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SB-633 State parks.(2013-2014)

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Enrolled  August 25, 2014
Passed  IN  Senate  August 22, 2014
Passed  IN  Assembly  August 19, 2014
Amended  IN  Assembly  August 04, 2014
Amended  IN  Assembly  June 24, 2014
Amended  IN  Assembly  August 06, 2013
Amended  IN  Senate  May 06, 2013
Amended  IN  Senate  April 11, 2013
Amended  IN  Senate  April 02, 2013

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2013–2014 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill
No. 633

Introduced by Senator Pavley

February 22, 2013

An act to amend Section 5080.16 of, to add Sections 530.5, 547, 5010.8, and 5019.93 to, and to add and repeal Sections 5003.9 and 5080.22 of, the Public Resources Code, relating to state parks.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 633, Pavley. State parks.
(1) Existing law establishes the Department of Parks and Recreation and vests the department with the control of the state park system. Existing law authorizes the department to enter into concession contracts for the construction, maintenance, and convenience of the general public in the use and enjoyment of units of the state park system. Existing law authorizes the department, whenever significant savings can be achieved by the department, to enter into a contract with specified entities regarding the collection of revenues for, and the operation of a reservation system for, the state park system. Under its existing authority, the department has created regional park passes and other passes that serve the needs of visitors interested in parks with a shared theme or within a region.
This bill would require the Department of Parks and Recreation, on or before July 1, 2015, to prepare a report to the Legislature that fully addresses the department’s energy costs, projects that could reduce those costs, and potential energy-related infrastructure projects, as specified. The bill would require the department, until January 1, 2018, and from available appropriated funds, to establish a pilot program for mobile food and beverage services in multiple units and in multiple locations, if feasible, and to assess and report on the suitability, increase in visitation, and visitor satisfaction regarding the program. The bill would also expressly authorize the department to engage in activities to increase the opportunities to sell park passes through vendors and would require the department, on or before July 1, 2016, to report to the Legislature on those activities. The bill would require the department, on or before December 31, 2015 and from available appropriated funds, to establish a minimum of 2 additional regional passes available to park visitors for purchase.
(2) Existing law establishes the State Park and Recreation Commission and vests the commission with specified authorities regarding the operation and development of the state park system. Existing law requires the Franchise Tax Board to revise the individual taxpayer return form to allow an individual to designate a contribution in excess of tax liability be made to the State Parks Protection Fund to be used for, among other purposes, the protection and preservation of state parks.
This bill would require the commission’s costs be reflected separately and displayed in the annual budget proposed by the Governor. The bill would require the commission to hold one or more public hearings to further the public process that may be initiated by the Department of Parks and Recreation to select one or more annual projects to receive funding from taxpayer contributions. The bill would require the commission and the department to create one or more “projects of the year” to be funded by those contributions and to post information about the public selection process and the chosen projects on its Internet Web site.
(3) Existing law authorizes the Director of Parks and Recreation to negotiate or renegotiate a concession contract if specified conditions exist.
This bill would additionally authorize the director to negotiate or renegotiate a concession contract if the services provided pursuant to the contract will have minimal impact on state park resources, are inherently mobile or transitory in nature, and do not occupy a state-owned structure.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(1) Recent legislation establishing a moratorium on closure of state parks, a matching funds program to help keep state parks open, increased outreach to the public through the use of creative partnerships and other innovative tools, and other provisions have helped stabilize the Department of Parks and Recreation and broaden its financial base.
(2) Ongoing efforts by the Parks Forward Commission, the State Parks and Recreation Commission, and the Department of Parks and Recreation to develop a more secure financial base for the department through the increased use of pilot projects, the sale of specialized or regional passes, and other internal reforms are providing early signs of success that should be strengthened.
(3) The directives in Sections 5010.8, 5019.93, and 5080.22 of the Public Resources Code added by this act are based on existing authority of the Department of Parks and Recreation.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature that, in implementing Section 5080.22 of the Public Resources Code, the Department of Parks and Recreation not compete with existing concession contracts that provide comparable food and beverage services to the public.

SEC. 2.

 Section 530.5 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:

530.5.
 (a) The Legislature finds and declares that the commission’s costs should be reflected separately in the annual budget so that there is transparency as to those costs and the capability to determine if the commission is adequately funded.
(b) The commission’s costs shall be reflected separately in a format approved by the Department of Finance and shall be displayed in the annual budget proposed by the Governor.

SEC. 3.

 Section 547 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:

547.
 (a) It is the intent of the Legislature that the commission and the Department of Parks and Recreation cooperate to increase public support of, and involvement with, the department and to generate greater tax-deductible contributions to the department through Section 18900.1 of the Revenue and Taxation Code by soliciting public input into how these contributions are proposed to be spent. The commission and department shall create one or more “projects of the year” to be funded by the public’s tax-deductible contributions.
(b) Projects shall be selected through a process in which the public helps decide which project or projects receive funding. Projects may include, but are not limited to, the repair, preservation, restoration, or rehabilitation of natural or cultural resources. Projects may also include programs that facilitate increased park visitation by underserved communities.
(c) The commission shall hold one or more public hearings to further the public process that may be initiated by the Department of Parks and Recreation to select one or more annual projects to receive revenue from the tax-deductible contributions from the public generated pursuant to Section 18900.1 of the Revenue and Taxation Code.
(d) The department shall post information about the public selection process and the chosen projects on its Internet Web site.

