California Wildlife Coexistence Act.

Section 2965(a): Changed 'wildlife conflict calls, reports, and incident responses' to 'wildlife calls, reports, and incident responses,' slightly broadening the types of calls the Wildlife Coexistence Program must manage beyond just conflict-related ones.

Section 2975(c)(5): Changed the advisory committee expertise category from 'Conservation or environmental science' to 'Conservation or environmental interests,' broadening who qualifies for appointment to include people with conservation or environmental advocacy backgrounds, not just scientific expertise.

Multiple typo corrections: removed duplicated words ('effective effective' to 'effective', 'species species' to 'species') and cleaned up section renumbering artifacts from the amendment process.

New Fish and Game Code Section 3960.7 creates an exemption: dogs guarding or protecting livestock or crops on property owned, leased, or rented by the dog owner may pursue wolves without violating existing prohibitions on pursuing big game mammals or fully protected species, provided the dogs remain in reasonable proximity to the livestock or crops being guarded.

New Section 1 amends Fish and Game Code Section 2080 (California Endangered Species Act) to add 'or Section 3960.7' as an additional exception to the prohibition on taking endangered or threatened species, legally supporting the dog-wolf exemption.

The Wildlife Coexistence Program's activities are broadened: incident response now explicitly covers 'human-wildlife conflict, depredation, animal welfare, and wildlife health issues'; nonlethal solutions must also be 'economically and logistically feasible'; and investigation scope adds 'animal welfare' to the list of incident types.

New Section 2963 grants the department regulatory authority to adopt regulations to avoid or minimize human-wildlife conflict or to implement the chapter's provisions. This triggers renumbering of all subsequent sections (e.g., the Wildlife Coexistence Program moves from Section 2963 to 2965, the wolf-livestock program from 2966 to 2970, and the Advisory Committee from 2967 to 2975).

The state policy statement in Section 2961 changes from 'the coexistence of humans and wildlife' to 'the safe coexistence of humans and wildlife,' adding an explicit safety emphasis.

The Advisory Committee's advisory scope is broadened: it now advises on 'wildlife coexistence programs' (not just 'coexistence programs'), equity considerations now include 'resource allocation, and funding distribution,' and coordination with partners becomes 'coordination and collaboration with' partners.

Website reporting requirements are expanded: a new annual update deadline of January 31 is added; the inventory of coexistence activities is narrowed to those 'available to the department'; and depredation permit reporting now includes 'damage type' in addition to species and regions.

The Wolf-Livestock Coexistence and Compensation Program is renamed the 'California Wolf-Livestock Coexistence and Compensation Program' throughout the bill.

The Technical Advisory Committee membership categories expand from 9 to 11: 'Public safety' is added as a new category, 'Wildlife rehabilitation' is added as a new category, 'Tribal natural resource management' becomes 'Tribal natural resource management or indigenous knowledge,' 'Land management' becomes 'Land management or wildlife connectivity,' and 'Urban community' becomes 'Urban community or local government interests.'

Section 2966(b)(2) changed the standard for compensable livestock losses from 'confirmed or provable probable losses' to 'confirmed or probable losses,' lowering the evidentiary threshold a participant must meet to receive compensation for wolf-caused livestock deaths.

Section 2967(c)(5) changed the advisory committee membership category from 'Rural community or agricultural community' to simply 'Rural community,' removing the overlap with the separate 'Agricultural interests' category in paragraph (6).

Section 2966(b)(1) simplified redundant language from 'Providing equipment and information on equipment, information, and resources' to 'Providing equipment, information, and resources.'

Senator Richardson was added as a coauthor of the bill.

Section 2966(d)(1) corrected a duplicated word ('documented documented' changed to 'documented').

Section 2967(c) cleaned up duplicate and empty numbered items in the advisory committee expertise categories, producing a clean sequence from (1) through (9).

Section 2966(c)(3) appears to contain a new drafting error: 'but may be, may, be used' where the prior version read 'but may be, used.'

