As California state parks begin to close, legislation may keep them open…
Photo by Debbie Stock shows Roaring Camp Railroad Steam Train in Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park, one of 278 state parks in the largest parks system of any state in the U.S.
AB 42 heads to Gov. Brown for signature after the California state Assembly passed Assembly Bill 42 sponsored by the California State Parks Foundation (CSPF) to help keep California’s state parks open.
Passage of AB 42 comes at the same time the California Department of Parks and Recreation begins closing state parks as result of an $11 million budget cut to the state parks system enacted earlier in 2011. Two cuts totaling $22 million by July 2012 could close 70 parks by next summer. AB 42 provides authority for the managing agencies to enter into operating agreements with qualified nonprofit organizations to operate part or all of a state park unit.
The bill ensures transparency in the operations of a state park by a nonprofit by requiring that:
- All revenues generated in the park stay in that park and be directed toward that park’s needs
- The nonprofit submit an annual report detailing its operating activities in the past year and hold a public meeting
- No General Fund subsidy can be given to the nonprofit to operate the state park
- The remainder of any concessions contract’s term be preserved by the nonprofit, and
- Scientific and other specialized functions be conducted only by qualified individuals and subject to state oversight.
California State Parks Foundation (CSPF) is 120,000 members strong and is committed to keeping California’s 278 state parks open. As the largest state parks system in the U.S. the assets span the state from beaches to mountains, and contain many museums with over 1 million items in the combined inventory. calparks.org.