(a) The commission may issue a permit authorizing any member of the armed forces of the United States or any student or faculty member of an elementary or secondary school in the public school system actually assigned to, and participating in, an organized survival training course to take fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, or mammals, except rare or endangered species, notwithstanding any other law or regulation, pursuant to the terms and conditions of that permit. A permit involving training by the armed forces of the United States shall be issued to the commanding officer of the unit having jurisdiction over the conduct of the survival training course. A permit involving training by an elementary or secondary school in the public school system shall be issued to the governing board or superintendent of the district having jurisdiction over that school and the conduct of the survival training course. A permit shall be applicable only to the area established for that survival training as designated by the commission in the permit and for the species and numbers designated in the permit.

(b) The commission may revise a condition of a permit if it finds revision is necessary to properly protect the fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, or mammals in the area.

(c) The term of a permit issued pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be for not more than a calendar year.

(d) A report shall be submitted on the expiration of the permit period specified pursuant to subdivision (c), or as otherwise required by the commission, of all fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, or mammals taken during the period covered by the report in each permit area. A new permit shall not be issued until the report has been submitted and an existing permit may be canceled if a report is not submitted when required by the commission.

(e) A person engaged in survival training taking a fish, amphibian, reptile, bird, or mammal pursuant to a permit issued under this section shall not use a firearm, bow and arrow, steel trap, explosive, chemical, poison, drug, net, or fish tackle, except that hooks, handlines, and improvised poles and lines may be used to take fish.

(Amended by Stats. 2015, Ch. 154, Sec. 15. (AB 1527) Effective January 1, 2016.)