SEC. 4.

 Section 5003.9 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:

5003.9.
 (a) The Legislature finds and declares that the department should identify its energy costs, projects that could reduce those costs, and potential energy-related infrastructure projects that may be eligible for funding from revenues that may be generated pursuant to a market-based compliance mechanism that may be adopted by the State Air Resources Board pursuant to Part 5 (commencing with Section 38570) of Division 25.5 of the Health and Safety Code.
(b) (1) On or before July 1, 2015, the department shall prepare a report to the Legislature that fully addresses the matter described in subdivision (a).
(2) The report required pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
(c) Pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, this section is repealed on January 1, 2020.

SEC. 5.

 Section 5010.8 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:

5010.8.
 (a) It is the intent of the Legislature to increase the department’s opportunities to sell park passes through vendors pursuant to contracts entered into pursuant to Section 5010.1, whether for the entire system of state parks, day-use passes, or identified subsets of parks for which the department has approved regional or shared-theme park passes.
(b) The department may engage in activities to increase the opportunities to sell park passes through vendors pursuant to contracts entered into pursuant to Section 5010.1.
(c) (1) On or before July 1, 2016, the department shall report to the Legislature, pursuant to Section 9795 of the Government Code, on its activities to increase opportunities to sell park passes through vendors, including, but not limited to, documenting its efforts to inform potential vendors of this effort and the fiscal benefits to the department that were generated by these activities.
(2) Pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, this subdivision shall become inoperative on July 1, 2020.

SEC. 6.

 Section 5019.93 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:

5019.93.
 (a) (1) The Legislature finds and declares that regional passes in the Big Sur-Monterey Bay region, the Lake Tahoe region, the northern coastal beaches, or other appropriate regions may be determined by the department to be suitable for the establishment of additional regional approaches for annual passes.
(2) It is the intent of the Legislature that the department should create regional park passes and other passes to serve the need of visitors interested in state parks with a shared theme or within a region and to simplify and facilitate fee collection from frequent visitors to individual parks. The creation of the Surf Explorer Vehicle Day Use annual pass, the Historian Passport Day Use Admissions annual pass, and the California Park Experience Vehicle Day Use annual pass may serve as useful models for future passes for the regions described in paragraph (1).
(b) On or before December 31, 2015, the department shall, from available appropriated funds, establish a minimum of two additional regional park passes as described in subdivision (a) that are available to park visitors for purchase through the department’s Internet Web site, park offices, or other designated vendors.

SEC. 7.

 Section 5080.16 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:

5080.16.
 If the director determines that it is for the best interests of the state, the director, upon giving notice to the State Park and Recreation Commission, may negotiate or renegotiate a contract, including terms and conditions, when one or more of the following conditions exist:
(a) The bid process as prescribed in this article has failed to produce a best responsible bidder.
(b) The negotiation or renegotiation would constitute an extension of an existing contract obtained through the process required by this article and the extended contract would provide for substantial and additional concession facilities, which would be constructed at the sole expense of the concessionaire and which are set forth in the general plan for the unit and are needed to accommodate existing or projected increased public usage.
(c) Lands in the state park system administered by the department and lands under the legal control of the prospective concessionaire are so situated that the concession is dependent upon the use of those public and private lands for the physical or economic success, or both, of the concession.
(d) Whenever a concession is desired for particular interpretive purposes in a unit of the state park system and the prospective concessionaire possesses special knowledge, experience, skills, or ability appropriate to the particular interpretive purposes.
(e) Whenever the concession has been severely and adversely impacted through no fault of the concessionaire by an unanticipated calamity, park closure, major construction, or other harmful event or action.
(f) Whenever the estimated administrative costs for the bid process exceed the projected annual net rental revenue to the state.
(g) The services provided pursuant to the contract will have minimal impacts on state park resources, are inherently mobile or transitory in nature, and do not occupy a state-owned structure. Those services may include, but are not limited to, mobile food and beverage services.

SEC. 8.

 Section 5080.22 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:

5080.22.
 (a) The department shall, until January 1, 2018, and from available appropriated funds, establish a pilot program for mobile food and beverage services in multiple units and in multiple locations, if feasible, and to assess suitability, increase in visitation, and visitor satisfaction. The program is not subject to Section 5002.2 or any other provision of this chapter.
(b) On or before January 1, 2018, the department shall submit to the Legislature, pursuant to Section 9795 of the Government Code, a report on the results of the pilot program, including information regarding improvements or other changes in revenue generated by the department and participating units, sales volume, visitation statistics, and any available information regarding visitor satisfaction.
(c) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2019, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2019, deletes or extends that date.