Habitat Restoration and Enhancement Act.

Plain English Breakdown

The bill does not explicitly state that funding is available without legislative appropriation.

Habitat Restoration and Enhancement Act

This law allows project leaders to submit habitat restoration or enhancement projects for approval by the Fish and Wildlife Director, who can approve these projects if certain conditions are met. It also extends funding and reporting requirements until January 1, 2032.

What This Bill Does

• Allows project leaders to ask the Fish and Wildlife Director to approve habitat restoration or enhancement projects.
• Requires the director to approve a project if it meets specific criteria.
• Makes other permits unnecessary for approved projects.
• Funds the Department of Fish and Wildlife with money from the Habitat Restoration and Enhancement Account upon appropriation by the Legislature.
• Extends the law's operation until January 1, 2032.

Who It Names or Affects

• Project leaders who want to improve fish and wildlife habitats
• The Director of Fish and Wildlife
• The Department of Fish and Wildlife

Terms To Know

Habitat Restoration

Fixing or improving areas where plants, animals, and other organisms live.

Enhancement

Making something better by adding to it or improving it.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill does not specify what the specific conditions are for project approval.
• It is unclear how much funding will be available from the Habitat Restoration and Enhancement Account.
• The report due in December 2029 may provide more details on the law's implementation.

Official Summary Text

AB 2045, as amended, Connolly.
Habitat Restoration and Enhancement Act.
The Habitat Restoration and Enhancement Act authorizes a project proponent to submit a habitat restoration or enhancement project to the Director of Fish and Wildlife for approval. Under the act, a habitat restoration or enhancement project is a project with the primary purpose of improving fish and wildlife habitat. The act requires the director to approve a habitat restoration or enhancement project if the director determines that specified conditions are met. Under the act, the director’s approval of a habitat restoration or enhancement project is in lieu of any other permit, agreement, license, or other approval issued by the Department of Fish and Wildlife. The act makes moneys in the Habitat Restoration and Enhancement Account available to the department, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for the purposes of administering and implementing the act. Existing law repeals the
act on January 1, 2027.
This bill would extend the operation of the act
indefinitely.
until January 1, 2032, and would require the department to submit a report on the implementation of the act to the Legislature no later than December 31, 2029.

Current Bill Text

Download Bill PDF