BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2150|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2150
Author: Rendon (D)
Amended: 8/19/14 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE NATURAL RESOURCES AND WATER COMMITTEE : 8-0, 6/24/14
AYES: Pavley, Cannella, Evans, Hueso, Jackson, Lara, Monning,
Wolk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Fuller
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 5-0, 8/14/14
AYES: De Le�n, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
NO VOTE RECORDED: Walters, Gaines
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 56-16, 5/29/14 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Department of Parks and Recreation
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill establishes new requirements for the
Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) that aim to preserve
and improve access to parks and maintain state park facilities.
ANALYSIS : Existing law:
1.Places responsibility of the state park system, which includes
all parks, public camp grounds, monument sites, landmark
sites, and sites of historical interest established or
acquired by the state, with DPR.
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2.Requires DPR to administer, protect, develop, and interpret
the property under its jurisdiction for the use and enjoyment
of the public.
3.Authorizes DPR to expend all monies of the department for the
care, protection, supervision, extension, and improvement or
development of the property under its jurisdiction.
4.Requires the State Park and Recreation Commission to evaluate
and assess the DPR's deferred obligations, as specified.
This bill:
1.Requires DPR to develop an updated priority list of deferred
maintenance projects for which verifiable project cost
estimates have been completed, and requires DPR to apply
specified priority factors in identifying projects for
inclusion on the list.
2.Extends the current moratorium on state park closures and
related provisions through fiscal year 2014-15.
3.Renames the DPR's Division of External Affairs the Division of
Community Initiatives and Park Access (DCIPA) and charges the
new division with facilitating, promoting, and enhancing
access to, and relevancy of, state parks for underserved
communities.
4.Requires, on or before June 30, 2017, the DCIPA, in
consultation with other relevant state and local agencies,
nonprofit organizations, schools, public health entities, and
community-based organizations, shall develop a strategic
action plan for improving park access and relevancy for urban
and traditionally underserved populations. The strategic
action plan shall include, but need not be limited to, all of
the following:
A. Identification of one or more pilot projects in
underserved regions to test and evaluate best management
practices and strategies to enhance park access and to meet
the park needs of underserved communities. It is the intent
of the Legislature that the pilot projects include
engagement of local communities and local park agencies in
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the planning process and an assessment of park assets and
park needs of residents living in the designated
underserved region of each pilot project.
B. Identification and engagement of strategic partners,
including, but not necessarily limited to, local, regional,
and national park providers, local governments and special
districts, other state agencies that serve disadvantaged
communities, education and public health entities, and
other community-based groups interested in working
collaboratively to address the park and open-space needs of
residents.
C. Identification of strategies for developing and
implementing partnerships, projects, programs, and other
initiatives to facilitate all of the following:
1) Increased visitation to state parks,
particularly visitation by those in underserved
communities in park poor areas.
2) Improved transportation options to existing
state parks.
3) Opportunities for active recreation,
multigenerational gatherings, and other culturally
relevant amenities.
A. Identification of partnerships, programs, and other
initiatives to address the park and recreational needs of
underserved youth and young adults, and to connect youth
and young adults with nature and the outdoors, including,
but not necessarily limited to, programs such as youth
internships that focus on development of leadership skills
and provide a pathway for young adults to pursue
park-related careers.
B. Identification of other barriers to state park access
and development of strategies and recommendations to remove
those barriers.
Background
DPR is charged with control of the state park system and the
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responsibility for administering, protecting, developing and
interpreting state parks for the use and enjoyment of the
public. DPR is also charged with protecting the state parks
system from damage and maintaining the peace at state parks.
DPR is authorized to collect fees, rents and other returns for
the use of state parks with those amounts to be determined by
DPR.
The Legislature established the State Parks Revenue Incentives
Subaccount within the State Park and Recreation Fund and
provided that funds in the subaccount are continuously
appropriated to DPR until June 30, 2014 to create incentives for
revenue generating projects in state parks. The control language
for that provision states that DPR shall use 50% of the funds
deposited into the subaccount to fund capital costs of
construction and installation of new revenue and fee collection
equipment and technologies and other physical upgrades to
existing facilities, and for other costs of restoring,
rehabilitating, and improving the state park system and its
natural, historical and visitor-serving resources that enhance
visitation and create opportunities to increase revenues.
The Legislature also established the State Park Enterprise Fund
as a working capital fund, and makes revenues in the fund
available to the department upon appropriation for encumbrance
and expenditure until June 30, 2014.
After the possibility of closing several dozen parks was floated
by the administration at various times in the past few years,
the Legislature adopted language prohibiting DPR from closing or
proposing to close a state park in the 2012-13 or 2013-14 fiscal
years.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Unknown loss of potential General Fund savings associated with
extending the moratorium on park closures for an additional
year.
One-time costs of a few hundred thousand to $500,000 from the
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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.
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/19/14)
California State Parks Foundation
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
Sierra Club California
State Park Partners Coalition
Trust for Public Land
Watershed Conservation Authority
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The California State Parks Foundation
supports the additional transparency to the deferred maintenance
list as well as extending the moratorium on closures. The
County of Los Angeles also supports the effort to update the
approach to deferred maintenance and the new approach to
disadvantaged communities. The Trust for Public Land supports
all of the provisions in the bill.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 56-16, 5/29/14
AYES: Alejo, Ammiano, Bloom, Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta,
Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian Calderon, Campos, Chau,
Chesbro, Cooley, Dababneh, Daly, Dickinson, Eggman, Fong, Fox,
Frazier, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Hall,
Roger Hern�ndez, Holden, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Lowenthal,
Medina, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Olsen, Pan, Perea, John
A. P�rez, V. Manuel P�rez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon,
Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Weber,
Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, Atkins
NOES: Allen, Dahle, Donnelly, Beth Gaines, Grove, Hagman, Jones,
Logue, Maienschein, Mansoor, Melendez, Nestande, Patterson,
Wagner, Waldron, Wilk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Achadjian, Bigelow, Ch�vez, Conway, Gorell,
Harkey, Linder, Vacancy
RM:nl 8/19/14 Senate Floor Analyses
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SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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