BILL NUMBER: AB 31 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 10, 2007
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member De Leon
DECEMBER 4, 2006
An act to amend Sections 5640, 5642, and 5647 of, and to amend the
heading of Chapter 3.3 (commencing with Section 5640) of Division 5
of, the Public Resources Code, relating to parks and recreation.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 31, as amended, De Leon. Murray-Frommer Urban Parks
and Renewal Act. Neighborhood Park and
Recreation Revitalization Act of 2007.
Existing law establishes the Urban Park Act of 2006, which
requires the Department of Parks and Recreation to establish a local
assistance program to offer grants, on a competitive basis, to
various local entities and nonprofit organizations, as defined, for
the acquisition or development, or both, of urban parks and
recreational areas and facilities. Existing law authorizes heavily
urbanized counties to apply for these grants. For purposes of the
act, the term "heavily urbanized county" is defined.
This bill would change the name of the act to the
Murray-Frommer Urban Parks and Renewal Act
Neighborhood Park and Recreation Revitalization Act of 2007 .
The bill would expand the definition of "heavily urbanized county" to
include counties with a population of 350,000 or more people and a
density of at least 900 persons per square mile.
The bill would make conforming changes.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. It is the intent of the Legislature to make available
to the Department of Parks and Recreation, upon appropriation, four
hundred million dollars ($400,000,000) that shall be used to award
competitive grants pursuant to the Murray-Frommer Urban
Parks and Renewal Act Neighborhood Park and Recreation
Revitalization Act of 2007 (Chapter 3.3 (commencing with
Section 5640) of Division 5 of the Public Resources Code).
SEC. 2. The heading of Chapter 3.3 (commencing with Section 5640)
of Division 5 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:
CHAPTER 3.3. THE MURRAY-FROMMER URBAN PARKS AND
RENEWAL ACT NEIGHBORHOOD PARK AND RECREATION
REVITALIZATION ACT OF 2007
SEC. 3. Section 5640 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
5640. This chapter shall be known, and may be cited, as the
Murray-Frommer Urban Parks and Renewal Act
Neighborhood Park and Recreation Revitalization Act of 2007 .
SEC. 4. Section 5642 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
5642. As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
following meanings:
(a) "City" means a city or a city and county.
(b) "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).
(c) "Facilities" includes, but is not limited to, places for
organized team sports, outdoor recreation, and informal turf play;
nonmotorized recreational trails; permanent play structures;
landscaping; community gardens; places for passive recreation,
enjoyment of scenic open space, nature appreciation and study, and
outdoor education; multipurpose structures designed to meet the
special recreational, educational, vocational, and social needs of
youth, senior citizens, and other urban population groups; and
infrastructure and other improvements that support these facilities.
(d) "Heavily urbanized county" means a county with a population of
350,000 or more, and a density of at least 900 persons per square
mile, based on the most recent verifiable census data.
(e) "Nonprofit organization" means any nonprofit public benefit
corporation formed pursuant to the Nonprofit Corporation Law
(Division 2 (commencing with Section 5000) of the Corporations Code),
qualified to do business in California, qualified under Section 501
(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code, and that has among its
primary purposes the preservation, protection, or enhancement of land
or water resources in their natural, scenic, historical,
agricultural, forested, or open-space condition or use, or the
provision of conservation and environmental education and other
recreational, vocational, and educational services to urban youth.
(f) "Park access" means the distance of approximately one-half
mile or less from a residence to a park.
SEC. 5. Section 5647 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
5647. (a) The department may adopt guidelines to amplify or
clarify the criteria specified in Section 5646, and may adopt
additional criteria, to supplement those criteria, but the scope of
the additional criteria shall be limited to providing additional
guidance in selecting projects in areas that have the greatest
deficiencies in parks and facilities.
(b) The department may develop a procedural guide for the
administration of this chapter and the guidance of applicants.
(c) The department shall solicit written comments and hold public
hearings at convenient locations throughout the state on any
guideline or procedural guide that is proposed to be adopted or
developed pursuant to this section.
(d) Any regulation or procedural guide adopted or developed
pursuant to this section shall not be 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
Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
(e) The department may not expend more than 5 percent of the
amount annually appropriated for the purposes of this chapter for
administrative costs.
(f) If funding is available, the department shall administer
application requests for proposals and grant awards in no less than
two cycles in two years. The department shall maintain this
application schedule as long as funding is available.