Section 2074.2 Of Article 2. Listing Of Endangered Species From California Fish And Game Code >> Division 3. >> Chapter 1.5. >> Article 2.
2074.2
. (a) At the meeting scheduled pursuant to Section 2074, the
commission shall hold a public hearing on the petition and shall
receive information, written or otherwise, and oral testimony. After
the conclusion of oral testimony from the commission and department
staff, the petitioner, or any other persons, the commission may close
the public hearing and administrative record for the commission's
decision pursuant to this section.
(b) After the commission closes the public hearing, the
administrative record for the commission's decision is closed and it
shall not be reopened except as provided in subdivision (c). Once the
public hearing is closed, no person shall submit further information
to the commission for consideration on that petition and the
commission shall not accept any further information for consideration
on that petition except as provided in subdivision (c).
(c) The administrative record for the commission's decision
pursuant to this section shall not be reopened once the commission
closes the public hearing unless one of the following occurs prior to
the commission's decision:
(1) There is a change in state or federal law or regulation that
has a direct and significant impact on the commission's determination
as to whether the petition provides sufficient information to
indicate that the petitioned action may be warranted.
(2) The commission determines that it requires further information
to evaluate whether the petition provides sufficient information to
indicate that the petitioned action may be warranted. If the
commission makes that determination during its deliberation, the
commission may request, on the record at the scheduled meeting or at
a continued meeting, further information on any issue relevant to
making its determination as to whether the petition provides
sufficient information to indicate that the petitioned action may be
warranted. Any request by the commission pursuant to this paragraph
shall specify a date by which the information must be submitted to
the commission and shall serve to reopen the administrative record
for the limited purpose of receiving further information relating to
the issues specified by the commission in the request. Commission and
department staff, the petitioner, or any other person may submit
information in response to a request pursuant to this paragraph. If
the commission reopens the record pursuant to this paragraph, it
shall provide an opportunity for public comment on the submitted
information prior to the issuance of its decision.
(d) In its discretion, the commission may either close the public
hearing and continue the meeting on the petition for the purpose of
deliberation or continue both the public hearing and the meeting on
the petition to a subsequent date, which shall be no later than 90
days after the meeting scheduled pursuant to Section 2074, and
subject to applicable notice and agenda requirements. If the
commission closes the public hearing but continues the meeting for
the purpose of deliberation, a person shall not submit, and the
commission shall not receive, further information relating to the
petition except as provided in subdivision (c).
(e) At the meeting scheduled pursuant to Section 2074 or at a
continued meeting scheduled pursuant to subdivision (d), the
commission shall consider the petition, the department's written
report, written comments received, and oral testimony provided during
the public hearing, and the commission shall make and enter in its
record one of the following findings:
(1) If the commission finds that the petition does not provide
sufficient information to indicate that the petitioned action may be
warranted, the commission shall publish a notice of finding that the
petition is rejected, including the reasons why the petition is not
sufficient.
(2) If the commission finds that the petition provides sufficient
information to indicate that the petitioned action may be warranted,
the commission shall publish a notice of finding that the petition is
accepted for consideration. If the accepted petition recommends the
addition of a species to either the list of endangered species or the
list of threatened species, the commission shall include in the
notice that the petitioned species is a candidate species. The
commission shall maintain a list of species which are candidate
species.
(f) The commission shall publish and distribute the findings
relating to the petition pursuant to Section 2078.
(g) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2017, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2017, deletes or extends
that date.