(a) The commission may determine and fix the area or areas, the seasons and hours, the bag and possession limit, and the number of elk that may be taken under rules and regulations that the commission may adopt from time to time. The commission may authorize the taking of tule elk if the average of the department‘s statewide tule elk population estimates exceeds 2,000 animals, or the Legislature determines, pursuant to the reports required by Section 3951, that suitable areas cannot be found in the state to accommodate that population in a healthy condition.

(b) Only a person possessing a valid hunting license may obtain a tag for the taking of elk.

Terms Used In California Fish and Game Code 332 v2

  • Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
  • 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
  • Nonresident: means a person who is not a resident as defined in Section 70. See California Fish and Game Code 57
  • 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
  • Possession limit: means the maximum, in number or amount, of birds, mammals, fish, reptiles, or amphibians that may be lawfully possessed by one person. See California Fish and Game Code 19
  • Resident: means any person who has resided continuously in the State of California for six months or more immediately prior to the date of application for a license or permit, any person on active military duty with the Armed Forces of the United States or auxiliary branch thereof, or any person enrolled in the Job Corps established pursuant to former Section 2883 of Title 29 of the United States Code. See California Fish and Game Code 70
  • 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

(c) The department may issue an elk tag upon payment of a fee. The fee for an elk tag shall be one hundred sixty-five dollars ($165) for a resident of the state, as adjusted under Section 713. On or before July 1, 2007, the commission shall, by regulation, fix the fee for a nonresident of the state at not less than one thousand fifty dollars ($1,050), as adjusted under Section 713. The fees shall be deposited in the Big Game Management Account established in Section 3953 and, upon appropriation by the Legislature, shall be expended, in addition to moneys budgeted for salaries of the department as set forth in Section 3953.

(d) The commission shall annually direct the department to authorize not more than three elk tags for the purpose of raising funds for programs and projects to benefit elk. These tags may be sold at auction to residents or nonresidents of the state or by another method and are not subject to the fee limitation prescribed in subdivision (c). All revenues from sales pursuant to this subdivision shall be deposited in the Big Game Management Account established in Section 3953 and, upon appropriation by the Legislature, shall be expended as set forth in that section.

(e) The commission shall direct the department to annually authorize one elk tag of the total number of tags available for issuance to nonresidents of the state.

(f) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2025.

(Repealed and added by Stats. 2018, Ch. 295, Sec. 4. (AB 2151) Effective January 1, 2019. Section operative July 1, 2025, by its own provisions.)