BILL NUMBER: SB 359 CHAPTERED 10/14/01 CHAPTER 877 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE OCTOBER 14, 2001 APPROVED BY GOVERNOR OCTOBER 13, 2001 PASSED THE SENATE SEPTEMBER 14, 2001 PASSED THE ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 13, 2001 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 5, 2001 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 23, 2001 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JULY 17, 2001 AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 4, 2001 AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 2, 2001 AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 20, 2001 INTRODUCED BY Senator Murray (Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Cardenas) (Coauthors: Assembly Members Aroner, Dickerson, Kelley, and Goldberg) FEBRUARY 21, 2001 An act to add Section 5004.5 and Chapter 1.55 (commencing with Section 5095) to Division 5 of the Public Resources Code, relating to parks and recreation. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 359, Murray. Parks and recreation: urban parks and healthy communities. Existing law authorizes the Department of Parks and Recreation to award grants to local governments and certain other entities for the acquisition of parklands and the development and maintenance of parks in the state. This bill would establish the California Youth Soccer and Recreation Development Program, and would require the department to administer the program, which is intended to provide assistance and grants to local agencies and community-based organizations, as defined, with regard to funding and fostering the development of new youth soccer, baseball, and basketball recreation opportunities in the state. The bill would require the department to report to specified legislative budget committees regarding the need for specified recreational facilities in the state, and capital improvements of these facilities, to be used for the program. The bill would create the California Youth Soccer and Recreation Development Fund in the State Treasury, which would be used for the deposit of funds derived from federal, state, and private sources to be used for the program. The bill would require the department to award grants, on a competitive basis, subject to an appropriation by the Legislature therefor, to local agencies and community-based organizations for the purposes of the program, and to develop eligibility guidelines for awarding grants that give preference to certain heavily populated, urban, low-income communities, as provided. This bill would enact the State Urban Parks and Healthy Communities Act and would create the State Urban Parks and Healthy Communities Fund in the State Treasury. The bill would authorize the department to expend moneys in the fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to provide grants to state agencies, local governments, and community organizations to provide environmental education and park opportunities for schoolage children. The bill would require the department to give specified priority to the issuance of these grants and would require the amount of the grants to be not less than $20,000 or more than $200,000. The bill would specify the purposes for which these grants may be expended. The bill would also require the department to provide grants to local agencies and community organizations to facilitate the use of outdoor recreation or provide needed after school programs. The bill would require the department to adopt guidelines to implement the bill by June 1, 2002. The bill would provide that any funding for the bill would be contingent upon a future appropriation in the annual Budget Act. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (a) Urban recreation and sports programs are a proven, common sense, and cost-effective means of preventing crime and delinquency. Investment in recreation is not a luxury, but rather is an investment in our security and health, and in the stability of our cities. (b) Recreation, team sports, and games build self-esteem, confidence, social harmony, independent thinking, self-discipline, good manners, health, and skills in conflict resolution. (c) Demand for recreation and the need for accessible, well-maintained, and lighted places to recreate far exceed the available supply of recreational facilities. (d) It is cost-effective to invest in recreational rather than in incarceration facilities. The cost of keeping one teenager in detention for one year approaches thirty thousand dollars ($30,000). (e) Urban recreation programs have a proven track record of reducing juvenile crime by more than 50 percent in some cities and by 90 percent in other major cities. (f) Many of our cities suffer from a severe shortage of accessible recreation areas; a problem that is particularly acute in low-income and underserved communities. SEC. 2. Section 5004.5 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read: 5004.5. (a) The California Youth Soccer and Recreation Development Program is hereby created in the department. The department shall administer the program, which is intended to provide assistance to local agencies and community-based organizations with regard to funding, and fostering the development of, new youth soccer, baseball, and basketball recreation opportunities in the state. (b) The department shall report to the Assembly Committee on Budget and the Senate Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review on the need for soccer and baseball fields and basketball courts in the state, and the need for lighting, maintenance, and capital improvements to develop and improve existing recreational areas, with special emphasis on the development of soccer, baseball, and basketball facilities. The department shall coordinate with local agencies and community-based organizations to identify those areas in the state where there is a shortage of appropriate recreational facilities, particularly in heavily populated, urban, low-income, and crime ridden areas. (c) The California Youth Soccer and Recreation Development Fund is hereby created in the State Treasury, to be used as a repository of funds derived from federal, state, and private sources to be used for the program. (d) The department shall award grants, on a competitive basis, to local agencies and community-based organizations for the purposes of the program, subject to an appropriation therefor. The department shall also develop eligibility guidelines for the award of grants that give preference to those communities that provide matching funds for grants, and