(a) It is unlawful for any person to engage in the business of guiding or packing, or to act as a guide for any consideration or compensation whatever, without first having secured a guide license from the department.

(b) An employee of a licensee who acts as a guide only in connection with, and within the scope of, his or her employment is exempt from the requirement of subdivision (a) if all of the following conditions are met:

Terms Used In California Fish and Game Code 2536

  • Commission: means the Fish and Game Commission, and "commissioner" means a member of the Fish and Game Commission. See California Fish and Game Code 30
  • Department: means the Department of Fish and Wildlife. See California Fish and Game Code 37
  • guide: means any person who is engaged in the business of packing or guiding, or who, for a fee, assists another person in taking or attempting to take any bird, mammal, fish, amphibian, or reptile. See California Fish and Game Code 2535
  • Net: means any gear made of any kind of twine, thread, string, rope, wire, wood, or other materials used for the gilling, entangling, trapping, or impounding of fish. See California Fish and Game Code 56
  • Person: means any natural person or any partnership, corporation, limited liability company, trust, or other type of association. See California Fish and Game Code 67
  • State: means the State of California, unless applied to the different parts of the United States. See California Fish and Game Code 83
  • Subdivision: means a subdivision of the section in which that term occurs unless some other section is expressly mentioned. See California Fish and Game Code 73

(1) If the employment is subject to and the person is reported to the carrier of the employer’s workers’ compensation insurance.

(2) If the person is subject and reported to the state and federal taxing authorities for withholding of income tax.

(3) If the person is reported to the department, on forms provided by the department, as an employee of the guide prior to any contact with any person being guided, and a registration fee has been paid. The base fee for an employee guide registration for the 2004 license year shall be thirty-three dollars ($33), which shall be adjusted annually thereafter pursuant to Section 713.

(c) A person who is licensed in another state to provide guide services for the purposes of fishing is exempt from the requirements of subdivision (a) if all of the following conditions are met:

(1) The state in which the person is licensed grants a similar exemption to licensed guides who are residents of this state.

(2) Evidence of a valid guide license is provided to the department upon request.

(3) The person is engaged in the business of guiding only in conjunction with and during the term of a multistate fishing tournament approved by the appropriate agency in each of the affected states.

(4) The tournament sponsor provides to the department any information or documents necessary to administer and enforce this paragraph, as determined by the department, including, but not limited to, the identities of all guides participating in the tournament, verification of another state’s license exemption, and information sufficient to determine the validity of another state’s guide licenses.

(5) The tournament sponsor pays the department an amount, determined by the department, to be sufficient to cover the department’s cost to administer and enforce this subdivision.

(6) The net proceeds of the tournament are used for resource management projects or habitat improvement projects, or both.

(d) The commission shall adjust the amount of the fees specified in paragraph (3) of subdivision (b), as necessary, to fully recover, but not exceed, all reasonable administrative and implementation costs of the department and the commission relating to those licenses.

(Amended by Stats. 2012, Ch. 559, Sec. 19. (AB 2402) Effective January 1, 2013.)

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