BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de Le�n, Chair
AB 2150 (Rendon) - Department of Parks and Recreation.
Amended: August 4, 2014 Policy Vote: NR&W 8-0
Urgency: No Mandate: No
Hearing Date: August 4, 2014 Consultant:
Marie Liu
This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill Summary: AB 2150 would establish new requirements for the
Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) that aim to preserve
and improve access to parks and maintain state park facilities.
Fiscal Impact:
Unknown loss of potential General Fund savings associated
with extending the moratorium on park closures for an
additional year.
One-time costs of $500,000 from State Parks Revenue
Incentive Subaccount (special) or the California State Park
Enterprise Fund (special) for an IT contract to develop a
pilot project using mobile phone technology to purchase
passes.
One-time costs of a few hundred thousand to $800,000 from
the State Parks and Recreation Fund (special) for the
development of a strategic action plan.
Cost pressures in the millions of dollars to the State
Parks and Recreation Fund (special) for the implementation
of the strategic action plan.
Background: DPR is charged with the control of the state park
system and responsibility for administering, protecting,
developing and interpreting state parks for the use and
enjoyment of the public.
AB 1478 (Blumenfield) Chapter 530, Statutes of 2012 created the
State Park Enterprise Fund as a working capital fund, and makes
revenues in the fund available to DPR for revenue generating
infrastructure enhancements.
SB 1018 (Budget) Chapter 39, Statutes of 2012 created the State
Parks Revenue Incentive Subaccount which receives $15.34 million
AB 2150 (Rendon)
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annually from the State Parks and Recreation Fund. DPR may use
up to $11 million a year on administration and development of
the state park system and $4.3 million on revenue incentives to
park districts and auditing services.
Proposed Law: This bill would require DPR to take multiple
actions regarding the use and protection of state parks.
Specifically this bill would:
Require DPR to develop a priority list of deferred maintenance
projects based on specified criteria;
Extend the moratorium on state park closures through FY
2014-15;
Require DPR to establish a three-year pilot program by
December 31, 2016 to use mobile telephone technologies to
enable visitors to purchase and print appropriate passes. DPR
would be required to maintain data on visitorship, park
revenue, and the use of passes purchased with mobile telephone
technologies. The pilot program may be funded by the State
Parks Revenue Incentive Subaccount or the California State
Park Enterprise Fund. This provision would sunset on January
1, 2020;
Rename the DPR's Division of External Affairs the Division of
Community Initiatives and Park Access (DCIPA) and charge the
new division with facilitating, promoting, and enhancing
access to, and relevancy of, state parks for underserved
communities; and
Require DCIPA to develop a strategic action plan by December
31, 2015 for improving park access for urban and traditionally
underserved populations. The strategic action plan would be
required to have up to three pilot projects to test and
evaluate best management practices and strategies to enhance
park access and new models to meet community needs.
Staff Comments: Regarding the development of a priority list of
deferred state park maintenance projects, the DPR has already
completed actions to fulfill the requirements of this bill.
Thus, this provision of the bill has no new state costs.
Regarding the extension of the moratorium on state park closures
for an additional year, this bill would have costs associated
with the inability to achieve operational savings through park
closures. However, the amount of potential savings forgone is
unknown.
AB 2150 (Rendon)
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Regarding the three-year pilot program to use mobile
technologies to purchase and print appropriate passes, DPR
anticipates needing a $500,000 contract for the necessary IT
work. DPR has already taken actions to collect statewide data
which would satisfy the bill's data collection requirements, so
there will be no additional costs for that particular provision
of the bill. Staff notes that there are sufficient funds within
the State Parks Revenue Incentive Subaccount and the California
State Park Enterprise Fund to fund this project. However, to the
extent that the subaccount is used for this project, fewer funds
will be available for other non-statutorily required programs
that may increase revenues.
Regarding the development of a strategic action plan to improve
park access, DPR's likely costs will range from a few hundred
thousand to $800,000, partially depending on how encompassing
the plan becomes and how many pilot projects it will include.
Once the plan is completed, there will be cost pressures for the
implementation of the plan, including for pilot projects
developed under the plan. The implementation costs will likely
be in the millions of dollars.
Staff notes that section 3 and 4 of the bill contains codified
legislative intent language. In the interest of code clarity and
efficiency, staff recommends the author consider placing the
findings and declarations in an uncodified section of the bill.