Entire Chapter 8.5 (Section 1810) added to Division 2 of the Fish and Game Code is removed. This chapter contained only a single legislative intent statement about reestablishing a statewide human-wildlife coexistence program.

Compensation eligibility for livestock losses changed from 'confirmed or provable losses' to 'confirmed or provable probable losses,' lowering the evidentiary burden participants must meet to receive compensation.

Eligibility for compensation is now split by geography. Inside pack territory or wolf activity areas, participants must have adopted nonlethal measures (with a new 'as practicable' qualifier). Outside those areas, participants can receive compensation for up to two confirmed or probable losses in any 12-month period without first adopting nonlethal measures.

New subdivision (e) requires the department to consider multiple factors when determining eligibility, including availability of funds for proactive measures, costs to participants, whether routine agricultural practices may suffice, contractual restrictions on permittees or lessees, whether participants had sufficient time to implement measures, and whether terrain conditions impede effectiveness.

The 50 percent minimum allocation for nonlethal deterrence equipment is now tiered: at least 50 percent when program balance exceeds $1 million, at least 25 percent when balance falls below $1 million, and no minimum requirement when balance falls below $100,000.

Section 2966(b)(1) broadens what can be provided from 'equipment and information on practices' to 'equipment and information on equipment, information, and resources for practices,' expanding the types of support available for nonlethal deterrence.

Advisory committee membership categories changed: 'Rural community or agricultural interests' is split into two separate categories - 'Rural community or agricultural community' and 'Agricultural interests' - giving agricultural stakeholders a dedicated seat distinct from rural community representation.

Fiscal committee vote changed from 'no' to 'yes,' indicating the bill now carries a fiscal impact requiring fiscal committee approval, likely due to the expanded compensation provisions and new funding tiers.

Entirely new Chapter 14 (Sections 2960-2967) added to Division 3 of the Fish and Game Code, titled 'California Wildlife Coexistence Act,' expanding the bill from a single intent statement to a full statutory framework with multiple programs and requirements.

The California Wolf-Livestock Compensation Pilot Program is renamed the 'Wolf-Livestock Coexistence and Compensation Program' and expanded to include compensation for indirect impacts of wolf presence on livestock (not just direct kills) and a requirement that at least 50 percent of program funds be used for proactive nonlethal deterrence equipment and information.

Section 2963 requires the department to establish the Wildlife Coexistence Program upon appropriation, including managing conflict calls, implementing nonlethal solutions using best available science and indigenous knowledge, investigating incidents, maintaining a statewide wildlife incident reporting tool, supporting community-based efforts, and conducting public outreach.

Section 2967 establishes the Wildlife Coexistence Technical Advisory Committee with 11 to 15 members appointed by the director, representing expertise in wildlife biology, conflict mitigation, tribal natural resource management, conservation science, rural/agricultural interests, animal behavior/veterinary science, land management, and urban communities. Members serve three-year terms without compensation and the committee meets at least twice per year.

Section 2962 defines 'wildlife coexistence partners' as local, state, and federal agencies, nonprofit organizations, federally recognized tribes, non-federally recognized California Native American tribes on the Native American Heritage Commission contact list, other entities, and academic programs.

Section 2966(d) requires participants to have adopted, implemented, and documented proper and ongoing deployment of proactive, nonlethal conflict reduction measures approved by the department in order to be eligible for compensation under paragraphs (2) and (3) of subdivision (b).

Section 2965 requires the department to publish on its website by July 1, 2028: annual conflict data with locations and species, an inventory of proactive coexistence activities by region, descriptions of resources provided including recipients and dollar amounts, depredation permits by species and region, and wolf-livestock program outcomes by activity, county, and wolf pack.

Fiscal committee review changed from 'no' to 'yes,' indicating the bill now requires fiscal committee approval due to its new funding-related provisions, though all major program elements remain conditioned on legislative appropriation.