's going so fast. I don't know what to do with myself. Thank you, Senator, for bringing this bill and both of your witnesses so eloquently stated that this is about finding a balance. And so you've done so and it's taken a lot of effort in this bill. So I thank you for that. And here's to having a balance between preservation and actual living conditions. So without further ado, let's take a vote. Would you like to close? Absolutely. Thank you so much for the opportunity to meet here today. As mentioned earlier, I inherited the desert communities in 2024. And with that, I've been holding town hall meetings throughout the area, meeting with my local electeds, my residents, and my water agencies. And the number one issue of concern was the Western Joshua Tree Conservation Act and the impact that it had on local infrastructure as well as in the residents' personal use of their property. In order to learn more about the Conservation Act, we did our homework and learned that both the Commission on Fish and Wildlife for California as well as the Department of Interior stated that based on their findings that the Western Joshua Tree was not, according to the Department of Fish and Wildlife for California, It said that it recognized that the threats faced by the species and the evidence presented in favor of the petition action, the scientific evidence that is currently possessed by the department does not demonstrate that populations of the species are negatively trending in a way that would lead the department to believe that the species is likely to be in serious danger of becoming extinct throughout all or significant portion of its range of its foreseeable future. And then on the Federal Register for the Department of Interior at the federal level in 23, so this was in 22, and in 23, it stated here that after a thorough review of the best available scientific and commercial information, we find that the listing Joshua Tree as an endangered or threatened species is not warranted. And yet, we placed the Conservation Act for the Joshua Tree in a budget trailer bill without the opportunity to truly be fully vetted. And now it has an incredible impact on personal and infrastructure for the communities in the desert, in my opinion, being one of the greatest injustices that we've done to the people of the desert. And my heart breaks for those community members. So now is an opportunity for us to make it right by the by the folks that live in those communities and have to govern within these within this scope. And so therefore, we are here asking for your support. and with that I respectfully ask for an aye vote ma'am. Thank you so much. All right we'll go ahead and take a vote. Item number four SB 1061 motion is due pass as amended to appropriations. Pappen? Aye. Pappen aye. Jeff Gonzalez? Aye. Jeff Gonzalez aye. Alaniz? Alvarez? Avila Farias? Baines? Bennett? Bennett aye. Berner? Aye. Berner aye. Coloza? Coloza aye. Hart? Hart aye. Rodriguez? Rodriguez aye Rogers Aye Rogers aye Thank you So that bill is out and your other one on consent Thank you so much Madam Chair Thank you Senator Have a good day Senator Gonzalez I see you Thank you. Come on down. It's fast. Good morning. Good morning. Welcome. Thank you. Move the bill. Oh, thank you, Madam Chair and members. So I'll still present a bit, if you don't mind, just so we know what we're talking about here. I'm here to present Senate Bill 1268, which would codify the Outdoors for All initiative. Think of your state parks initiatives, of course, ensuring that we're engaging free park pass programs, culturally competent programs built by this initiative are making a real difference for the communities that I represent. I have Southeast Los Angeles, and it's some of the lowest park access, not just in L.A. County, but in the state of California. And so SB 1268 will codify the outdoors for all strategy. So testifying in support, I do have Pedro Hernandez from Green Latinos that's going to talk about this initiative. Yeah, good morning, everybody. Pedro Hernandez here flying in from beautiful Fresno, California, to talk about this wonderful bill. And, you know, the Outdoors for All initiative has been one of the most successful programs of the last several years regarding the overall park equity and conservation field in general. What it has done for California is actually shift the foundational coordination of the State Natural Resource Agency to coordinate the 27 departments at CNRA to leverage their staff time, funding, and data all towards advancing outdoor equity in every community in California across the different levels of environmental protection as well, too. So part of the actual concrete results from implementing Outdoors for All has been streaming the streamline of Prop 4 applications to make sure that, you know, these funds that voters approved are more accessible to different organizations that have limited capacity for applying for funds or, you know, historically have not received funds. where there's been development of metrics that are now publicly available so we can actually track progress and assess the gravity of the issue. Most recently on Earth Day, State Parks announced the State Parks Forward Initiative, which is a really ambitious commitment to expand the state parks network by 30,000 acres and made a historic commitment by creating three new state parks in the San Joaquin Valley alone with more promise for the rest of the state of California. And then also, you know, I can say we're working very closely with Deputy Secretary for Access Gloria Sandoval for seven regional workshops to actually update the Outdoors for All strategy starting in late July as well, too. So, you know, I think that's a testament to the real deep and meaningful community relationships that have been built through this initiative, but also, you know, incorporating community input to make sure that we can actually overcome these barriers and reach a truly outdoors for all California. So with that, I'd like to respectfully request your support. We've reached this point with zero no votes, and I would love to have some good news to tell my mom when I call her later this afternoon. Thank you. You did so great. All righty. Couldn't have said it better. Any other members of the audience wish to express support?

Thank you so much.

And look now for your mom, too. Nice to see you, Madam Chair.

Good morning.

Thank you. Good morning.

Good morning. Jake Schultz on behalf of the California Association of Local Conservation Corps, California State Parks Foundation, Save the Redwoods League, Semper of Irons Fund, and Mid-Peninsula Regional Open Space District in support. Thank you.

Good morning. Andre Sanchez on behalf of Cal Wild, Latino Outdoors, and Friends of the River in support.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Well, I'm going to ask, but I doubt it will happen. Anyway, this is in opposition. There you have it. Okay, no members of the audience. We'll bring it back to the committee. Questions, comments? Assemblymember Coloza.

Thank you. Did you wish to chime in, Assemblymember Bennett?

Exactly. Exactly.

Please report back to your mom that even the chair was delighted. Would you like to close, Senator Gonzalez?

Yeah. Excellent. That is a fantastic closing. Without further ado, we'll take a vote. Okay, item number eight, SB 1268. Motion is due passed to Natural Resources.

Pappin, aye.

Jeff Gonzalez, aye. Alaniz, Alvarez, Avila-Farias, Baines, Bennett.

Bennett, aye.

Berner, aye.

Coloza, aye.

Okay, that bill's out, and we'll leave it open for add-ons.

When you're ready.

Thank you.

Second by – a motion by Vice Chair Gonzalez, a second by Senator Berner, who was here before Senator Alvin East. Please. Please. Please. Let's hear from the witness.

Thank you so much. Any members of the audience wish to come forward in support of the bill? Thank you.

Good morning.

Thank you. Good morning.

Thank you.

Good morning, Lili Hernandez with the California Special District in support.

Good morning, Nico Molina on behalf of the Rancho California Water District in support.

Good morning, Mariela Rocha with Leadership Council for Justice and Accountability in support.

Dennis O'Connor with the Mona Lake Committee in strong support.

Thank you.

Good morning Andrea Abergel with the California Municipal Utilities Association in support Good morning Jack Worson from Nausman on behalf of the Lievenheim Municipal Water District and the Santa Clara Valley Water District in support.

Good morning, Charles Delgado on behalf of California State Association of Counties in support.

Good morning, Senator. Good morning, Chair and members. I'm Ben Turner from Axiom Advisors with the California Building Industry Association. We anticipate removing our opposition given the amendments, and we really appreciate the Senator's work and the committee's work in developing that compromise.