. >>> in 1990, voters passed proposition 117, banning private hunting of mountain lions in california. but now, a new law is going to change the way wildlife officials, themselves, have to deal with the big catch. >> reporter: the town of half- moon bay backs right up to prime mountain lion habitat. and occasionally a young lion, searching for territory, will get a little lost. >> and all of a sudden they pop out of the woods and find themselves right in the middle of a subdivision. they don't know what to do. most of them run up a tree and wait for humans to heave. they are not going to do. >> but on this day 1 year ago, the town was outraged when they shot and killed two cubs hiding under a deck. at the time the guidelines mandated the lethal response to protect the public. >> and , so up until now, it was safer just to kill the lion than to worry about, well, if i had not stopped that lion maybe some day he might of hurt somebody. >> reporter: today, they gathered to celebrate the passage and signing of sp1that, a law that would change the way that warden's teal with lions found in