Sen. Blakespear’s Legislation to Protect Habitat Conservation Fund Passes Assembly Committee

SB 427 preserves the Habitat Conservation Fund for another 10 years to ensure $30 million a year is invested in conservation programs

SACRAMENTO – Legislation by Sen. Catherine S. Blakespear, D-Encinitas, to extend funding to acquire, restore and enhance wildlife habitats across the state to 2035 on Tuesday passed the Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee.  

SB 427 would push the sunset date from July 1, 2030, to July 1, 2035, for the Habitat Conservation Fund (HCF), which was established under Proposition 117, the California Wildlife Protection Act passed by voters in June 1990. To date, the fund has protected more than 1.2 million acres of wildlife habitat throughout the state.  

“California is known for its environmental wonders, open spaces and wildlife habitat, and the Habitat Conservation Fund has been essential for protecting that,” Sen. Blakespear said. “SB 427 recognizes the immense value of the Habitat Conservation Fund and continues it another 10 years.”

The program has funded hundreds of projects. They include the world’s largest wildlife crossing over Highway 101 in Agoura Hills, a new trails gateway into Redwood National and State Parks and an ancestral land-return project in San Bernardino County. 

The Wildlife Conservation Board has allocated $13.9 million in HCF money in Senate District 38 for projects since 1990, including $1.9 million for habitat linkages along Lusardi Creek in San Diego County, $2.2 million for the acquisition of 134 acres along Buena Vista Creek in Carlsbad and Oceanside and $1.3 million for the Trabuco Creek Fish Passage Project in south Orange County. Cities, counties and any regional park or open-space district are eligible to apply for these funds. 

Prop 117 directed $30 million to be transferred annually from the state’s General Fund into the conservation fund until 2020. In 2019, the Legislature and Governor extended the fund until 2030. The money is distributed by the Wildlife Conservation Board. 

In recent years, however, state budgetary pressures have led lawmakers to consider discontinuing the fund. Last year, the Governor initially recommended ending the General Fund transfers to the HCF six years early, but Sen. Blakespear fought the proposal and helped keep the fund intact.    

The legislation is co-sponsored by Audubon California and the National Wildlife Federation, and supported by the Planning and Conservation League and more than 90 other organizations. 

SB 427 has already passed the Senate on a bipartisan 36-0 vote and goes next to the Assembly Appropriations Committee for consideration. 

Blakespear represents Senate District 38, which covers northern San Diego County and part of southern Orange County. To learn more about the district and Sen. Blakespear, visit her Senate website.