Bill Text: CA SB1111 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: State parks: operating agreements.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2016-09-23 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 540, Statutes of 2016. [SB1111 Detail]

Download: California-2015-SB1111-Amended.html

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BILL NUMBER: SB 1111	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  JUNE 29, 2016
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  JUNE 23, 2016

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Pavley

                        FEBRUARY 17, 2016

   An act to amend Sections 5003.17, 5080.40, and 5080.42 of, and to
add Article 1.5 (commencing with Section 520) to Chapter 1 of
Division 1 of, the Public Resources Code, relating to state parks.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 1111, as amended, Pavley. State parks: operating agreements.
   Existing law vests control of the state park system with the
Department of Parks and Recreation and authorizes the department to
enter into an operating agreement with a qualified nonprofit
organization for the development, improvement, restoration, care,
maintenance, administration, or operation of a unit or units, or
portion of a unit, of the state  parks   park
 system, as provided. Existing law provides that the department
may only enter into an operating agreement for the entirety of a park
unit for no more than 20 park units.
   This bill would delete  this   that 
provision. The bill would authorize the department to enter into a
strategic partnership with a park support organization, as defined,
 to facilitate implementation of reforms recommended by the Parks
Forward Commission and  to develop and secure expertise,
services, resources, and projects that are not readily available to
the state park system for specified purposes relating to the funding,
maintenance, visitation, use, facilities, and staffing of state
parks, as provided. The bill would require the department to take
specified actions relating to the development and implementation of
such a strategic partnership and would authorize the Director
 of the Department  of Parks and Recreation, or the
director's designee, to serve as an ex officio, nonvoting member of
the park support organization's board of directors. The bill would
require the department to collaborate with the park support
organization to develop an annual list of strategic initiatives and
projects that are priorities for the state park system. The bill
would authorize the department to receive donations of projects,
services, and funds to be used for the support of the state park
system. The bill would specify that the Director of Finance and the
Attorney General shall have 60 days to review and approve or
disapprove any strategic partnership agreement or substantial
amendment of such an agreement.
   Existing law authorizes the department to lease, for any use, all
or any portion of any parcel of real property acquired for state park
system purposes, if the director finds that the use would be
compatible with the use of the real property as a unit or part of a
unit and with the sound management and conservation of resources
within the unit, but prohibits the department from entering into a
lease that extends beyond 10 years unless certain conditions for the
review and approval of a proposed lease as part of the annual budget
process are met.
   This bill would revise certain of those conditions for the review
and approval of a proposed lease by appropriate policy and fiscal
Committees of the Legislature, including the Joint 
Legislature   Legislative  Budget Committee, as
specified.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (a) Changes to existing law are necessary to facilitate
implementation of reforms that have been recommended by the Parks
Forward Commission to ensure vibrant and sustainable parks for all
Californians and for present and future generations.
   (b) The Department of Parks and Recreation needs to establish a
new strategic partnership with a nonprofit park support organization
that would complement and support the work of the department by
bringing new resources, expertise, and flexibility to assist the
department in accomplishing its mission.
  SEC. 2.  Article 1.5 (commencing with Section 520) is added to
Chapter 1 of Division 1 of the Public Resources Code, to read:

