Bill Text: CA SB204 | 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.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2015-10-07 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 573, Statutes of 2015. [SB204 Detail]

Download: California-2015-SB204-Amended.html

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BILL NUMBER: SB 204	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  MARCH 19, 2015

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Pavley

                        FEBRUARY 11, 2015

   An act to amend  Section 5080.16   Sections
513, 5001,   5080.16, and 5080.42  of,  to add
Sections 5001.2 and 5080.44 to,  and to add and repeal 
Section   Sections 5002.25 and  5003.9 of, the
Public Resources Code, relating to state parks.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 204, as amended, Pavley. State parks. 
   (1) Existing 
    Existing  law establishes the Department of Parks and
Recreation and vests the department with the control of the state
park system. 
   This bill would require the Director of Parks and Recreation to
promote and regulate the use of the state park system in a manner
that conserves the scenery, natural and historic resources, and
wildlife in the individual units of the system for the enjoyment of
future generations.  
    This 
    The  bill would require the Department of Parks and
Recreation, on or before  July   December 
1, 2016, 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.   identifies the 10 projects within units of
the state park system or on other property of the department that
may provide the most significant greenhouse gas reductions. 

   Existing law requires the department to prepare a general plan or
revise an existing plan, for a unit of the state park system
following classification or reclassification of the unit by the State
Park and Recreation Commission, and prior to the development of any
new facilities in any previously classified unit.  
   The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead
agency to prepare or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion
of, an environmental impact report on a project, as defined, that it
proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect
on the environment, as defined, or to adopt a negative declaration if
it finds that the project will not have that effect.  
    This bill would authorize a lead agency responsible for the
environmental analysis and review under CEQA of a proposed park
development project, until January 1, 2022, to conduct the analysis
and review separately from the development and approval of the
general plan for the unit, if the proposed project is contained in a
management or development plan of the department prepared for that
unit that is or was subject to environmental review under CEQA. 

   (2) Existing 
    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 bill would also declare the
intent of the Legislature that the department shall not compete with
specified existing concession contracts.  
   Existing law, until January 1, 2019, 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 park system.  
   This bill would delete the repeal date of that provision, thereby
extending its operation indefinitely. The bill would also authorize
the department to accept donations of real property or money from
public or private sources to be used for the purpose of funding park
programs to benefit youth, as defined. The bill would authorize the
department to enter into cooperative agreements with public or
nonprofit organizations that serve youth, to provide service and
learning opportunities for youth, as described. 
   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.    It is the intent of the Legislature
that the Department of Parks and Recreation not compete with existing
concession contracts through which comparable food and beverage
services are provided to the public. 
   SEC. 2.    (a)     The Legislature
finds and declares all of the following:  
   (1) Nearly 35,000 volunteers contribute their time and energy to
the Department of Parks and Recreation, thereby enhancing the
experiences of visitors, complementing the work of departmental
staff, and generating economic activity through their voluntary
efforts at state parks.  
   (2) The department estimates that volunteers contribute more than
one million hours each year and generate nearly twenty-five million
dollars ($25,000,000) in economic value to the local and regional
economies around state parks through these substantial volunteer
efforts.  
   (3) It is the department's existing practice to offer one or more
types of complimentary passes to the department's volunteers in
recognition of their value-added contributions. Those complimentary
passes should also be offered to the volunteers at cooperating
associations in recognition of the value-added services they provide.
 
   (b) It is the intent of the Legislature that the Department of
Parks and Recreation extend the existing policies for the issuance of
complimentary state park passes to persons who volunteer at state
parks through cooperating associations, as defined in Section 513 of
the Public Resources Code, consistent with the California State
Government Volunteers Act set forth in Chapter 8.5 (commencing with
Section 3110) of Division 4 of Title 1 of the Government Code. 
   SEC. 3.    Section 513 of the   Public
Resources Code   is amended to read: 
   513.  (a) The department, as a means of furthering the
interpretive and educational functions of the state park system, may
enter into an agreement to act cooperatively with a nonprofit
cooperating association engaged in educational or interpretive work
in a state park system unit, as the director may designate, whereby
the cooperating association would furnish educational and
interpretive materials, or educational and interpretive services, or
educational and interpretative materials and services, for sale to
the public.
   (b) Pursuant to Article 1 (commencing with Section 5080.02) of
Chapter 1.2 of Division 5, a concession may provide materials and
services that are intended to add to the convenience, enjoyment, and
safety of state park system visitors. A concession may also provide,
pursuant to this section, educational and interpretive materials and
services, as described in paragraphs (2) and (3) of subdivision (d),
with the approval of the department.
   (c) A cooperating association may provide, pursuant to this
section, noneducational and noninterpretive materials and services,
as described in paragraph (4) of subdivision (d),  or other
materials or services that would enhance the visitor experience,
 as part of its cooperating association program with the
approval of the department, if the department is unable to obtain,
through a good faith effort, a concessionaire to provide those
materials and services.
   (d) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:

