Assembly Opts to Save Palomar Mountain State Park, Others

Park supporters across California are one step closer to keeping sites such as Palomar Mountain State Park open for business.

Palomar is among 70 state parks slated for closure in summer 2012 as a result of an $11 million budget cut to the state parks system enacted earlier this year. It is part of the first of two cuts that will total $22 million.

In an effort to stave off the closures, state Assembly passed Assembly Bill 42 this week; Gov. Jerry Brown has until Oct. 6 to take action on it. The bill provides authority to the California Department of Parks and Recreation to enter into operating agreements with qualified nonprofit organizations to operate part or all of a state park unit.

The bill is authored by Assemblyman Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, and co-authored by Murrieta's Assemblyman Kevin Jeffries, R-Lake Elsinore, along with eight others and three state senators.

The bill ensures transparency in the operations of a state park by a nonprofit by requiring that all revenues generated in the park stay in that park and be directed toward that park’s needs.

It also requires that the nonprofit submit an annual report detailing its operating activities in the past year and hold a public meeting.

Additionally, no General Fund subsidy can be given to the nonprofit to operate the state park.

Further, the remainder of any concessions contract’s term be preserved by the nonprofit, and scientific and other specialized functions be conducted only by qualified individuals and subject to state oversight. 

AB 42 is sponsored by nonprofit organization, California State Parks Foundation (CSPF), to help keep California’s state parks open.

“As we begin to see parks around the state prepare for unprecedented closures that will be permanent by next summer, AB 42 is an important lifeline to help our state parks,” said CSPF President Elizabeth Goldstein, in a news release.

“AB 42 allows the state to explore beneficial partnerships with nonprofit organizations to help operate park units that might otherwise be closed. At this time, it is essential that every kind of partner is able to pursue agreements that will help safeguard our parks, engage communities, and maintain California’s commitment to our parks.”  

“California is about to take a big step backward with its environmental reputation,” Goldstein said. “Since the founding of the first state park --Big Basin State Park--in 1902, Californians have worked to protect, preserve and promote a state park system that has grown as the state and its needs have grown.

"We are now in a moment when government seeks to make the system smaller, less available and less protected than it has ever been. AB 42 invites qualified nonprofit organizations and the public to take an active role in reversing those actions. We urge Gov. Brown to sign AB 42 and let Californians step forward to help protect our parks.”