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Senate committee approves bill naming the giant garter snake California's state snake
Summary
The committee voted unanimously to send SB 765 to the floor to designate the giant garter snake as the California state snake; supporters said the designation would raise awareness of wetlands conservation and the role of rice fields as surrogate habitat.
A Senate committee voted to advance SB 765, a measure that would designate the giant garter snake as California's official state snake to spotlight wetland conservation and the role of working lands, such as rice fields, in providing habitat.
Senator Bill Niles (presented as "Nilo" in the hearing) introduced the bill as a recognition of the species' ecological value and its status as an endemic, threatened species. "The giant garter snake is a representation of California's diverse ecosystem that communicates an important message of conservation," the author told the committee.
Supporters included Michael Sarkey (testifying for Save the Snakes) and Paul Butner of the California Rice Commission. Sarkey described the snake as endemic to California and important for wetland food webs; Butner said California rice lands and their network of irrigation ditches supply critical surrogate wetland habitat for hundreds of species and contend that designating the garter snake would help raise public awareness of that "rice footprint."
Committee members asked about other candidate species; the author said the giant garter snake was chosen because other snakes considered were either not endemic or had more limited ranges. No opposition spoke at the hearing, and the committee moved the bill to the Senate Floor with a recorded vote; the committee vote was recorded as 15-0 in favor.
SB 765 now proceeds to the Senate Floor for consideration by the full chamber.
