AB 1772: Fish and wildlife: invasive species: invasive mussels.

Official summary

Legislative Counsel’s Digest (official, as of the latest version). Written by nonpartisan legislative staff; reproduced verbatim.

(1)Existing law, until January 1, 2030, generally prohibits a person from possessing, importing, shipping, or transporting in the state, or from placing, planting, or causing to be placed or planted in any water in the state, invasive mussels, and authorizes the Director of Fish and Wildlife or the director’s designee to engage in various enforcement activities, including ordering the areas in conveyance that contain water be drained, dried, or decontaminated, as provided. Existing law requires a public or private agency that operates a water supply system to cooperate with the Department of Fish and Wildlife to implement measures to avoid infestation by invasive mussels and to control or eradicate any infestation that may occur in a water supply system. Existing law requires, if invasive mussels are detected, the operator of a water supply system to, in cooperation with the department, prepare and implement a plan to control or eradicate invasive mussels within the system, and eliminate or minimize any potential downstream transport of an invasive mussel. Existing law requires, on or before December 31, 2026, the department to review all approved plans and require all plans that do not specifically address all invasive mussel species known to be present in bodies of water in the state as of January 1, 2026, to be updated or revised appropriately to include all invasive mussel species, on or before September 30, 2027. Existing law requires every invasive mussel species to be addressed in a plan no later than 180 days from the date that the species is listed in a certain regulation. Existing law defines “invasive mussel” for these purposes as any nonnative detrimental mussel, as provided.

Under existing law, except as otherwise provided, any violation of the Fish and Game Code, or of any rule, regulation, or order made or adopted under the code, is a crime.

This bill would prohibit a conveyance from being launched until a specified drying period has completed, as provided. By expanding the scope of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the department to require water supply system operators to update their plans to address all invasive mussel species present in the operator’s water system as of January 1, 2026, as provided. The bill would require a plan to address every invasive mussel species detected in a water supply system after January 1, 2026, no later than 180 days from the date the species is detected. The bill would require a plan to minimize or eliminate the spread of invasive mussels. The bill would revise the definition of “invasive mussel” to mean any nonnative biofouling mussel, as provided. By expanding the scope of a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

This bill would enact a comprehensive inspection and decontamination program to be administered by the department under which the department would license inspection and decontamination stations with qualified inspectors to inspect and decontaminate conveyances for aquatic invasive species and issue certificates of compliance or notices of noncompliance, as prescribed by standards adopted by the department. The bill would establish a length of 2 years for those licenses and qualifications and would impose related application fees. The bill would impose requirements on various entities as part of the program, including requiring inspection and decontamination stations and waterbody managers to use a specified data sharing system for tracking the movement of conveyances, equipment, and other vectors among California waterbodies. Because a violation of these provisions would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

(2)Existing law establishes a registration fee and a renewal fee for vessels, and imposes an additional fee, known as the invasive mussel infestation prevention fee, on a vessel required to pay the registration fee or renewal fee, as provided. Existing law requires the Division of Boating and Waterways to issue a vessel an invasive mussel infestation prevention sticker to the vessel owner upon payment of the invasive mussel infestation prevention fee. Existing law authorizes a vessel operator to be issued a citation for operating a vessel or a recreational vessel in nonmarine waters without a valid state-issued invasive mussel infestation prevention sticker.

This bill would enact similar provisions that would impose an additional invasive mussel infestation prevention fee of $20 per nonmotorized vessel every 2 years, as specified. The bill would require the Department of Fish and Wildlife to issue an invasive mussel infestation prevention sticker to be affixed to the nonmotorized vessel upon payment of the invasive mussel infestation prevention fee. The bill would authorize a vessel operator to be issued a citation for operating a nonmotorized vessel without that valid state-issued invasive mussel infestation prevention sticker.

Sponsors

Sponsors by party (alphabetical): Democratic 10 · Republican 1

“Support” is shown only as formal sponsorship recorded by the legislature. Roll-call votes are available on the official bill page.

Recent official actions

1. August 13, 2026In committee: Held under submission.
2. August 3, 2026In committee: Referred to APPR. suspense file.
3. July 1, 2026From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 13. Noes 0.) (June 30). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
4. June 25, 2026From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on JUD.
5. June 24, 2026From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on JUD. (Ayes 6. Noes 0.) (June 23). Re-referred to Com. on JUD.
6. June 15, 2026From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on N.R. & W.
7. June 10, 2026Referred to Coms. on N.R. & W. and JUD.
8. May 28, 2026In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.
9. May 27, 2026Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 79. Noes 0. Page 5449.)
10. May 18, 2026Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
11. May 14, 2026From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 15. Noes 0.) (May 14).
12. May 14, 2026Joint Rule 62(a), file notice suspended. (Page 5030.)