Amended in Assembly June 29, 2016

Amended in Assembly June 23, 2016

Senate Bill No. 1111

Introduced by Senator Pavley

February 17, 2016

An act to amend Sections 5003.17, 5080.40, and 5080.42 of, and to add Article 1.5 (commencing with Section 520) to Chapter 1 of Division 1 of, the Public Resources Code, relating to state parks.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 1111, as amended, Pavley. State parks: operating agreements.

Existing law vests control of the state park system with the Department of Parks and Recreation and authorizes the department to 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 begin delete parks end delete begin insert park end insert system, as provided. Existing law provides that the department may only enter into an operating agreement for the entirety of a park unit for no more than 20 park units.

This bill would delete begin delete this end delete begin insert that end insert provision. The bill would authorize the department to enter into a strategic partnership with a park support organization, as defined, begin insert to facilitate implementation of reforms recommended by the Parks Forward Commission and end insert to develop and secure expertise, services, resources, and projects that are not readily available to the state park system for specified purposes relating to the funding, maintenance, visitation, use, facilities, and staffing of state parks, as provided. The bill would require the department to take specified actions relating to the development and implementation of such a strategic partnership and would authorize the Director begin delete of the Department end delete of Parks and Recreation, or the director’s designee, to serve as an ex officio, nonvoting member of the park support organization’s board of directors. The bill would require the department to collaborate with the park support organization to develop an annual list of strategic initiatives and projects that are priorities for the state park system. The bill would authorize the department to receive donations of projects, services, and funds to be used for the support of the state park system. The bill would specify that the Director of Finance and the Attorney General shall have 60 days to review and approve or disapprove any strategic partnership agreement or substantial amendment of such an agreement.

Existing law authorizes the department to lease, for any use, all or any portion of any parcel of real property acquired for state park system purposes, if the director finds that the use would be compatible with the use of the real property as a unit or part of a unit and with the sound management and conservation of resources within the unit, but prohibits the department from entering into a lease that extends beyond 10 years unless certain conditions for the review and approval of a proposed lease as part of the annual budget process are met.

This bill would revise certain of those conditions for the review and approval of a proposed lease by appropriate policy and fiscal Committees of the Legislature, including the Joint begin delete Legislature end delete begin insert Legislative end insert Budget Committee, as specified.

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) Changes to existing law are necessary to facilitate
implementation of reforms that have been recommended by the
Parks Forward Commission to ensure vibrant and sustainable parks
for all Californians and for present and future generations.

(b) The Department of Parks and Recreation needs to establish
a new strategic partnership with a nonprofit park support
organization that would complement and support the work of the
department by bringing new resources, expertise, and flexibility
to assist the department in accomplishing its mission.

SEC. 2.  

Article 1.5 (commencing with Section 520) is added
to Chapter 1 of Division 1 of the Public Resources Code, to read:

 

Article 1.5.  PARK SUPPORT ORGANIZATION

 

520.  

For purposes of this article, the following terms shall have
the following meanings:

(a) “Park support organization” means a nonprofit organization
that meets all of the following requirements:

(1) Is exempt from taxation pursuant to Section 501(c)(3) of
the Internal Revenue Code.

(2) Is established for the principal purpose of increasing park
access and visitation in ways that serve all Californians and visitors
to the state, promote healthy lifestyles and community engagement,
and support the protection and stewardship of California’s natural,
cultural, and historical lands, sites, and resources.

(3) Complies 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).

(b) “Priority list” means the annual list of strategic initiatives
and projects developed by the department and begin insert the end insert park support
organization pursuant to Section 523.

521.  

(a) The department may enter into a strategic partnership
with a park support organization begin insert to facilitate the implementation
of reforms recommended by the Parks Forward Commission and end insert
to develop and secure expertise, services, resources, and projects
that are not readily available to the state park system, for all of the
following purposes:

(1) To develop and engage new sources of public and private
funding for the state park system, including philanthropic sources
and enterprise and revenue generation activities, where appropriate.

(2) To support marketing and communications activities that
promote the programs, amenities, and resources of the state park
system, the department, and its partners.

(3) To support projects that facilitate park access and visitation,
particularly among younger and more diverse audiences.

