State parks: bicycle facilities.

Existing law vests the Department of Parks and Recreation with control of the state park system and specifies that certain funds are available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for state park planning, acquisition, and development projects, among other things. Existing law imposes various taxes, including taxes on the privilege of engaging in certain activities. The Fee Collection Procedures Law, the violation of which is a crime, provides procedures for the collection of certain fees and surcharges. This bill would, on and after January 1, 2013, impose a surcharge on every retailer for the privilege of selling a new bicycle in this state at the rate of $2 per new bicycle. This would constitute a change in state statute that would result in a taxpayer paying a higher tax within the meaning of Section 3 of Article XIII A of the California Constitution, and thus would require for passage the approval of 23 of the membership of each house of the Legislature. The bill would require that, commencing with the 2013–14 fiscal year, the new bicycle surcharge be administered by the State Board of Equalization and collected by the board in accordance with the Fee Collection Procedures Law. By expanding the application of the Fee Collection Procedures Law, the violation of which is a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require each person required to pay the surcharge to prepare and file with the board a return using electronic media in the form prescribed by the board, containing specified information. The bill would deposit the revenues, less refunds, of the surcharge into the State Park Bicycle Facilities Fund, which this bill would create, and would require that moneys in the fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, be used by the Department of Parks and Recreation for specified purposes related to the creation and maintenance of bicycle trails. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.