      Article 1.5.  PARK SUPPORT ORGANIZATION


   520.  For purposes of this article, the following terms shall have
the following meanings:
   (a) "Park support organization" means a nonprofit organization
that meets all of the following requirements:
   (1) Is exempt from taxation pursuant to Section 501(c)(3) of the
Internal Revenue Code.
   (2) Is established for the principal purpose of increasing park
access and visitation in ways that serve all Californians and
visitors to the state, promote healthy lifestyles and community
engagement, and support the protection and stewardship of California'
s natural, cultural, and historical lands, sites, and resources.
   (3) Complies with the Supervision of Trustees and Fundraisers for
Charitable Purposes Act (Article 7 (commencing with Section 12580) of
Chapter 6 of Part 2 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government
Code).
   (b) "Priority list" means the annual list of strategic initiatives
and projects developed by the department and the  park
support organization pursuant to Section 523.
   521.  (a) The department may enter into a strategic partnership
with a park support organization  to facilitate the
implementation of reforms recommended by the Parks Forward Commission
and  to develop and secure expertise, services, resources, and
projects that are not readily available to the state park system, for
all of the following purposes:
   (1) To develop and engage new sources of public and private
funding for the state park system, including philanthropic sources
and enterprise and revenue generation activities, where appropriate.
   (2) To support marketing and communications activities that
promote the programs, amenities, and resources of the state park
system, the department, and its partners.
   (3) To support projects that facilitate park access and
visitation, particularly among younger and more diverse audiences.
   (4) To promote the human health and well-being of the state's
residents.
   (5) To establish  and improve   or improve,
and aid in the completion of projects that establish or improve,
 state park visitor amenities and facilities.
   (6) To recruit more diverse staffing and improve capacity for
state park programs.
   (7) To advance the protection and stewardship of natural,
cultural, and historic lands, sites, and resources.
   (b) If the department enters into a strategic partnership with a
 nonprofit  park support organization,  it
  the department  shall do all of the following:
   (1) Collaborate with the park support organization, on an ongoing
basis, to identify, develop, and implement strategic initiatives and
projects that are priorities for the state park system.
   (2) Communicate and coordinate with other park agencies, partners,
friends, and volunteers to ensure that activities undertaken
pursuant to the strategic partnership complement, and do not
supplant, ongoing partnerships, programs, and projects in support of
the state park system.
   (3) Engage with the park support organization and other public
agencies and organizations that manage, operate, and support other
parks and protected lands in the state.
   522.  The director, or the director's designee, may serve as an ex
officio, nonvoting member of the park support organization's board
of directors in order to provide for effective communication and
coordination of efforts between the department and the park support
organization.
   523.  (a) If the department forms a strategic partnership with a
park support organization pursuant to this article, the department
shall collaborate with the park support organization to develop an
annual list of strategic initiatives and projects that are priorities
for the state park system and that the park support organization
will undertake in partnership with the department.
   (b)  (1)    Any initiative or project included
on the priority list shall be consistent with the purposes 
of   specified in  subdivision (a) of Section 521.

   (2) For the first three years of the agreement entered into
pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 524, the park support
organization and the department shall prioritize a limited subset of
focus areas and projects from the list of purposes specified in
subdivision (a) of Section 521, consistent with paragraph (2) of
subdivision (b) of Section 521. 
   (c) The department shall ensure that the priority list is prepared
in sufficient time to inform proposals for potential allocations of
funding in the annual Budget Act.
   (d) The department shall post a copy of the priority list on its
Internet Web site, and shall provide copies of the list to the
chairpersons of the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee, the
Assembly Committee on Budget, the Senate  Committee on 
Natural Resources and  Water Committee,  Water,
 and the Assembly  Committee on  Water, Parks, and
 Wildlife Committee.   Wildlife. 
   524.  (a) In order to establish and facilitate a strategic
partnership as described in subdivision (a) of Section 521, the
department shall enter into an agreement with the park support
organization that, at a minimum, shall include and specify all of the
following:
   (1) Clear goals and objectives.
   (2) Any commitments of oversight, staffing, and coordination that
are needed to accomplish the goals and objectives.
   (3) The process for developing the priority list pursuant to
Section 523.
   (b) (1) The department may develop and enter into supplementary
agreements with the park support organization for the purposes of
securing any expertise, capacity, or financial resources that may be
needed to identify, plan, develop, or implement strategic initiatives
and projects on the priority list. Any such agreement may include,
but not be limited to, grants, contracts, memoranda of understanding,
staff-sharing agreements, leases, and rights of entry onto state
park property.
   (2) Notwithstanding Section 5003.17, the department may lease to
the park support organization, for a minimum rental of one dollar
($1.00) per year, real property that is owned by the state and
included in any unit of the state park system, if the lease agreement
requires the park support organization to construct, or provide for
the construction of, a structure or improvement on the leased
property and specifies that title to the structure or improvement
shall vest in the state at the expiration of the lease term. The
agreement may provide for the means or method by which title to the
structure or improvement shall vest in the state before the
expiration of that term.
   (3) Notwithstanding Part 2 (commencing with Section 10100) of
Division 2 of the Public Contract Code, any agreements entered into
by the department pursuant to this subdivision shall be under the
control of the department and shall not be subject to any advertising
or competitive bidding requirements applicable to public works or
other public projects.
   (c) The director may receive donations of projects, services, and
funds from the park support organization as authorized by Sections
5005, 5009.1, 5009.2, and 5009.3.
   (d) Subject to the availability of funds appropriated for that
purpose and pursuant to an agreement established under subdivision
(b), the department may provide funds to the park support
organization for purposes of identifying, planning, developing, or
implementing strategic initiatives and projects on the priority list.