that are heavily populated, low-income urban areas with a high youth crime and unemployment rate. The guidelines shall also require that preference be given to those inner city properties that may be leased for periods of at least five years or more for recreational purposes. The department shall conduct public hearings throughout the state prior to final adoption of eligibility guidelines. (e) For purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings: (1) "Community-based organization" means an organization that enters into a cooperative agreement with the department pursuant to Section 513, a nonprofit group or organization, or a friends of parks group or organization of a city, county, city and county, and regional park. (2) "Local agency" means a city, county, city and county, park and recreation district, open-space district, or school district. SEC. 3. Chapter 1.55 (commencing with Section 5095) is added to Division 5 of the Public Resources Code, to read: CHAPTER 1.55. STATE URBAN PARKS AND HEALTHY COMMUNITIES ACT 5095. This chapter shall be known, and may be cited, as the State Urban Parks and Healthy Communities Act. 5095.1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (a) Parks and recreation provide opportunities for building strong communities and promote ethnic and cultural harmony. (b) The state parks system and the network of community and regional parks, along with park professionals, are in a unique position to promote educational, recreational, and community services that foster partnerships with schools, nonprofit organizations, and other government organizations that serve as a foundation for the healthy development of our communities. (c) California's population is growing increasingly diverse and it is incumbent upon state and local governments, working with local education entities, to develop and integrate programs and educational curriculum that take full advantage of the state's natural environs. (d) Today, many of our communities are in distress and face increasingly complex problems of poverty, race relations, environmental concerns, crime, and inadequate education facilities. These problems are exacerbated by the lack of communication, collaboration, and services in our inner cities. More and more local agencies, along with nonprofit community-based organizations, are called upon to provide recreation, after school programs, and community services to meet these growing problems. (e) Most state, community, and regional parks play a role in educating the public about our cultural diversity, historical roots, biological networks, and ecological systems. To do this effectively, these entities need to identify and integrate themes within our state and local parks systems that are relevant to urban communities and, to the extent possible, work with local education agencies to better define those themes and provide increased opportunities for children to access California's park network as a "living classroom." (f) There are numerous examples across the state where collaborative efforts on behalf of state, community, and regional parks working in conjunction with community-based organizations and local education entities have developed programs, providing children with exemplary outdoor educational experiences. (g) Often, inner city and minority youth populations lack access to recreational opportunities. (h) Recreational and athletic activities have served to break down color barriers in various communities and allowed individuals such as Tiger Woods and Venus Williams to blaze new cultural and societal trails, serving as positive role models for urbanized youth throughout the nation. (i) In addition, many urban areas throughout the state lack the financial means or availability of property to acquire and develop parks and recreation areas and facilities, particularly in the neighborhoods that are currently least served in this area. (j) To promote a greater sense of responsibility toward new parks and recreation areas and facilities, it is vital to encourage community participation in the development of new parks and recreation areas and facilities, which will help keep them clean and safe and enhance community pride and sustain neighborhood vitality. (k) Recreation, team sports, and games build self-esteem, confidence, social harmony, independent thinking, self-discipline, sportsmanship, and health and help to develop skills in conflict resolution. 5095.2. As used in this chapter, the following terms have the following meanings: (a) "Active recreational purpose" means an activity that requires athletic fields, courts, gymnasiums, or other recreational venues for youth soccer, baseball, football, basketball, tennis, or swimming, or any activity the department identifies as meeting this definition. (b) "Department" means the Department of Parks and Recreation. (c) "Director" means the Director of Parks and Recreation. (d) "Facility" includes a place for organized team sports, outdoor recreation, permanent play structures, and multipurpose structures designed to meet the special recreational, educational, vocational, and social needs of youth. "Facility" also includes the acquisition of properties or development of venues for the furtherance of the purposes of Section 5095.4 where existing state conservancies or state, community or regional parks are not readily accessible. (e) "Fund" means the State Urban Parks and Health Communities Fund. (f) "Nonurbanized local agency" means any city, county, or district that qualifies as a nonurbanized area as defined in subdivision (e) of Section 5621 and that is eligible for grant funding pursuant to Chapter 3.2 (commencing with Section 5620). (g) "Special district" means a regional park district, regional park and open-space district, or regional open-space district formed pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 5500) of Chapter 3, or a recreation and park district formed pursuant to Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 5780). (h) "State agency" includes the Department of Parks and Recreation and the state conservancies in existence on the effective date of the act adding this section during the 2001 portion of the 2001-02 Regular Session. (i) "Urbanized or heavily urbanized local agencies" include cities, counties, or a city and county, or special districts as determined by the Department of Finance according to the latest verifiable census data pursuant to subdivisions (c) and (d) of Section 5621. 