(4) To promote the human health and well-being of the state’s
residents.

(5) To establish begin delete and improve end delete begin insert or improve, and aid in the
completion of projects that establish or improve, end insert state park visitor
amenities and facilities.

(6) To recruit more diverse staffing and improve capacity for
state park programs.

(7) To advance the protection and stewardship of natural,
cultural, and historic lands, sites, and resources.

(b) If the department enters into a strategic partnership with a
begin delete nonprofit end delete park support organization, begin delete it end delete begin insert the department end insert shall do all
of the following:

(1) Collaborate with the park support organization, on an
ongoing basis, to identify, develop, and implement strategic
initiatives and projects that are priorities for the state park system.

(2) Communicate and coordinate with other park agencies,
partners, friends, and volunteers to ensure that activities undertaken
pursuant to the strategic partnership complement, and do not
supplant, ongoing partnerships, programs, and projects in support
of the state park system.

(3) Engage with the park support organization and other public
agencies and organizations that manage, operate, and support other
parks and protected lands in the state.

522.  

The director, or the director’s designee, may serve as an
ex officio, nonvoting member of the park support organization’s
board of directors in order to provide for effective communication
and coordination of efforts between the department and the park
support organization.

523.  

(a) If the department forms a strategic partnership with
a park support organization pursuant to this article, the department
shall collaborate with the park support organization to develop an
annual list of strategic initiatives and projects that are priorities
for the state park system and that the park support organization
will undertake in partnership with the department.

(b)  begin insert (1) end insert begin insert   end insert Any initiative or project included on the priority list
shall be consistent with the purposes begin delete of end delete begin insert specified in end insert subdivision
(a) of Section 521.

begin insert

(2) For the first three years of the agreement entered into
pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 524, the park support
organization and the department shall prioritize a limited subset
of focus areas and projects from the list of purposes specified in
subdivision (a) of Section 521, consistent with paragraph (2) of
subdivision (b) of Section 521.

end insert

(c) The department shall ensure that the priority list is prepared
in sufficient time to inform proposals for potential allocations of
funding in the annual Budget Act.

(d) The department shall post a copy of the priority list on its
Internet Web site, and shall provide copies of the list to the
chairpersons of the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee,
the Assembly Committee on Budget, the Senate begin insert Committee on end insert
Natural Resources and begin delete Water Committee, end delete begin insert Water, end insert and the Assembly
begin insert Committee on end insert Water, Parks, and begin delete Wildlife Committee. end delete begin insert Wildlife. end insert

524.  

(a) In order to establish and facilitate a strategic
partnership as described in subdivision (a) of Section 521, the
department shall enter into an agreement with the park support
organization that, at a minimum, shall include and specify all of
the following:

(1) Clear goals and objectives.

(2) Any commitments of oversight, staffing, and coordination
that are needed to accomplish the goals and objectives.

(3) The process for developing the priority list pursuant to
Section 523.

(b) (1) The department may develop and enter into
supplementary agreements with the park support organization for
the purposes of securing any expertise, capacity, or financial
resources that may be needed to identify, plan, develop, or
implement strategic initiatives and projects on the priority list.
Any such agreement may include, but not be limited to, grants,
contracts, memoranda of understanding, staff-sharing agreements,
leases, and rights of entry onto state park property.

(2) Notwithstanding Section 5003.17, the department may lease
to the park support organization, for a minimum rental of one dollar
($1.00) per year, real property that is owned by the state and
included in any unit of the state park system, if the lease agreement
requires the park support organization to construct, or provide for
the construction of, a structure or improvement on the leased
property and specifies that title to the structure or improvement
shall vest in the state at the expiration of the lease term. The
agreement may provide for the means or method by which title to
the structure or improvement shall vest in the state before the
expiration of that term.

(3) Notwithstanding Part 2 (commencing with Section 10100)
of Division 2 of the Public Contract Code, any agreements entered
into by the department pursuant to this subdivision shall be under
the control of the department and shall not be subject to any
advertising or competitive bidding requirements applicable to
public works or other public projects.

(c) The director may receive donations of projects, services,
and funds from the park support organization as authorized by
Sections 5005, 5009.1, 5009.2, and 5009.3.

