Section 710.5 Of Chapter 1. Organization And General Functions From California Fish And Game Code >> Division 2. >> Chapter 1.
710.5
. (a) The Legislature finds and declares that the department
continues to be inadequately funded to meet its mandates. While
revenues have been declining, the department's responsibilities have
increased in order to protect public trust resources in the face of
increasing population and resource management demands. The department'
s revenues have been limited due to a failure to maximize user fees
and inadequate non-fee-related funding. The limited department
revenues have resulted in the inability of the department to
effectively provide all of the programs and activities required under
this code and to manage the wildlife resources held in trust by the
department for the people of the state.
(b) The Legislature further finds and declares that the department
has been largely supported by fees paid by those who utilize the
resources held in trust by the department. It is the intent of the
Legislature that, to the extent feasible, the department should
continue to be funded by user fees. All fees collected by the
department, including, but not limited to, recreational hunting and
fishing licenses, landing taxes, commercial licenses, permits and
entitlements, and other fees for use of the resources regulated or
managed by the department, are user fees. To the extent that these
fees are appropriated through the Budget Act for the purposes for
which they are collected to provide services to the people of the
State of California, these user fees are not subject to Article XIII
B of the California Constitution.
(c) The Legislature further finds and declares that user fees are
not sufficient to fund all of the department's mandates. To fulfill
its mandates, the department must secure a significant increase in
reliable funding, in addition to user fees.