BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 549 Page 1 Date of Hearing: April 28, 2015 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON WATER, PARKS, AND WILDLIFE Marc Levine, Chair AB 549 (Levine) - As Introduced February 23, 2015 SUBJECT: State park system: revenue generation program: reports SUMMARY: 1)States legislative intent to enact changes in law necessary to facilitate and expedite implementation of reforms recommended by the Parks Forward Commission to ensure a sustainable state park system for California. 2)Requires the Department of Parks & Recreation (DPR) to report to the Legislature annually by December 31st on the revenue distributed to each state park district pursuant to DPR's revenue generation program. EXISTING LAW: 1)Called for creation of the Parks Forward Commission to undertake an independent, comprehensive review of the state park system and make recommendations to the Legislature and Governor to provide for long-term sustainability of state AB 549 Page 2 parks. 2)Requires DPR to develop a revenue generation program as an essential component of a long-term sustainable park funding strategy. Requires DPR to develop revenue generation targets for each district. Requires revenue generated by the revenue generation program to be deposited in the State Parks & Recreation Fund. Revenue in excess of the revenue targets is to be transferred to the State Parks Revenue Incentives Subaccount. 50% of the revenues in the subaccount are allocated to those districts that exceeded their revenue targets, for improvement of the parks in that district. 3)Requires DPR to report to the Legislature by July 1 of each year on the revenue distributed to each district from the revenue generation incentives subaccount. FISCAL EFFECT: None; this bill is tagged non-fiscal. COMMENTS: This bill changes the due date for an annual report that DPR is required to submit to the Legislature on revenue generation incentive payments distributed to park districts as part of DPR's revenue generation program. Currently, the report is due annually on July 1st. However, because of the timing of receipts of earned income and final accountings from various contractors and vendors, which are received after the end of the fiscal year, this date is not practical. By requiring the report to be submitted by December 31st, DPR will be able to report accurately on actual payments made as opposed to estimated or projected revenues. This bill also contains legislative intent to implement changes that may be identified as necessary to implement recommendations of the Parks Forward Commission. DPR established a AB 549 Page 3 transformation team that is working on implementation of the Commission's recommendations, and other reforms, to improve operations and efficiency, and ultimately the long-term sustainability of state parks. That effort is a work in progress. If this bill is subsequently amended to address issues identified as that process progresses, it can be brought back to this committee for further review, as desired. Prior and related legislation: AB 1589 (Huffman), Chapter 533, Statutes of 2012, among other things, declared the policy of the Legislature to promote formation of a multidisciplinary advisory council, to conduct an independent assessment and make recommendations to the Legislature and Governor on reforms needed to ensure the long-term sustainability of the state park system. The Parks Forward Commission was subsequently appointed by the Secretary of Natural Resources to conduct that review in 2013. The Commission released its final report on January 30, 2015. This committee held a joint oversight hearing on the report's findings and recommendations on February 24, 2015. AB 594 (Assembly Water, Parks & Wildlife Committee), Chapter 407, Statutes of 2013, among other things, required that the incremental revenue generated from DPR's revenue generation program be deposited in the State Parks Revenue Incentives Subaccount. It also provided that in the event that future budget reductions necessitate changes in the continued operation of state park units, that DPR should achieve any required budget reductions by implementing efficiencies and increasing revenue collection or reducing services, and that full park closures be considered only as a last resort. SB 204 (Pavley), which is pending in the Senate, makes several changes that are also intended to facilitate implementation of recommendations of the Parks Forward Commission, including but not limited to, authorizing DPR to accept donations or real property or money from public or private sources to fund AB 549 Page 4 programs to benefit youth, and to enter into cooperative agreements with public or nonprofit organizations to provide service and learning opportunities for youth. REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION: Support None on file. Opposition None on file. Analysis Prepared by:Diane Colborn / W., P., & W. / (916) 319-2096 AB 549 Page 5