(d) Subject to the availability of funds appropriated for that
purpose and pursuant to an agreement established under subdivision
(b), the department may provide funds to the park support
organization for purposes of identifying, planning, developing, or
implementing strategic initiatives and projects on the priority list.

(e) The Director of Finance and the Attorney General shall have
60 days to review and approve or disapprove any strategic
partnership agreement or any substantial amendment to such
agreement, proposed under subdivision (a). Upon approval of the
agreement, or substantial amendment, the director may accept
donations and enter into agreements as authorized under
subdivisions (b) and (c).

525.  

Nothing in this article shall be interpreted as a limitation
on the ability of the park support organization to apply for, receive,
or administer grants, loans, or other funds from public entities
other than the department.

SEC. 3.  

Section 5003.17 of the Public Resources Code is
amended to read:

5003.17.  

(a) The department may lease, for any use, all or any
portion of any parcel of real property acquired for state park system
purposes, if the director finds that the use would be compatible
with the use of the real property as a unit or part of a unit and with
the sound management and conservation of resources within the
unit.

(b) Rent shall be based on the fair market value of the property
when used for the purpose for which it is leased. All rent shall be
deposited pursuant to Section 5010.

(c) The lease term shall not exceed 10 years. All leases are
subject to the approval of the Department of General Services.

(d) No lease shall be entered into that extends beyond the
10-year period unless both of the following conditions are met:

(1) At least 30 days’ prior written notice of the proposed lease,
including a copy of the proposed lease, has been provided by the
director to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the
Legislature, including the Joint Legislative Budget Committee.

(2) The director has included with the proposed lease sufficient
documentation to enable the Joint Legislative Budget Committee,
and any other appropriate legislative policy and fiscal committees,
to determine whether the lease conforms to the requirements of
this article and to evaluate fully all terms upon which the lease is
proposed to be let, including the amount of the rent and other
revenues that may be generated under the lease.

SEC. 4.  

Section 5080.40 of the Public Resources Code is
amended to read:

5080.40.  

(a) No operating lease or agreement shall be entered
into, or amended, pursuant to this article unless at least 30 days’
written notice and a copy of the proposed operating lease or
agreement, or amendment, has been provided by the director to
the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature
and to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee.

(b) The director shall include with the proposed lease or
agreement or amendment sufficient documentation to enable the
Joint Legislative Budget Committee, and any other appropriate
policy or fiscal committees of the Legislature, to evaluate fully
the estimated operating costs and revenues and all terms upon
which the lease or agreement or amendment is proposed to be
entered into. Specifically, the documentation shall identify both
of the following:

(1) Any anticipated costs to the state for operation or
development under the lease or agreement or amendment and the
anticipated state share of total operation and development costs.

(2) The anticipated annual revenues, net of operation costs, for
the unit and the state’s share of these revenues.

(c) Leases or agreements shall be exempt from subdivisions (a)
and (b) when all of the following conditions exist:

(1) The lease or agreement involves operation of only a portion
of a unit of the state park system.

(2) The term of the lease or agreement is for a period of 20 years
or less.

(3) The lease’s or agreement’s impact to the unit, including
concessions revenue, will not exceed five hundred thousand dollars
($500,000) in annual gross revenue generated on the property.

(4) The lease or agreement involves no significant change in
state operational funding or staffing levels, and does not include
present or future state expenditures for development of the unit.

(d) Amendments to existing leases or agreements shall be
exempt from subdivisions (a) and (b) when all of the following
conditions exist:

(1) The amendment involves operation of only a portion of a
unit of the state park system.

(2) The amendment’s impact to the unit will not exceed five
hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) in annual gross revenue
generated on the property.

(3) The amendment involves no significant change in state
operational funding or staffing levels, and does not include present
or future state expenditures for development of the unit.

SEC. 5.  

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 agreed to by the director. 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. 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) General Fund moneys shall not 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 begin delete Act, Article end delete
begin insert Act (Article end insert 7 (commencing with Section 12580) of Chapter 6 of
Part 2 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government begin delete Code. end delete begin insert Code). end insert

(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.