   (e) The Director of Finance and the Attorney General shall have 60
days to review and approve or disapprove any strategic partnership
agreement or any substantial amendment to such agreement, proposed
under subdivision (a). Upon approval of the agreement, or substantial
amendment, the director may accept donations and enter into
agreements as authorized under subdivisions (b) and (c).
   525.  Nothing in this article shall be interpreted as a limitation
on the ability of the park support organization to apply for,
receive, or administer grants, loans, or other funds from public
entities other than the department.
  SEC. 3.  Section 5003.17 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
   5003.17.  (a) The department may lease, for any use, all or any
portion of any parcel of real property acquired for state park system
purposes, if the director finds that the use would be compatible
with the use of the real property as a unit or part of a unit and
with the sound management and conservation of resources within the
unit.
   (b) Rent shall be based on the fair market value of the property
when used for the purpose for which it is leased. All rent shall be
deposited pursuant to Section 5010.
   (c) The lease term shall not exceed 10 years. All leases are
subject to the approval of the Department of General Services.
   (d) No lease shall be entered into that extends beyond the 10-year
period unless both of the following conditions are met:
   (1) At least 30 days' prior written notice of the proposed lease,
including a copy of the proposed lease, has been provided by the
director to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the
Legislature, including the Joint Legislative Budget Committee.
   (2) The director has included with the proposed lease sufficient
documentation to enable the Joint Legislative Budget Committee, and
any other appropriate legislative policy and fiscal committees, to
determine whether the lease conforms to the requirements of this
article and to evaluate fully all terms upon which the lease is
proposed to be let, including the amount of the rent and other
revenues that may be generated under the lease.
  SEC. 4.  Section 5080.40 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
   5080.40.  (a) No operating lease or agreement shall be entered
into, or amended, pursuant to this article unless at least 30 days'
written notice and a copy of the proposed operating lease or
agreement, or amendment, has been provided by the director to the
appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature and to
the Joint Legislative Budget Committee.
   (b) The director shall include with the proposed lease or
agreement or amendment sufficient documentation to enable the Joint
Legislative Budget Committee, and any other appropriate policy or
fiscal committees of the Legislature, to evaluate fully the estimated
operating costs and revenues and all terms upon which the lease or
agreement or amendment is proposed to be entered into. Specifically,
the documentation shall identify both of the following:
   (1) Any anticipated costs to the state for operation or
development under the lease or agreement or amendment and the
anticipated state share of total operation and development costs.
   (2) The anticipated annual revenues, net of operation costs, for
the unit and the state's share of these revenues.
   (c) Leases or agreements shall be exempt from subdivisions (a) and
(b) when all of the following conditions exist:
   (1) The lease or agreement involves operation of only a portion of
a unit of the state park system.
   (2) The term of the lease or agreement is for a period of 20 years
or less.
   (3) The lease's or agreement's impact to the unit, including
concessions revenue, will not exceed five hundred thousand dollars
($500,000) in annual gross revenue generated on the property.
   (4) The lease or agreement involves no significant change in state
operational funding or staffing levels, and does not include present
or future state expenditures for development of the unit.
   (d) Amendments to existing leases or agreements shall be exempt
from subdivisions (a) and (b) when all of the following conditions
exist:
   (1) The amendment involves operation of only a portion of a unit
of the state park system.
   (2) The amendment's impact to the unit will not exceed five
hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) in annual gross revenue generated
on the property.
   (3) The amendment involves no significant change in state
operational funding or staffing levels, and does not include present
or future state expenditures for development of the unit.
  SEC. 5.  Section 5080.42 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
   5080.42.  (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this article,
the department may enter into an operating agreement with a
qualified nonprofit organization for the development, improvement,
restoration, care, maintenance, administration, or operation of a
unit or units, or portion of a unit, of the state park system, as
agreed to by the director. The prohibition on park closures, pursuant
to subdivision (a) of Section 541.5, does not limit the department's
authority to enter into an operating agreement pursuant to this
section, as provided in subdivision (e) of Section 541.5. An
operating agreement with a qualified nonprofit organization shall
include, but shall not be limited to, the following conditions:
   (1) The district superintendent for the department shall provide
liaison with the department, the nonprofit organization, and the
public.
   (2) The nonprofit organization shall annually submit a written
report to the department regarding its operating activities during