5095.3. There is hereby created, in the State Treasury, the State Urban Parks and Healthy Communities Fund. The department shall expend moneys from this fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to provide grants to state agencies, including state conservancies in existence on the effective date of the act adding this section during the 2001 portion of the 2001-02 Regular Session, urbanized or heavily urbanized local agencies, and community-based organizations, in accordance with Sections 5095.4 and 5095.5. The department may not expend more than 2.5 percent of the moneys in the fund to administer this chapter. 5095.4. (a) The director, in consultation with the State Department of Education, shall develop guidelines for curriculum for outdoor education using state conservancy properties in existence on the effective date of the act adding this section during the 2001 portion of the 2001-02 Regular Session, and state, community, and regional park units, and identify regions of the state where schoolage children lack adequate opportunities to access educational opportunities. The curriculum components may include, but not be limited to including, tapping California's vast resource areas for instruction of earth sciences, life sciences, geology, climate, history, social sciences, visual arts, performing arts, and culture. To accomplish this goal, the department shall create a competitive grant program to assist state parks, state conservancies in existence on the effective date of the act adding this section during the 2001 portion of the 2001-02 Regular Session, and urbanized and heavily urbanized local agencies and community-based organizations within those jurisdictions, working in collaboration to provide outdoor educational opportunities to children. (1) Applicant entities shall provide a 25 percent matching contribution in community resources. The matching contributions may be in the form of money, including funds from other state or local assistance programs, gifts of real property, equipment, and consumable supplies, volunteer services, free or reduced-cost use of land, facilities, or equipment, and bequests and income from wills, estates, and trusts. The department shall evaluate the amount of the matching contribution in terms of its proportionality in relation to the economic resources of the applicant. The department may establish findings for hardships to waive the matching requirement when an applicant cannot meet the requirement. (2) The department may give additional consideration to applicant entities collaborating with other entities, such as school districts, faith-based groups and others providing outreach programs to identify and attract urbanized youth most in need of organized, constructive recreational activities. (b) The department shall make one-third of any funds appropriated for the purposes of this chapter available to give special priority to providing increased access for elementary schoolage children in grades 2 to 8, inclusive, to conservancy or state, community, and regional park properties and, in addition, shall give priority, in awarding a grant pursuant to this section, to all of the following: (1) Programs that use curriculum tied to the State Department of Education standards for environmental education content. (2) Applicants that serve children with family incomes below the statewide average, based on the most recent figures computed and established by the Department of Finance. (3) Applicants that provide access to children who are underserved or lack access to parks or other outdoor venues suitable to conduct appropriate environmental education instruction. (4) Applicants that have developed working collaboratives to develop environmental education partnerships. (5) Applicants working in collaboration with local educational agencies to identify those children lacking adequate opportunities to access outdoor environmental education curriculum or innovative or alternative recreation programming. (c) The amount of a grant awarded pursuant to this section may not be less than twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) or more than two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000). A grant may be expended for any of the following purposes: (1) Staffing that is directly associated with the programming. (2) Staff training or development directly associated with the programming. (3) Costs associated with transporting youth between a community or school and the proposed environmental education venue. (4) Medical insurance for the participants, only if the insurance is a requirement pursuant to the activity. (5) Operational costs, such as the rental equipment, food, and supplies. (6) Applicants that can demonstrate that the administrative costs associated with this activity will not exceed more than 7.5 percent of the amount of the grant. (d) The department may gather information from the applicants as to the effectiveness of these programs in meeting program objectives. The department shall summarize this information and report to the appropriate budget and fiscal committees of both houses of the Legislature as to the number of children served, the educational objectives met, and the level of demand. (e) Applicant agencies may enter into contracts with other public agencies or entities to provide unique interpretive skills or to present authentic, curriculum-based programs in units of conservancy properties or state, community, or regional park systems for services not otherwise provided. The purpose of this subdivision is to authorize the applicants to provide programming services, equipment, and materials that assist in the curriculum program or provide educational activities that assist in the presentation of cultural traditions. 