CA SB1244

Transfers moneys appropriated from the Public Resources Account in the Cigarette and Tobacco Products Surtax Fund designated for waterfowl habitat programs to the Department of Fish and Wildlife

Requires the department to use transferred funds for programs to protect, restore, enhance, or maintain waterfowl habitat, including wetland restoration and enhancement projects on state wildlife areas

Establishes that the Department of Fish and Wildlife, as the lead state resource agency in waterfowl conservation and a partner in joint ventures (Central Valley, San Francisco Bay, and Intermountain West), should be the sole agency expending these public resources funds for fish, waterfowl, and wildlife habitat protection

Responds to the loss of 90 percent of California's wetland habitat and the resulting decline in migratory waterfowl populations, which winter in the state at over 60 percent of the Pacific Flyway's total