200-220

FISH AND GAME CODE
SECTION 200-220




200.  There is hereby delegated to the commission the power to
regulate the taking or possession of birds, mammals, fish, amphibia,
and reptiles to the extent and in the manner prescribed in this
article.
   No power is delegated to the commission by this article to
regulate the taking, possessing, processing, or use of fish,
amphibia, kelp, or other aquatic plants for commercial purposes, and
no provision of this code relating or applying thereto, nor any
regulation of the commission made pursuant to such provision, shall
be affected by this article or any regulation made under this
article.


201.  Nothing in this article confers upon the commission any power
to regulate any natural resources or commercial or other activity
connected therewith, except as specifically provided.



202.  The commission shall exercise its powers under this article by
regulations made and promulgated pursuant to this article.
Regulations adopted pursuant to this article shall not be subject to
the time periods for the adoption, amendment, or repeal of
regulations prescribed in Sections 11343.4, 11346.4, 11346.8, and
11347.1 of the Government Code.



203.  Any regulation of the commission pursuant to this article
relating to resident game birds, game mammals and furbearing mammals
may apply to all or any areas, districts, or portions thereof, at the
discretion of the commission, and may do any or all of the following
as to any or all species or subspecies:
   (a) Establish, extend, shorten, or abolish open seasons and closed
seasons.
   (b) Establish, change, or abolish bag limits and possession
limits.
   (c) Establish and change areas or territorial limits for their
taking.
   (d) Prescribe the manner and the means of taking.
   (e) Establish, change, or abolish restrictions based upon sex,
maturity, or other physical distinctions.



203.1.  When adopting regulations pursuant to Section 203, the
commission shall consider populations, habitat, food supplies, the
welfare of individual animals, and other pertinent facts and
testimony.


204.  The commission has no power under this article to make any
regulation authorizing or permitting the taking of:
   (a) Any bird or mammal in any refuge heretofore or hereafter
established by statute, the taking or possession of which shall be
regulated pursuant to Sections 10500 to 10506, inclusive.
   (b) Elk, the taking or possession of which shall be regulated
pursuant to Section 332.
   (c) Antelope, the taking or possession of which shall be regulated
pursuant to Section 331.
   (d) Any spike buck or spotted fawn. "Spotted fawn" means a young
deer born that year which has spotted pelage. "Spike buck" means a
male deer with unbranched antlers on both sides which are more than
three inches in length.
   Any regulation establishing a season to compensate for closure of
an area due to extreme fire hazard shall be made pursuant to Section
306.
   Any regulation setting a special hunting season for mammals,
except deer, or game birds which have increased in number to such an
extent that a surplus exists or which are damaging property or are
overgrazing their range shall be made pursuant to Section 325.




205.  Any regulation of the commission pursuant to this article
which relates to fish, amphibia, and reptiles, may apply to all or
any areas, districts, or portion thereof, at the discretion of the
commission, and may do any or all of the following as to any or all
species or subspecies:
   (a) Establish, extend, shorten, or abolish open seasons and closed
seasons.
   (b) Establish, change, or abolish bag limits, possession limits,
and size limits.
   (c) Establish and change areas or territorial limits for their
taking.
   (d) Prescribe the manner and the means of taking.



206.  (a) The commission shall hold no fewer than 10 regular
meetings per calendar year, if the commission has adequate funding
for related travel, including funding for department travel. The
commission may also hold special meetings or hearings to receive
additional input from the department and the public.
   (b) The commission shall announce the dates and locations of
meetings for the year by January 1 of that year, or 60 days prior to
the first meeting, whichever comes first. Meeting locations shall be
accessible to the public and located throughout the state, with no
more than three regular meetings to be held in Sacramento per year.
To the extent feasible, meetings shall be held in state facilities.
In setting the dates and locations for regular meetings, the
commission shall also consider the following factors:
   (1) Recommendations of the department.
   (2) Opening and closing dates of fishing and hunting seasons.
   (3) The schedules of other state and federal regulatory agencies
whose regulations affect the management of fish and wildlife of this
state.
   (c) The commission shall cause the notice of the schedule for
regular meetings, and notice of any change in the date and location
of a meeting, to be disseminated to the public in a manner that will
result in broad dissemination, including, but not limited to,
electronic distribution, mailings to interested parties, and
publication in local newspapers of affected communities.



207.  (a) Except for emergency regulations, the commission shall
consider and adopt regulations pursuant to Sections 203 and 205 at a
series of no fewer than three meetings. These meetings may be regular
or special meetings that are duly noticed to the public in
accordance with subdivision (c) of Section 206 and the Administrative
Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1
of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code).
   (b) At the first meeting, the commission shall receive
recommendations for regulations from its own members and staff, the
department, other public agencies, and the public.
   (c) At the second meeting, the commission shall devote time for
open public discussion of proposed regulations presented at the first
meeting. The department shall participate in this discussion by
reviewing and presenting its findings regarding each regulation
proposed by the public and by responding to objections raised
pertaining to its proposed regulations. After considering the public
discussion, the commission shall announce, prior to adjournment of
the meeting, the regulations it intends to add, amend, or repeal.
   (d) At the third meeting, the commission may choose to hear
additional public discussion regarding the regulations it intends to
adopt. At the meeting or within 20 days after the meeting, the
commission shall add, amend, or repeal regulations relating to any
recommendation received at the initial meeting it deems necessary to
preserve, properly utilize, and maintain each species or subspecies.
   (e) Within 45 days after adoption, the department shall publish
and distribute regulations adopted pursuant to this section.




