BILL ANALYSIS Ó
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 594|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|1020 N Street, Suite 524 | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
CONSENT
Bill No: AB 594
Author: Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee
Amended: 8/14/13 in Senate
Vote: 27 - Urgency
SENATE NATURAL RESOURCES AND WATER COMMITTEE : 9-0, 6/25/13
AYES: Pavley, Cannella, Evans, Fuller, Hueso, Jackson, Lara,
Monning, Wolk
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 77-0, 5/29/13 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : State parks: operating agreements: park closures
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill makes technical and clarifying changes to
AB 1478 (Blumenfield, Chapter 530, Statutes of 2012) following
revelations of fiscal mismanagement by Department of Parks and
Recreation (DPR). Clarification is needed regarding DPR's
authority to enter into operating agreements with nonprofit
organizations during the time period of the current moratorium
on state park closures. This bill modifies existing law
relating to the process required for any future proposed park
closures.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
CONTINUED
AB 594
Page
2
1. Establishes the California state park system and vests DPR
with control of the state park system and responsibility for
administering, protecting, developing and interpreting state
parks for the use and enjoyment of the public. Requires DPR
to protect the state park system from damage and to preserve
the peace therein.
2. Authorizes DPR to enter into agreements with private entities
to assist DPR in securing long-term private funding sources
for units of the state park system, and to ensure that the
parks are preserved and open to the public for their use and
enjoyment. DPR's authority includes but is not limited to
securing donations, memberships, corporate and individual
sponsorships, and marketing and licensing agreements.
3. Authorizes DPR to collect fees, rents and other returns for
the use of state parks with amounts to be determined by DPR.
4. Authorizes DPR to enter into operating agreements with
qualified nonprofit entities that will enable DPR to keep
parks open that would otherwise be subject to closure.
5. Requires DPR to achieve required budget reductions by
closing, partially closing, and reducing services at selected
units of the state park system based on specified factors,
but places a two-year moratorium on park closures for the
2012-13 and 2013-14 fiscal years.
6. Creates the State Parks Revenue Incentives Subaccount (SPRI
Subaccount) within the State Parks and Recreation Fund (SPRF)
and provides that funds in the Subaccount are continuously
appropriated to DPR until June 30, 2016, to create incentives
for revenue generating projects in state parks.
7. Requires the DPR to develop a revenue generation program as
an essential component of a long-term sustainable park
funding strategy. Requires the incremental revenue generated
by the revenue generation program to be deposited into the
SPRF and transferred to the California State Park Enterprise
Fund (SPEF), as provided, once revenue targets have been met
and the excess revenue is identified.
8. Requires the DPR to allocate 50% of the total amount of
CONTINUED
AB 594
Page
3
revenues deposited into the SPEF, generated by a park
district to that district if the amount of revenues generated
exceeds the targeted revenue amount prescribed in the revenue
generation program and requires the department to use 50% of
the funds deposited into the SPEF for specific purposes.
This bill:
1. Clarifies that the two-year moratorium on state park
closures enacted in 2012 does not limit or affect DPR's
authority to enter into operating agreements with qualified
nonprofit organizations for the purpose of operating a state
park.
2. Requires DPR, in the event any parks are proposed for
closure in the future, to document and publicly disclose the
methodology, rationale and scoring system used to evaluate
and select parks for proposed closure, and modifies the
criteria DPR must consider.
3. Requires that the rate of visitation be measured not only
based on the raw number of visitations to the park unit, but
also the extent to which the total capacity of the park unit
is used. It adds to the criteria to be considered prior to
closure factors of fire risk, any disproportionate impact of
one region compared to another, and any reduction in
facilities within state parks that may comply with the
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Eliminates
proximity to other closed park units as a factor for closure,
and adds additional factors for consideration, including the
extent to which closure of a unit would increase public
safety hazards or impair the state's ability to protect
iconic natural and historical resources.
4. Requires the State Parks and Recreation Commission to hold a
public hearing on any park unit closures that are proposed by
the DPR on or after July 1, 2014.
5. Clarifies legislative intent that DPR achieve any required
budget reductions by implementing efficiencies and increasing
revenue collections, and that full park closures be
considered only as a last option after other feasible
alternatives, including but not limited to, operating
agreements with qualified nonprofits and local governments
CONTINUED
AB 594
Page
4
are explored.
