Bill Text: CA SB633 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: State parks.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Vetoed) 2014-09-26 - In Senate. Consideration of Governor's veto pending. [SB633 Detail]
Download: California-2013-SB633-Enrolled.html
BILL NUMBER: SB 633 ENROLLED
BILL TEXT
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 22, 2014
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 19, 2014
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 4, 2014
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 24, 2014
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 6, 2013
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 6, 2013
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 11, 2013
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 2, 2013
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.
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.
