Prior to each meeting of the commission at which the commission considers the regulation of deer and takes action pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 255, the department shall recommend to the commission those deer herd units to be placed under a general deer hunting season. At the same time, the department shall recommend to the commission, subject to the provisions of Sections 458 and 459, whether any antlerless deer should be taken and in what deer herd units antlerless deer are to be taken. If in the judgment of the department there are deer herd units in which hunting pressure would adversely affect the deer herd, impair the hunting experience, or endanger the public safety, the department shall also recommend to the commission those deer herd units where hunter numbers should be restricted and which should be removed from the general deer hunting season designation. The department shall inform the commission of the condition of each deer herd unit. Upon receipt of the recommendations and information required in this section, the commission shall make that material known to the public and its determinations regarding proposed regulations. The recommendations of the department shall, in accordance with the provisions of Sections 458 and 459, include the number, if any, of antlerless deer that should be taken in deer herd units, whether the permits should be either-sex permits, the proposed dates for the taking, and the number of permits proposed for each deer herd unit. At the same time, the department shall recommend the establishment of any hunter-restricted quota units, if needed, and the number of the quota and manner in which the quota permits should be issued.

(Amended by Stats. 2016, Ch. 546, Sec. 21. (SB 1473) Effective January 1, 2017.)