5095.5. (a) The department shall allocate two-thirds of any funds appropriated for the purposes of this chapter to provide grants to urbanized or heavily urbanized local agencies or community-based organizations within these jurisdictions for the acquisition and development of properties for active recreational purposes, as defined. Eligible projects shall meet all of the following criteria: (1) The amount of the grant applied for, together with any matching contribution, shall meet all of the cost of acquiring and developing the project, and when construction of the project is completed, the new urban park or facility shall have a management plan and demonstrate to the satisfaction of the department that the applicant agencies have sufficient means to ensure that the park or facility shall remain open and accessible to the public. (2) The application includes a commitment for a matching contribution. The matching contributions may be in the form of money, including funds from other state or local assistance programs, gifts of real property, equipment, and consumable supplies, volunteer services, free or reduced-cost use of land, facilities, or equipment, and bequests and income from wills, estates, and trusts. The department shall evaluate the amount of the matching contribution in terms of its proportionality in relation to the economic resources of the applicant. The department may establish findings for hardships to waive the matching requirement when an applicant cannot meet the requirement. (3) The department may give special consideration to projects that wholly or partly replace an area of blight, or contribute significantly to the economic revitalization to the immediate community. (4) To the extent possible, the project is a joint-use project between two or more agencies that share responsibility for ownership, development, and maintenance of the project. (b) The department shall adopt guidelines to amplify or clarify the criteria specified in Section 5095.4 or this section, and may adopt additional criteria, to supplement those criteria. (c) The department may develop a procedural guide for the administration of this chapter and the guidance of applicants. (d) The department shall solicit written comments and hold public hearings at convenient locations throughout the state on any regulations, guidelines, or the procedural guide proposed to be adopted or developed pursuant to this section. (e) The department shall adopt guidelines to implement this chapter on or before June 1, 2002. (f) Any regulation, guideline, or procedural guide adopted or developed pursuant to this section is not subject to the review or approval of the Office of Administrative Law or to any other requirement of Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code. (g) A grant received pursuant to this section may be expended to acquire the fee title or other interest in real property. If an application proposes to acquire less than fee title, the applicant shall demonstrate in the application, to the satisfaction of the department, that the proposed project will provide public benefits that are commensurate with the type and duration of the interest in real property to be acquired. (h) With the consent of an urbanized or heavily urbanized local agency, any eligible nonprofit organization may apply for a grant on behalf of an entity for the purposes of either Section 5095.4 or this section. The application shall include a copy of any contract between the local agency and the nonprofit organization and the resolution or other authorization of consent. The contract shall specify arrangements for the long-term management and operation of the urban park or recreation area. (i) Every applicant for a grant pursuant to this section and the entity that will operate and maintain the property, if that entity is different than the applicant, shall agree to comply with all of the following requirements: (1) To operate and maintain the property developed pursuant to this chapter so that it is usable by residents of the affected area. With the approval of the department, the grant recipient, or its successor in interest in the property, may transfer its property interest and the responsibility to operate and maintain the property, in accordance with the terms of the grant and any applicable law, to a public agency or nonprofit organization that is able to operate and maintain the property in perpetuity. Any attempt to make a transfer in violation of this subdivision is void. (2) To use the property only for the purposes for which the grant was made and to make no other use or sale or other disposition of the property, except as authorized by statute. If the use of the property is changed to a use that is not permitted by the terms of the grant, or if the property is sold or otherwise disposed of, the grant recipient shall reimburse the department an amount equal to the amount of the grant, the fair market value of the land and any improvements constructed with the grant, or the proceeds from the sale or other disposition, whichever amount is greater. If the property that is sold or otherwise disposed of is less than the entire interest in the property funded with the grant, the grant recipient shall reimburse the department an amount equal to either the proceeds from the sale or other disposition of the interest or the fair market value of the interest sold or otherwise disposed of, whichever amount is greater. (3) In lieu of seeking reimbursement pursuant to paragraph (2), the department may impose restrictions on the use of public park property identical to the requirements for the preservation of public parks set forth in the Public Park Preservation Act of 1971 (Chapter 2.5 (commencing with Section 5400)) with respect to any property used, sold, or otherwise disposed of in a manner not permitted by the terms of the grant. (j) The recipient of a grant pursuant to this chapter may use the grant funds to pay for any portion of the cost of cleaning up, removing, or remediating any toxic materials or hazardous substances, if the amount used for cleanup, removal, or remediation does not exceed 20 percent of the grant allocated to the project. (k) A grant recipient shall encumber grant moneys within two years of the date of the approval of the grant. (l) The amount allocated pursuant to this chapter shall be roughly divided 60 percent to the southern portion of the state (south of the Tehachapi Mountains) and 40 percent to the northern portion. (m) Recognizing that some rural areas of the state have significant deficiencies of park facilities for active recreational purposes, the department shall consider allocating two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) pursuant to this section to nonurbanized local agencies. In awarding these grants, the department shall apply the same guidelines as those established for awarding a grant to a nonurbanized area pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 5621. (n) To qualify as an eligible program or project, a Member of the Legislature must first nominate the program or project, pursuant to Section 5095.4 and this section. If the department determines that the program or project is eligible, the department shall issue an application to the eligible agency. A Member of the Legislature may nominate any and all projects within his or her district. SEC. 4. Any grants awarded pursuant to this act shall be contingent upon a future appropriation in the annual Budget Act.