SACRAMENTO – On October 11, 2025, Govern Gavin Newsom announced that he signed Assembly Bill 1319 by Assemblymember Nick Schultz (D-Burbank) to protect endangered and threatened species from any potential rollbacks of longstanding federal protections.

“California’s dedicated wildlife officers often face difficulties in enforcing the complex laws that regulate the wildlife trade due to the interplay of state, federal, and international laws,” said Association of California Wildlife Officers (ACWO) President Trevor Pell.  “AB 1319 provides a new tool to help wildlife officers stop the illegal and inhumane trafficking of wildlife within California. AB 1319 also helps protect California’s wildlife from reductions in federal wildlife regulations. ACWO would like to thank Governor Newsom for his signature on this bill, and CSLEA for their support of the bill.”

The bill allows the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) to extend state protections to an endangered species if it loses its federal protections. It also strengthens state protections for hunted international species protected by federal law.

There are two main portions to the bill: the first part makes it a state crime to violate federal wildlife laws; the second part makes a new status of species in the case that a species loses federal endangered species protections.

“We thank the author of this bill, Assemblymember Nick Schultz, the associations in addition to CSLEA and ACWO that supported it, and the Governor for signing it into law,” said California Statewide Law Enforcement Association President Alan Barcelona.  “California and its state wildlife officers, pride themselves in protecting this state’s natural resources which contributes to our quality of life in the Golden State.”