6. Clarifies that funds in a subaccount continuously
appropriated in last year's budget to provide incentives for
revenue generation in park districts may be used for capital
outlay projects.
7. Requires that the incremental revenue generated by the
program that is to be deposited into the SPRF. Revenue as
identified as being in excess of the revenue targets to be
transferred to the SPRI Subaccount, rather than the SPEF, and
retains the same requirements for the allocation to a
district and use of the revenues, as described.
8. Requires the DPR to report to the Legislature, commencing on
July 1, 2014, and annually on or before each July 1
thereafter, on the revenue distributed to each district.
Comments
In 2011, DPR proposed to close 70 state parks as a result of
budget reductions. The Legislature responded by enacting AB 42
(Huffman, Chapter 450, Statutes of 2011) which authorized DPR to
enter into operating agreements with nonprofit organizations in
order to keep some of the parks open to the public. A number of
nonprofit groups, local governments and other donors contributed
funds to DPR and entered into operating agreements to keep parks
from closing. In July 2012 it was revealed that DPR had failed
to disclose a $20 million reserve in the SPRF to the Legislature
and the Department of Finance. After that disclosure, the
Legislature enacted AB 1478 which, among other things, placed a
two-year moratorium on all state park closures. The enactment
of the moratorium under AB 1478 created a potential legal
ambiguity as to whether DPR still had the authority to enter
into operating agreements for the full operation of a state park
while the moratorium was in effect. Partial closures were not
affected.
The Legislature's intent in authorizing DPR to enter into
nonprofit operating agreements was to give DPR additional tools
to avoid park closure. Facilitating such collaborative
partnerships is a key strategy in enabling DPR to keep the parks
open and accessible to the public. The operating agreements
allow DPR to avoid closing state parks, which is also the
CONTINUED
AB 594
Page
5
purpose of the moratorium.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/16/13)
Anza-Borrego Foundation
Benicia State Parks Association
Bidwell Mansion Community Project
Blue Wind Adobe Trust
Calaveras Big Trees Association
California League of Park Associations
California Parks and Recreation Society
California State Parks Foundation
Central Coast State Parks Association
Chino Hills State Park Interpretive Association
Coastside State Parks Association
Cuyamaca Rancho state Park Interpretive
Freinds4Picacho
Friends of Channel Coast State Park
Friends of China Camp
Friends of Lake Folsom and Natoma
Friends of Palomar Mountain State Park
Friends of Pio Pico
LandPaths
Los Encinos Docent Association
Mendocino Area Parks Association
Mojave River Natural History Association
Mountain Parks Foundation
Plumas Eureka State Park
Point Cabrillo Light Keepers Association
Red Rock Canyon Interpretive Association
Save Saddleback Fund
Sea and Desert Interpretative Association
Sempervirens Fund
South Yuba River Citizen's League
South Yuba River Park Association
Stewards of the Coast and Redwoods
The Trust for Public Land
Valley of the Moon Natural History Association
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : A coalition of parks advocates,
nonprofit partners of parks, and conservation groups expressed
CONTINUED
AB 594
Page
6
its support for this bill because of the importance in
clarifying that the state should be able to continue to work
with these groups even for parks not faced with closure. Such
an interpretation has been offered by some and by changing the
language in AB 1478, that interpretation would be repudiated.
Older law also directed DPR to consider closures to adjust to
budget shortfalls. A new approach, codified in 2012, instead
suggests that DPR focus on efficiencies, revenue generation, and
service reductions prior to instituting closures. This bill
also requires a public hearing before closure.
A recent amendment added an urgency clause to enable DPR to
enter into agreements to implement last year's provisions
without delay. DPR is currently negotiating agreements with
four non-profits. Another recent amendment restored language
authorizing DPR to consider cost efficiencies in evaluating
proposed park closures.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 77-0, 5/29/13
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom,
Blumenfield, Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown,
Buchanan, Ian Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway,
Cooley, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox,
Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon,
Gorell, Gray, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hernández,
Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Logue, Lowenthal, Maienschein,
Mansoor, Medina, Melendez, Mitchell, Morrell, Mullin,
Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea,
V. Manuel Pérez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Salas, Skinner,
Stone, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk,
Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Holden, Linder, Vacancy
RM:k 8/21/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
**** END ****
CONTINUED
AB 594
Page
7
CONTINUED