BILL NUMBER: AB 42 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 21, 2011
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 16, 2011
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 17, 2011
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Huffman
( Coauthors: Assembly Members
Achadjian, Allen, Ammiano,
Chesbro, Feuer, Halderman,
Portantino, and Williams )
( Coauthors: Senators Pavley
and Wolk )
DECEMBER 6, 2010
An act to add and repeal Section 5080.42 of the Public Resources
Code, relating to state parks.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 42, as amended, Huffman. State parks.
Existing law gives control of the state park system to the
Department of Parks and Recreation. Existing law authorizes the
department to enter into agreements with an agency of the United
States, a city, county, district, or other public agency or any
combination thereof, for the care , maintenance,
administration, and control by a party to the agreement of lands
under the jurisdiction of a party to the agreement, for the purpose
of the state park system.
This bill would authorize the department to enter into an
operating agreement for the development, improvement, restoration,
care, maintenance, administration, or operation of a unit or units,
or portion of a unit, of the state park system, as identified by the
director, with a qualified nonprofit organization, as provided. This
bill would require the operating agreement to include, among other
things, a requirement that the nonprofit organization annually submit
a report to the department , to be available on the Internet
Web site for both the department and the nonprofit organization
. The bill would require the nonprofit organization and the district
superintendent for the department to hold a joint public meeting for
discussion of the report.
The bill would require the department to notify a Member of the
Legislature of an intention to enter into an operating agreement
relating to a park in the member's district , as well as notify
specified committees of the Legislature . The bill would also
require the department to report to the Legislature, on a biennial
basis, the status of any operating agreement.
The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2019.
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. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) The California state park system is a unique resource that
requires preservation and protection for future generations.
(b) California's state park system is the largest in the nation
and contains over 1.5 million acres of land managed for natural,
cultural, and historical values in 278 parks across the state.
(c) California's state park system hosts more than 80 million
visitors annually and houses over 3,100 historic buildings and more
than 14,000 individual and group campsites.
(d) California's state park system is a major draw for tourism in
the state and generates over $4 billion annually in economic activity
in communities near state parks and in park-related expenditures.
(e) The budget for the state park system has not kept pace with
the state's population growth and growing demand. The annual budget
for state parks has been significantly below the amount necessary to
maintain the parks in their current condition. The ongoing shortfall
has caused a burgeoning backlog of deferred maintenance of over $1.3
billion in 2010, inadequate staff to protect park resources and
maintain public access and safety, and partial closures of many state
parks.
(f) Current budget resources will force the closure of state parks
throughout the system and create impediments to public access and
enjoyment of those parks.
(g) Californians deserve a world-class state park system that will
preserve and protect the unique resources of the state for future
generations. In order to safeguard those resources and maintain
public access, California's state park system must have stable,
reliable, and adequate funding sources to fully fund and support our
state parks.
(h) As the search for stable funding sources continues in this
current budget crisis, it is critical that all efforts be made to
continue public access to state parks and to keep our parks open.
Nonprofit organizations can be important partners in meeting those
objectives, and where possible, they should be invited to assist the
state with operating parks in order to keep them open.
SEC. 2. Section 5080.42 is added to the Public Resources Code, to
read:
5080.42. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this article,
the department may enter into an operating agreement with a
qualified nonprofit organization for the development, improvement,
restoration, care, maintenance, administration, or operation of a
unit or units, or portion of a unit, of the state park system, as
identified by the director. If the department enters into an
operating agreement that involves the operation of the entirety of a
park unit, that agreement may be entered into pursuant to this
section only to the extent that the agreement would enable the
department to avoid closure of a unit or units of the state park
system that may otherwise be subject to closure. The department may
only enter into an operating agreement that involves the operation of
the entirety of a park unit for no more than 20 park units. An
operating agreement with a qualified nonprofit organization
shall include, but shall not be limited to, the following
conditions:
(1) The district superintendent for the department shall provide
liaison with the department, the nonprofit organization, and the
public.
(2) The nonprofit organization shall annually submit a written
report to the department regarding its operating activities during
the prior year and shall make copies of the report available to the
public upon request. The report shall be available on the
Internet Web sites for both the department and the nonprofit
organization. The report shall include a full accounting of all
revenues and expenditures for each unit of the state park system
that the nonprofit organization operates pursuant to an operating
agreement.
(3) All revenues received from a unit shall be expended only for
the care, maintenance, operation, administration, improvement, or
development of the unit. The qualified nonprofit organization may
additionally contribute in-kind services and funds raised from
outside entities for the care, maintenance, operation,
administration, improvement, or development of the unit.
(b) An operating agreement entered into pursuant to subdivision
(a) shall honor the existing term of a current concession contract
for the state park unit subject to the operating agreement.
(c) An operating agreement entered into pursuant to subdivision
(a) shall specify the duties that the nonprofit organization shall be
responsible for carrying out relative to management and protection
of natural, historical, and cultural resources, and shall identify
those management duties that shall continue to be conducted by the
department department, so that all core
operations of the park are delineated . Scientific,
architectural, and engineering functions that require special
expertise or professional training shall only be conducted by or
under the supervision of qualified persons with applicable expertise
or training and subject to oversight by the department.
(d) This section does not supersede the requirements of Section
5019.53 regarding the protection of natural, scenic, cultural, and
ecological values.
(e) The nonprofit organization and the district superintendent for
the department shall, following submittal of the annual report
pursuant to subdivision (a), hold a joint public meeting for
discussion of the report.
(f) If the department intends to enter into an operating agreement
for the development, improvement, restoration, care, maintenance,
administration, or operation of a unit or units, or a portion of a
unit, the department shall notify the Member of the Legislature in
whose district the unit is located of that intention
, the Chair of the Senate Committee on Natural
Resources and Water, the Chair of the Assembly Committee on Water,
Parks and Wildlife, and the chairs of the Assembly and Senate budget
committees of that intention. The notification shall
include estimated operating costs and revenues and core duties and
responsibilities that are likely to be assigned to the nonprofit
organization and the department .
(g) For purposes of this section, a qualified nonprofit
organization is an organization that is both
all of the following:
(1) An organization that is exempt from taxation pursuant to
Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
(2) An organization that has as its principal purpose and activity
to provide visitor services in state parks, facilitate public access
to park resources, improve park facilities, provide interpretive and
educational services, or provide direct protection or stewardship of
natural, cultural , or historical lands, or resources.
(3) An organization that is in compliance with the Supervision of
Trustees and Fundraisers for Charitable Purposes Act, Article 7
(commencing with Section 12580) of Chapter 6 of Part 2 of Division 3
of Title 2 of the Government Code.
(h) (1) Notwithstanding Section 10231.5 of the Government Code,
the department shall provide a report to the Legislature, on a
biennial basis, of the status of operating agreements it has entered
into pursuant to this section. The report shall include a list of
units of the state park system with operating agreements, discussion
of the management and operations of each unit subject to an operating
agreement, an accounting of the revenues and expenditures incurred
under each operating agreement, and an assessment of the benefit to
the state from operating agreements entered into pursuant to this
section.
(2) A report submitted pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be
submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
(i) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2019, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2019, deletes or extends
that date.