210.  (a) The commission shall provide copies of the regulations
added, amended, or repealed pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section
206, subdivision (e) of Section 207, and subdivision (d) of Section
208 to each county clerk, each district attorney, and each judge of
the superior court in the state.
   (b) The commission and the department may do anything that is
deemed necessary and proper to publicize and distribute regulations
so that persons likely to be affected will be informed of them. The
failure of the commission to provide any notice of its regulations,
other than by filing them in accordance with Section 215, shall not
impair the validity of the regulations.
   (c) The department or the license agent may give a copy of the
current applicable published regulations to each person issued a
license at the time the license is issued.
   (d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the commission and
the department may contract with private entities to print
regulations and other regulatory and public information. Printing
contracts authorized by this subdivision and for which no state funds
are expended are not subject to Chapter 2 (commencing with Section
10290) of Part 2 of Division 2 of the Public Contract Code, except
for Article 2 (commencing with Section 10295) of Chapter 2.



211.  (a) Material printed pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section
210 that contains advertisements shall meet all specifications
prescribed by the department. The printed material shall not contain
advertisements for tobacco products, alcohol, firearms and devices
prohibited pursuant to Sections 12020, 12220, and 12280 of the Penal
Code, or firearms not authorized by the commission as a legal method
of sport-hunting, political statements, solicitations for membership
in organizations, or any other statement, solicitation, or product
advertisement that is in conflict with the purposes for which the
material is produced, as determined by the commission. The printing
contract shall include criteria to ensure that the public information
provided in the publication is easy to reference, read, and
understand.
   (b) Neither the department nor the commission shall contract with
private entities to print the materials described in subdivision (d)
of Section 210 if the letting of those contracts will result in the
elimination of civil service positions.



211.  (a) Material printed pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section
210 that contains advertisements shall meet all specifications
prescribed by the department. The printed material shall not contain
advertisements for tobacco products, alcohol, firearms and devices
prohibited pursuant to Section 32625 of the Penal Code, Article 2
(commencing with Section 30600) of Chapter 2 of Division 10 of Title
4 of Part 6 of the Penal Code, or any provision listed in Section
16590 of the Penal Code, or firearms not authorized by the commission
as a legal method of sport-hunting, political statements,
solicitations for membership in organizations, or any other
statement, solicitation, or product advertisement that is in conflict
with the purposes for which the material is produced, as determined
by the commission. The printing contract shall include criteria to
ensure that the public information provided in the publication is
easy to reference, read, and understand.
   (b) Neither the department nor the commission shall contract with
private entities to print the materials described in subdivision (d)
of Section 210 if the letting of those contracts will result in the
elimination of civil service positions.



215.  Every regulation of the commission made pursuant to this
article shall be filed with the Secretary of State, and shall become
effective at the time specified therein, but not sooner than the date
of the filing.


217.5.  (a) The department shall identify property it owns or
manages that includes areas for sport fishing which are accessible to
disabled persons.
   (b) Commencing with the booklet of sport fishing regulations
published by the commission in 1986, the availability of sport
fishing areas, identified by the department as accessible to disabled
persons under subdivision (a), shall be noted in the booklet of
regulations, together with telephone numbers and instructions for
obtaining a list of those areas from regional department offices.



217.6.  Commencing with the booklet of sportfishing regulations
published in 1987, the booklet shall also contain any human health
advisories relating to fish which are formally issued by the State
Department of Health Services or summaries of those human health
advisories. The summaries shall be prepared in consultation with the
State Department of Health Services.



218.  Any regulation of the commission made pursuant to this article
shall be subject to review in accordance with law by any court of
competent jurisdiction.


219.  Any regulation adopted pursuant to this article may supersede
any section of this code designated by number in the regulation, but
shall do so only to the extent specifically provided in the
regulation. A regulation which is adopted pursuant to this section
shall be valid only to the extent that it makes additions, deletions,
or changes to this code under one of the following circumstances:
   (a) The regulation is necessary for the protection of fish,
wildlife, and other natural resources under the jurisdiction of the
commission.
   (b) The commission determines that an emergency exists or will
exist unless the action is taken. An emergency exists if there is an
immediate threat to the public health, safety, and welfare, or to the
population or habitat of any species.
   A regulation which is adopted pursuant to this section shall be
supported by written findings adopted by the commission at the time
of the adoption of the regulation setting forth the basis for the
regulation.
   A regulation adopted pursuant to this section shall remain in
effect for not more than 12 months from its effective date.




220.  (a) Any regulation of the commission added or amended pursuant
to this article shall remain in effect for the period specified
therein or until superseded by subsequent regulation of the
commission or by statute.
   (b) Notwithstanding this article, the commission may add, amend,
or repeal regulations at any regular or special meeting if facts are
presented to the commission which were not presented at the time the
original regulations were adopted and if the commission determines
that those regulations added, amended, or repealed are necessary to
provide proper utilization, protection, or conservation of fish and
wildlife species or subspecies.