Water, parks, and wildlife: omnibus bill.

Removed 'as determined by the department, and Lake' from the exemption provision for Nevada-registered vessels operating on Lake Tahoe or Topaz Lake waters. The exemption now applies directly to those named lakes without requiring a separate departmental determination of which waters qualify.

Cleaned up drafting artifacts in the legislative counsel's digest where both old and new text versions were showing simultaneously (e.g., 'prioritize categorize' became 'categorize', 'basins, basin' became 'basin').

Added enrolled bill formatting elements: Assembly passage date (August 25, 2026), Senate passage date (August 24, 2026), governor receipt line, chapter number placeholder, and approval signature block.

The Nevada reciprocity exemption (in both Section 9853(c)(4)(C) and Section 9860(d)(3)(C)) was reworded. The old text read 'the vessel is registered in the State of Nevada and Nevada, the State of Nevada has a program...' The new text attempts to remove the redundant 'and Nevada' but introduces grammatical errors: it now reads 'as determined by the department, and Lake shall not be cited pursuant to subparagraph (A) if the vessel is registered in the State of Nevada...' with a stray 'Nevada.' at the end of the sentence. The intended policy effect appears unchanged - Nevada-registered vessels with a valid Nevada aquatic invasive species decal remain exempt from citation on Lake Tahoe and Topaz Lake.

The legislative digest changed the description of groundwater basin classification from 'prioritize' to 'categorize each basin as high-, medium-, low-, or very low priority,' which more accurately reflects the statutory language in Section 10722.4(a).

Page numbers shifted from 96 to 95 throughout due to text reflow, and various spacing and indentation adjustments were made to the bill formatting.

The exemption from citation for operating a vessel without a California invasive mussel infestation prevention sticker now requires that the vessel also displays a current aquatic invasive species decal issued by the State of Nevada. Previously, only Nevada registration and the existence of Nevada's aquatic invasive species program were required.

In Section 5 (legislative findings), the redundant text 'Lake Topaz, Topaz Lake' was corrected to simply 'Topaz Lake.'

Entire Fish and Game Code component removed: amendments to Section 1745 (department-managed lands operations, entry permits, fee collection, and management contracts with nonprofit conservation groups) and Sections 3480/3482 (Nesting Bird Habitat Incentive Program for waterfowl and game bird nesting habitat).

Removed provisions that would have allowed the Department of Fish and Wildlife to enter contracts with nonprofit conservation groups or resource conservation districts to manage public shooting grounds, ecological reserves, and wildlife management areas, including entry permit requirements and fee structures for nonconsumptive uses.

Removed the Nesting Bird Habitat Incentive Program, which would have established direct payments or incentives for landowners to cultivate or retain upland cover crops for waterfowl and game bird nesting habitat, including program guidelines, contract requirements, and funding from game bird stamp funds.

Section numbering renumbered from 1-8 to 1-5 to reflect the removal of the four Fish and Game Code sections. Bill title and legislative counsel digest updated to remove references to Fish and Game Code amendments.

Minor naming correction in the legislative findings section: 'Lake Topaz' changed to 'Topaz Lake' for consistency with usage elsewhere in the bill.

The invasive mussel infestation prevention fee was simplified. The introduced version had a two-tier structure: a base fee of $10 (even years) / $20 (odd years) with an override provision raising fees to $15-$21 / $30-$42 starting in 2026. The amended version eliminates the lower base fee and makes the higher ranges ($15-$21 even years, $30-$42 odd years) the permanent standard, with annual inflation adjustment via the California Consumer Price Index.

The Nesting Bird Habitat Incentive Program was restructured from a single Fish and Game Code section (Section 3480, renumbered to 3482) into a multi-section article. All internal references changed from 'this section' to 'this article,' and the program name was shortened to 'the program' throughout since it is now defined in a separate definitions section.

Gender-neutral language change: 'his or her immediate possession' was changed to 'their immediate possession' in the entry permit requirement.

In Water Code Section 10722.4, the reference to 'subdivision (b) of Section 12924' was shortened to just 'Section 12924,' removing the specific subdivision pointer for boundary updates that trigger groundwater basin reprioritization reassessment.

The entry permit provision for nonconsumptive use of department-managed lands had the phrase 'Commencing January 1, 2015' removed, making the requirement simply 'The department shall require the purchase of an entry permit' without a specific start date.