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A Creative, Long-Term California Budget Solution That Finds a Middle Ground

By John Laird
Chair
Assembly Budget Committee

Our state parks are in crisis by any of a number of measures. In fact, the National Trust for Historic Preservation recently placed our entire 278-park system among the 11 most-endangered places in the nation.

Whether it’s a billion dollars in deferred maintenance, continuous weakening of operational support, the lack of money to staff new parks as California grows, or the basic inability to fund parks adequately in our annual budgets – we need a long-term solution.

Recently I proposed an annual $10 surcharge on non-commercial California vehicle registrations in exchange for anyone in a vehicle with a California license plate getting in to state parks for free—known as the Parks Access Pass.

A similar system works in Montana, and California would finally provide enough money for adequate maintenance and ranger services—and begin to work down the $1 billion backlog of deferred state park maintenance.

Earlier this year Governor Schwarzenegger proposed closing 48 state parks and beaches, causing a major public uproar. Following the governor’s announcement, more people called my district office about this than any other budget issue.

In his revised May budget, the governor gave state parks a one-year reprieve, but he proposed paying for it with a park fee increase. A fee increase adopted during a similar budget crisis earlier this decade dropped the number of park visits from 86 million to 76 million, proving that fee increases are a parks access issue for millions of Californians.

California’s park system is one of the most popular state services, yet budget support for the system has gradually been ebbing away. Two years ago we actually made a $250 million down payment on the $1 billion of deferred maintenance, but last year the governor took a majority of it back.

Funding for park operations has similarly been cut back, resulting in a de facto policy of not opening any new parks because state administrators believe there isn’t the money to staff new parks.

We need a long-term solution, not just year-to-year band-aids that leave the future of our park system in jeopardy, deny Californians access to land they’ve voted for three times in recent year to acquire as parklands—45,000 acres so far, and jack up entrance fees.

That’s why I stepped forward. As state budget talks turn to the subject new revenues just to continue what we’re already doing, this proposal is unique in that it would give value to anyone who wants to use a state park in exchange for a long-term solution.

By freezing in place the current budget support for parks and adding this new support from vehicle registrations – we would annually have $40 million to cover the park entrance fees ($6-10 per car) currently paid by California residents; $120 million more for maintenance; $60 million more for operations; and $62 million more to address the backlog of our deferred maintenance.

A private poll by the State Parks Foundation shows 74% of Californians support this proposal, even after being presented with the strongest arguments against it. And that support is translating into editorial interest as well, with support for the proposal coming from The San Jose Mercury News, the Vacaville Reporter, the Contra Costa Times and the Santa Cruz Sentinel.

The biggest hurdle facing this plan is the fact that it needs a two-thirds approval in the budget process, and some consider the proposal a tax – the third rail of California legislative politics.

California is estimated to add 10 million residents over the next 25 years. I believe the Parks Access Pass represents not only a long-term solution to funding our world-renowned park system, it’s also a perfect example of what Californians want out of this budget process: a creative, long-term solution that finds a middle ground.

If legislators are comfortable with this concept, we can refine it as it gets approved. But first, legislators need to agree on the idea. The next opportunity for consideration will be during the Budget Conference Committee hearings, which begin later this week.

With such strong public support, I hope we can figure out a way to include this plan in our final budget solution. If you agree, I ask for your help in letting legislators and the governor know your position. For more information, please visit www.assembly.ca.gov/laird.

Assemblymember John Laird (D-Santa Cruz) is chair of the Assembly Budget Committee.

Posted on June 11, 2008

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