California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 594

Introduced by Assembly Member Hueso

February 20, 2013

An act to amend Sections 541.5 and 5080.42 of the Public Resources Code, relating to state parks.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 594, as introduced, Hueso. State parks: operating agreements.

Existing law prohibits the Department of Parks and Recreation from closing or proposing to close a state park in the 2012-2013 or 2013-2014 fiscal year. Existing law authorizes the department to enter into an operating agreement with a qualified nonprofit organization for the purposes of operating the entirety of a park unit, as identified by the director of the department, to the extent the operating 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.

This bill would provide that the prohibition to close, or propose to close, a state park in the 2012-13 or 2013-14 fiscal year does not limit or affect the department’s authority to enter into an operating agreement during the 2012-13 or 2013-14 fiscal year, for purposes of the operation of the entirety of a state park, as agreed to by the director, during the 2012-13 or 2013-14 fiscal year.

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.  

Section 541.5 of the Public Resources Code is
amended to read:

541.5.  

(a) The department shall not close, or propose to close,
a state park in the 2012-13 or 2013-14 fiscal year. The commission
and the department shall recommend all necessary steps to establish
a sustainable funding strategy for the department to the Legislature
on or before January 1, 2015.

(b) There is hereby appropriated twenty million five hundred
thousand dollars ($20,500,000) to the department from the State
Parks and Recreation Fund, which shall be available for
encumbrance for the 2012-13 and 2013-14 fiscal years, to be
expended as follows:

(1) Ten million dollars ($10,000,000) shall be available to
provide for matching funds pursuant to subdivision (c).

(2) Ten million dollars ($10,000,000) shall be available for the
department to direct funds to parks that remain at risk of closure
or that will keep parks open during the 2012-13 and 2013-14 fiscal
years. Priority may be given to parks subject to a donor or operating
agreement or other contractual arrangement with the department.

(3) Up to five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) shall be
available for the department to pay for ongoing audits and
investigations as directed by the Joint Legislative Audit Committee,
the office of the Attorney General, the Department of Finance, or
other state agency.

(c) The department shall match on a dollar-for-dollar basis all
financial contributions contributed by a donor pursuant to an
agreement for the 2012-13 fiscal year for which the department
received funds as of July 31, 2013, and for agreements entered
into in the 2013-14 fiscal year. These matching funds shall be
used exclusively in the park unit subject to those agreements.

(d) The department shall notify the Joint Legislative Budget
Committee in writing not less than 30 days prior to the expenditure
of funds under this section of the funding that shall be expended,
the manner of the expenditure, and the recipient of the expenditure.

begin insert

(e) The prohibition to close, or propose to close, a state park
in the 2012-13 or 2013-14 fiscal year, pursuant to paragraph (a),
does not limit or affect the department’s authority to enter into an
operating agreement, pursuant to Section 5080.42, during the
2012-13 or 2013-14 fiscal year, for purposes of the operation of
the entirety of a state park during the 2012-13 or 2013-14 fiscal
year.

end insert

SEC. 2.  

Section 5080.42 of the Public Resources Code is
amended 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 begin delete identified end delete begin insert agreed to end insert 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. begin insert The
prohibition on park closures, pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section
541.5, does not limit the department’s authority to enter into an
operating agreement pursuant to this section, as provided in
subdivision (e) of Section 541.5. end insert 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 of 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) (A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), all revenues
that the qualified nonprofit organization receives 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) If the qualified nonprofit organization determines that the
revenues it has received from a unit are in excess of the revenues
that are needed for the care, maintenance, operation, administration,
improvement, or development of that unit, and that these funds
are not already specified for or committed to specific purposes
pursuant to an existing agreement or contract restricting the use
of those funds, the qualified nonprofit organization may dedicate
those excess revenues to another state park unit for that unit’s care,
maintenance, operation, administration, improvement, or
development.

(4) No General Fund moneys shall be provided to a nonprofit
organization to subsidize the operation or maintenance of a park
unit. This paragraph applies to state parks, the full operation of
which are turned over to a nonprofit organization, but does not
apply to or preclude the department from entering into agreements
with nonprofit organizations to operate a portion of a state park
unit, or from entering into comanagement agreements with
nonprofit organizations that involve the sharing of operational and
financial responsibilities for the park unit and that have the effect
of reducing state costs. This paragraph does not apply to park
entrance fees, concession revenues, or any other revenues generated
within a park operated by a nonprofit organization pursuant to this
section.

(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, 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, 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 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.