23-04-2025
Mountain lion hazing bill advances after charged hearing at California Capitol
A bill allowing El Dorado County to use trained dogs and their handlers to chase away mountain lions like the one that killed a Mount Aukum man and savagely attacked his brother last year passed a California state Senate committee Tuesday.
But changes shoehorned by committee members have angered the Sacramento-area state senator who authored the bill, saying the new-look legislation betrays her constituents and the two young men for whom the bill is named.
Senate Bill 818, dubbed Taylen and Wyatt's Law, bears the names of the Brooks brothers, who were attacked by a mountain lion in April 2024 as they searched for deer antlers in the wilderness near their southern El Dorado County home. Taylen, 21, was killed in the mountain lion attack. Younger brother Wyatt, then 18, was nearly killed trying to fight off the predator and save his sibling's life.
SB 818 passed the state Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee on a 4-2 vote, with the new, forced amendments. State Sen. Shannon Grove, R-Bakersfield, a fierce defender of the bill in its original form; and state Sen. Kelly Seyarto, R-Murrieta, voted no.
'I am saddened and angry because my constituents entrusted me to save lives, not re-election campaigns,' said state Sen. Marie Alvarado-Gil, R-Jackson, visibly upset as she stood alongside the Brooks family and El Dorado County Sheriff Jeff Leikauf. 'The blood and the flesh of the next victim will be on this committee.'
The clause in Alvarado-Gil's bill would have allowed El Dorado County to create a pilot program using trained dogs and certified handlers to chase mountain lions, a pursuit critics contended is dangerous. The committee, in advancing the legislation, stripped the use of hounds from the bill.
The amended version requires the state Department of Fish and Wildlife to create a program that focuses on public education, scientific research and grant funding for protective measures instead of the 'Tree and Free' strategy of non-lethal pursuit that was the core of SB 818.
Wyatt Brooks still wears the scars of the attack, cut into his face above the jawline. He sat silently with family in the front row of Tuesday's second-floor hearing at the California state Capitol. Behind them, several rows of supporters wore red T-shirts reading, 'In Memory of Taylen. In Honor of Wyatt,' and held placards that said, 'Taylen and Wyatt's Law.'
Supporters of Alvarado-Gil's proposal — including the Brooks family and Sheriff Leikauf — argued that the strategy was urgently needed in El Dorado County, which they described as a hot spot for mountain lion activity. The big cats, they said, have lost their fear of humans and prey upon domestic animals and livestock with increasing regularity.
The proposed pilot project 'is not an open season to hunt mountain lions, but a step to study the abnormal behavior that led to the kill of a beloved community member,' Alvarado-Gil testified. According to Alvarado-Gil's office, mountain lions killed more than 200 domestic animals in El Dorado County last year. Another 50 have been killed so far in 2025, county Agriculture Commissioner Leanne Mila testified Tuesday.
'Problem lions seek higher ground and regain their fear of humans,' Alvarado-Gil added. 'This is saving mountain lions' lives and protecting human life to study the 'why?' in El Dorado County where lions are attacking humans for prey.'
Sen. Monique Limón, D-Santa Barbara, chair of the Natural Resources committee, acknowledged the family's loss but defended the committee's changes. She said the panel 'remained committed to continue working on an issue that is a tragedy. Everyone I've talked to wants to make sure this tragedy informs policy.'
Environmental groups, including the Sierra Club and National Wildlife Federation, opposed the bill, along with local conservancies and some area residents.
Among the opponents was Roger Trout, a former El Dorado County planning director, who argued the proposed 'Tree and Free' strategy would bring 'untold public safety consequences,' allowing hounds to pursue lions onto private property and endangering people and livestock.
The mountain lions, Trout said, 'are not less afraid of humans. They've been displaced because of fire. SB 818 is not necessary. El Dorado County deserves solutions that actually work.'
Alvarado-Gil responded sharply: 'This is about Taylen Brooks and the future of El Dorado County. We're talking about saving lives.'
