(a) A person who illegally takes, possesses, imports, exports, sells, purchases, barters, trades, or exchanges a bird, fish, mammal, reptile, amphibian, or part of any of those animals, for profit or personal gain, is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than five thousand dollars ($5,000) nor more than forty thousand dollars ($40,000), or imprisonment in the county jail for not more than one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment.
(b) If a person is convicted of a second or subsequent violation of subdivision (a), that person shall be punished by a fine of not less than ten thousand dollars ($10,000) nor more than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000), or imprisonment in the county jail for not more than one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment.
(c) If a second or subsequent violation of subdivision (a) also involves a violation of Section 8685.5, 8685.6, 8685.7, or 8688 that is punishable by subdivision (b) of Section 12004, the offense shall be punishable by a fine of not more than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000), or by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 12004, or by both that fine and imprisonment.
(d) Notwithstanding Section 802 of the Penal Code, prosecution of an offense punishable under this section shall be commenced within three years after commission of the offense.
(e) This section does not apply to fish taken pursuant to a commercial fishing license issued pursuant to Section 7852, or fish sold pursuant to a commercial fish business license issued in accordance with Article 7 (commencing with Section 8030) of Chapter 1 of Part 3 of Division 6.
(f) This section does not supersede Section 12005 or 12009.
(g) (1) Moneys equivalent to 50 percent of the revenue deposited in the Fish and Game Preservation Fund from fines and forfeitures collected pursuant to this section shall be allocated for the support of the Special Operations Unit of the department, and used for law enforcement purposes.
(2) Moneys equivalent to 50 percent of the revenue from any fine collected pursuant to this section shall be paid to the county in which the offense was committed, pursuant to Section 13003. The board of supervisors shall first use revenues pursuant to this subdivision to reimburse the costs incurred by the district attorney or city attorney in investigating and prosecuting the violation. Any excess revenues may be expended in accordance with Section 13103.
(Amended by Stats. 2015, Ch. 154, Sec. 106. (AB 1527) Effective January 1, 2016.)
Copyright ©2024 LegalFix. All rights reserved. LegalFix is not a law firm, is not licensed to practice law, and does not provide legal advice, services, or representation. The information on this website is an overview of the legal plans you can purchase—or that may be provided by your employer as an employee benefit or by your credit union or other membership group as a membership benefit.
LegalFix provides its members with easy access to affordable legal services through a network of independent law firms. LegalFix, its corporate entity, and its officers, directors, employees, agents, and contractors do not provide legal advice, services, or representation—directly or indirectly.
The articles and information on the site are not legal advice and should not be relied upon—they are for information purposes only. You should become a LegalFix member to get legal services from one of our network law firms.
You should not disclose confidential or potentially incriminating information to LegalFix—you should only communicate such information to your network law firm.
The benefits and legal services described in the LegalFix legal plans are not always available in all states or with all plans. See the legal plan Benefit Overview and the more comprehensive legal plan contract during checkout for coverage details in your state.
Use of this website, the purchase of legal plans, and access to the LegalFix networks of law firms are subject to the LegalFix Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.