(a) By March 31, 2020, the department shall establish a program to transition the holders of drift gill net permits issued pursuant to Section 8561 out of the drift gill net fishery that includes the following conditions:

(1) A permittee who chooses to participate in the transition program shall indicate the permittee’s intention to the department to participate by submitting a notarized form provided by the department on or before January 1, 2020.

(2) A permittee who has landed swordfish or thresher shark with a shark or swordfish gill net or with a deep-set buoy gear authorized pursuant to a federal exempted fishing permit between April 1, 2012, and March 31, 2018, inclusive, and who voluntarily surrenders the permittee’s drift gill net permit issued pursuant to Section 8561 and shark or swordfish gill net or nets shall receive, to the extent that funds for the transition program are available, the following amounts:

(A) Ten thousand dollars ($10,000) to surrender the permit.

(B) One hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) to surrender the net or nets.

(3) A permittee who has not landed swordfish or thresher shark on or after April 1, 2012, and who voluntarily surrenders the permittee’s drift gill net permit issued pursuant to Section 8561 and shark or swordfish gill net or nets shall receive, to the extent that funds for the transition program are available, ten thousand dollars ($10,000).

(4) The department shall inform a permittee who submits a notarized form pursuant to paragraph (1) whether the permittee meets the requirements of paragraph (2) or (3) and the department shall submit this information to the fiscal agent.

(5) Any permittee who participates in the transition program by surrendering the permittee’s permit pursuant to paragraph (2) or (3) shall be prohibited from obtaining a new California drift gill net shark and swordfish permit, shall agree not to fish under a federal drift gill net permit, shall agree not to transfer or renew a federal drift gill net permit, and shall surrender the permittee’s shark or swordfish gill net or nets to an entity approved by the department for the purpose of destroying the nets.

(b) (1) The department shall enter into an agreement with a fiscal agent for the fiscal agent to receive state and nonstate funds made available for purposes of the transition program, to put those funds in an escrow account, and, upon the receipt of adequate funds, to pay the applicable amount described in subdivision (a) to a participating permittee. As part of the agreement, the department shall require the fiscal agent to notify the department within 10 days of the receipt of one million dollars ($1,000,000) from nonstate sources for purposes of transitioning permittees out of the drift gill net fishery. If the department enters into an agreement with a fiscal agent that is a state entity pursuant to this subdivision, notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code, any funds received from nonstate sources are continuously appropriated to that state entity for purposes of the transition program without regard to fiscal years.

(2) The department shall notify the Legislature pursuant to Section 9795 of the Government Code within 10 days of the date that the fiscal agent receives one million dollars ($1,000,000) from nonstate sources for purposes of the transition program and secures one million dollars ($1,000,000) through an agreement with the Ocean Protection Council pursuant to Section 35651 of the Public Resources Code.

(3) For purposes of this section, “fiscal agent” includes any of the following:

(A) The Department of Finance.

(B) The Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission.

(C) The Controller.

(D) Any appropriate state or federal agency.

(Amended by Stats. 2019, Ch. 497, Sec. 119. (AB 991) Effective January 1, 2020.)