   (1) "Cooperating association" means a corporation that meets all
of the following criteria:
   (A) The corporation is a nonprofit public benefit corporation,
organized pursuant to Part 2 (commencing with Section 5110) of
Division 2 of Title 1 of the Corporations Code.
   (B) The articles of incorporation of the corporation state that
the specific purpose of the corporation is to provide support for
educational and interpretive programs of the state park system, or
portions of the programs.
   (C) The corporation has a cooperating association program contract
with the department.
   (D) The corporation is in compliance with the department's
policies and guidelines regarding cooperating associations and has
obtained the department's approval for its educational and
interpretive materials and services.
   (2) "Educational and interpretive materials" include items that
promote visitor appreciation, understanding, and knowledge of
natural, cultural, and historic resources of the state park system,
including educational and interpretive gifts and souvenirs.
   (3) "Educational and interpretive services" include those
activities and programs that focus on natural, cultural, and historic
resources of the state park system and are not generally offered by
the department.
   (4) "Educational and interpretive materials and services" do not
include lodging, food service, horse and equipment rentals, camping
supplies, gifts and souvenirs, other than those described in
paragraph (2), transportation, except for equipment owned by the
department, recreational lessons, and the operation of specialized
facilities within a state park unit such as the theater at Hearst San
Simeon State Historic Monument and Old Town San Diego State Historic
Park, golf courses, and marinas.
   (e) The department, at its discretion, may provide the services of
department personnel and shall provide space, if available, for the
sale of cooperating association materials, services, or both, within
a state park unit.
   (f) Subject to rules and regulations that the director shall
adopt, all moneys collected by the cooperating association or
received by the department from the sale of cooperating association
materials, services, or both, provided by a cooperating association
shall be retained by or returned to the cooperating association for
use in the  interpretive and educational  programs
of the state park system unit that the cooperating association has
been designated to serve.
   SEC. 4.    Section 5001 of the   Public
Resources Code   is amended to read: 
   5001.   (a)     The Legislature finds and
declares all of the following:  
   (1) California's state parks are a true reflection of our state's
collective history, natural and cultural heritage, and ideals. The
state parks can be models of healthy, natural, and sustainable
ecosystems and they can also commemorate important cultural
traditions or historic events. To remain relevant now and into the
future, state parks must protect California's heritage and be
welcoming in order that visitors may understand and appreciate these
special places that have been set aside for their inspiration and
enjoyment.  
   (2) The state parks and other nature, recreation, and historic
areas deserve to be preserved and managed for the benefit and
inspiration of all state residents and visitors to the state parks.
It is the intent of the Legislature to clarify the priorities and
responsibilities of state agencies with respect to the management and
administration of the state park system.  
   (3) Individual units of the state park system derive increased
importance and recognition through their inclusion in a unified state
park system that is preserved and managed for the benefit and
inspiration of all Californians and visitors to the state. 
    (b)    The Department of Parks and Recreation
has control of the state park system.
   SEC. 5.    Section 5001.2 is added to the  
Public Resources Code   , to read:  
   5001.2.  The director shall promote and regulate the use of the
state park system in a manner that conserves the scenery, natural and
historic resources, and wildlife in the individual units of the
system for the enjoyment of future generations. 
   SEC. 6.    Section 5002.25 is added to the  
Public Resources Code   , to read:  
   5002.25.  (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (1) The development of general plans by the department is lagging
far behind any reasonable schedule for completion, many existing
general plans are outdated, and there is no practical ability of the
department to complete its backlog of general plan development or to
maintain the relevancy of adopted general plans in the future in the
face of ever-changing circumstances.
   (2) The conditions described in paragraph (1) should not diminish
the importance of long-range planning for state parks, reduce the
opportunities for public input to the department for planning,
management, or development efforts, or affect the review of proposed
management or development, as required by all applicable laws or
regulations.
   (3) An alternative approach to the general planning requirements
of the department, that does not diminish public input into the
operations of a state park unit or reduce in any way the evaluation
of a project that is subject to the California Environmental Quality
Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000)) and any other
applicable law, should be tested on a trial basis in order to assess
its strengths and weaknesses.
   (4) A trial approach to general planning requirements, as
described in paragraph (3), should be undertaken in park units where
its use would contribute to a successful partnership arrangement with
a cooperating association.
   (b) A lead agency responsible for the environmental analysis and
review, pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act
(Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000)), of a proposed
development project in a unit of the state park system may conduct
the analysis and review separately from the development and approval
of the general plan for the unit, if the proposed project is
contained in a management or development plan of the department
prepared for that unit that is or was subject to environmental review
pursuant to the act.
   (c) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2022, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2022, deletes or extends
that date. 
   SECTION 1.   SEC. 7.   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   December 
1, 2016, the department shall prepare a report to the Legislature
that  fully addresses the matter described in subdivision
(a).   identifies the 10 projects within units of the
state park system or other property of the department that may
provide the most significant greenhouse gas reductions. 
   (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, 2021.
   SEC. 2.   SEC. 8.   Section 5080.16 of
the Public Resources Code is amended to read:
   5080.16.  If the director determines that it is in 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. 9.   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. If the department enters into an operating
agreement that involves the operation of the entirety of a park
unit, that agreement may be entered into pursuant to this section
only to the extent that the agreement would enable the department to
avoid closure of a unit or units of the state park system that may
otherwise be subject to closure. 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. The
department may only enter into an operating agreement that involves
the operation of the entirety of a park unit for no more than 20 park
units. 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 7
(commencing with Section 12580) of Chapter 6 of Part 2 of Division 3
of Title 2 of the Government 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.

   (i) 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. 
   SEC. 10.    Section 5080.44 is added to the 
 Public Resources Code   , to read:  
   5080.44.  (a) The department may accept donations of real property
or money from public or private sources to be used for the purpose
of funding park programs to benefit youth, as described in
subdivision (b).
   (b) The department may enter into cooperative agreements with
public or nonprofit organizations that serve youth to provide service
and learning opportunities for young people by performing work on
state park system programs and projects under the supervision of
department employees, where the work is not being performed by state
park employees. Programs and projects covered under this subdivision
include all of the following:
   (1) Restoring California's natural, historic, archaeological,
recreational, and scenic resources.
   (2) Training young people to be public land and resources managers
and stewards for careers in public service.
   (3) Undertaking appropriate cultural and natural resource
conservation in a cost-effective and appropriate manner.