Section 7361.

(a) Fees received by the department from the sale of the Bay-Delta Sport Fishing Enhancement Stamp or validation shall be deposited in a separate account in the Fish and Game Preservation Fund. The Bay-Delta Sport Fishing Enhancement Stamp or validation shall not be required, and no fee shall be collected, as of January 1, 2010.

(b) The department shall expend the funds in that account for the long-term, sustainable benefit of the primary Bay-Delta sport fisheries, including, but not limited to, striped bass, sturgeon, black bass, halibut, salmon, surf perch, steelhead trout, and American shad. Funds shall be expended to benefit sport fish populations, sport fishing opportunities, and anglers within the tidal waters of the San Francisco Bay Delta and the main stem of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers, including major tributaries, below the most downstream dam, and consistent with the requirements of the federal Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. Sec. 1531 et seq.) and the California Endangered Species Act (Chapter 1.5 (commencing with Section 2050) of Division 3), the ecosystem restoration component of the CALFED Programmatic Record of Decision dated August 28, 2000, and applicable commission policies.

(c) It is the intent of the Legislature that these funds be used to augment, not replace, funding that would otherwise be allocated to Bay-Delta sport fisheries from the sale of fishing licenses, the California Bay-Delta Authority, or other federal, state, or local funding sources.

(Amended by Stats. 2009, Ch. 381, Sec. 2. Effective January 1, 2010.)