the prior year and shall make copies of the report available to the
public upon request. The report shall be available on the Internet
Web sites of both the department and the nonprofit organization. The
report shall include a full accounting of all revenues and
expenditures for each unit of the state park system that the
nonprofit organization operates pursuant to an operating agreement.
   (3) (A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), all revenues that
the qualified nonprofit organization receives from a unit shall be
expended only for the care, maintenance, operation, administration,
improvement, or development of the unit. The qualified nonprofit
organization may additionally contribute in-kind services and funds
raised from outside entities for the care, maintenance, operation,
administration, improvement, or development of the unit.
   (B) If the qualified nonprofit organization determines that the
revenues it has received from a unit are in excess of the revenues
that are needed for the care, maintenance, operation, administration,
improvement, or development of that unit, and that these funds are
not already specified for or committed to specific purposes pursuant
to an existing agreement or contract restricting the use of those
funds, the qualified nonprofit organization may dedicate those excess
revenues to another state park unit for that unit's care,
maintenance, operation, administration, improvement, or development.
   (4) General Fund moneys shall not be provided to a nonprofit
organization to subsidize the operation or maintenance of a park
unit. This paragraph applies to state parks, the full operation of
which are turned over to a nonprofit organization, but does not apply
to or preclude the department from entering into agreements with
nonprofit organizations to operate a portion of a state park unit, or
from entering into comanagement agreements with nonprofit
organizations that involve the sharing of operational and financial
responsibilities for the park unit and that have the effect of
reducing state costs. This paragraph does not apply to park entrance
fees, concession revenues, or any other revenues generated within a
park operated by a nonprofit organization pursuant to this section.
   (b) An operating agreement entered into pursuant to subdivision
(a) shall honor the existing term of a current concession contract
for the state park unit subject to the operating agreement.
   (c) An operating agreement entered into pursuant to subdivision
(a) shall specify the duties that the nonprofit organization shall be
responsible for carrying out relative to management and protection
of natural, historical, and cultural resources, and shall identify
those management duties that shall continue to be conducted by the
department, so that all core operations of the park are delineated.
Scientific, architectural, and engineering functions that require
special expertise or professional training shall only be conducted by
or under the supervision of qualified persons with applicable
expertise or training and subject to oversight by the department.
   (d) This section does not supersede the requirements of Section
5019.53 regarding the protection of natural, scenic, cultural, and
ecological values.
   (e) The nonprofit organization and the district superintendent for
the department shall, following submittal of the annual report
pursuant to subdivision (a), hold a joint public meeting for
discussion of the report.
   (f) If the department intends to enter into an operating agreement
for the development, improvement, restoration, care, maintenance,
administration, or operation of a unit or units, or a portion of a
unit, the department shall notify the Member of the Legislature in
whose district the unit is located, the Chair of the Senate Committee
on Natural Resources and Water, the Chair of the Assembly Committee
on Water, Parks, and Wildlife, and the chairs of the Assembly and
Senate budget committees of that intention. The notification shall
include estimated operating costs and revenues and core duties and
responsibilities that are likely to be assigned to the nonprofit
organization and the department.
   (g) For purposes of this section, a qualified nonprofit
organization is an organization that is all of the following:
   (1) An organization that is exempt from taxation pursuant to
Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
   (2) An organization that has as its principal purpose and activity
to provide visitor services in state parks, facilitate public access
to park resources, improve park facilities, provide interpretive and
educational services, or provide direct protection or stewardship of
natural, cultural, or historical lands, or resources.
   (3) An organization that is in compliance with the Supervision of
Trustees and Fundraisers for Charitable Purposes  Act,
Article   Act (Article  7 (commencing with Section
12580) of Chapter 6 of Part 2 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the
Government  Code.   Code). 
   (h) (1) Notwithstanding Section 10231.5 of the Government Code,
the department shall provide a report to the Legislature, on a
biennial basis, of the status of operating agreements it has entered
into pursuant to this section. The report shall include a list of
units of the state park system with operating agreements, discussion
of the management and operations of each unit subject to an operating
agreement, an accounting of the revenues and expenditures incurred
under each operating agreement, and an assessment of the benefit to
the state from operating agreements entered into pursuant to this
section.
   (2) A report submitted pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be
submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.