BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2150
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 2150 (Rendon)
As Amended August 19, 2014
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |56-16|(May 29, 2014) |SENATE: |26-4 |(August 21, |
| | | | | |2014) |
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Original Committee Reference: W., P. & W.
SUMMARY : Requires the Department of Parks & Recreation (DPR) to
develop a priority list of deferred state park maintenance
projects based on specified criteria; names the division of
Community Initiatives and Park Access in DPR to facilitate,
promote, and enhance access to, and relevancy of, state parks
for underserved communities; requires the division to develop a
strategic plan; and extends the existing moratorium on state
park closures for an additional year.
The Senate amendments :
1)Add uncodified legislative findings and declarations and state
legislative intent that DPR, as a means of increasing
convenience to the public and overall park visitation,
expedite the use of new technologies for purchase of park
passes, either in advance through Internet-based secure
transactions, or onsite through use of mobile phone
technologies or credit card transactions.
2)Modify the criteria to be applied in prioritizing deferred
maintenance projects.
3)State legislative intent that DPR prioritize efforts to expand
access to parks in underserved areas. Instead of creating a
new division within DPR, rename the existing Division of
External Affairs in DPR the Division of Community Initiatives
and Park Access, and add to the Division's purposes and
objectives, convening and developing strategic partnerships
and coalitions to facilitate, promote, and enhance access to
and relevancy of state parks for underserved communities.
4)Require the Division of Community Initiatives and Park Access
within DPR, by June 30, 2017, to develop a strategic plan for
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improving park access and relevancy for urban and
traditionally underserved communities, as specified. Require
that the strategic plan include, among other things,
identification of one or more pilot projects to test and
evaluate best management practices and strategies,
identification of strategic partners, and identification of
other strategies to facilitate increased park visitation,
improved transportation options to state parks, opportunities
for active recreation, multigenerational gatherings, and other
culturally relevant amenities, and youth outreach and
leadership programs.
5)Provide that moneys allocated to DPR from the voluntary state
park tax check-off program and other nongovernmental funds
that may be made available for these purposes may be used for
purposes of implementing the chapter on the Division of
Community Initiatives and Park Access.
6)Strike the amendments to Public Resource Code Section 5010.7
regarding DPR's revenue generation program, leaving that
section as it currently reads under existing law.
7)Strike the urgency clause.
EXISTING LAW :
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 collect fees, rents and other returns for
the use of state parks with amounts to be determined by DPR.
3)Prohibits DPR from closing or proposing to close a state park
in the 2012-13 or 2013-14 fiscal year.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill required DPR to develop an
updated priority list of deferred maintenance projects, and
required that a new division of Community Initiatives and Park
Access be created within DPR by July 1, 2015. The purposes of
the new division would include promoting and enhancing access to
and relevancy of state parks for urban and underserved
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communities; working in partnership with other entities to
increase the capacity of local communities to meet the
recreational and open space needs of their residents;
implementing recruitment policies designed to diversify the
department's workforce; and identifying other barriers to park
access and developing strategies and recommendations to remove
those barriers. This bill also extended the current moratorium
on state park closures for an additional year to July 1, 2015;
required DPR in expending certain revenue generation funds to
give first priority to implementation of an integrated statewide
enterprise system that would modernize DPR's fee collection,
reservations, sales, and data collection systems; and extended
the sunset date on the State Park Enterprise Fund. This bill as
passed by the Assembly also included an urgency clause.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations Committee
analysis:
1)Unknown loss of potential General Fund savings associated with
extending the moratorium on park closures for an additional
year.
2)One-time costs of a few hundred thousand to $500,000 from the
State Parks and Recreation Fund (special) for the development
of a strategic action plan.
3)Cost pressures in the millions of dollars to the State Parks
and Recreation Fund (special) for the implementation of the
strategic action plan.
COMMENTS : This bill makes a number of statutory changes to help
address challenges facing California's state parks system. In
order to enhance access and relevancy of state parks to
underserved communities, this bill names the Division of
Community Initiatives and Park Access within DPR, and calls for
development of strategic plan to further these goals. This bill
also requires DPR to develop, from its backlog of deferred
maintenance projects, an updated priority list of the most
urgent, vetted projects. This bill also extends the sunset date
on the existing moratorium on state park closures for an
additional year.
The main difference between this bill as passed by the Assembly
and as amended by the Senate is that the Assembly version would
have created a new Division of Community Initiatives and Park
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Access, while the Senate amendments instead rename the existing
division of External Affairs in DPR as the Division of Community
Initiatives and Park Access, and add to the newly named
division's responsibilities the development of a strategic plan
to enhance park access and relevancy for underserved
communities. The Senate amendments also remove some provisions
of this bill regarding DPR's revenue generation program and the
related urgency clause because those provisions were addressed
through the resources budget trailer bill.
Analysis Prepared by : Diane Colborn / W., P. & W. / (916)
319-2096
FN: 0005008