State parks: state park revenue generation and insurance risk pool.

Existing law vests the Department of Parks and Recreation with control over the state park system. Existing law creates the State Parks and Recreation Fund into which are deposited revenues received by the department, which are available for expenditure for state park purposes upon appropriation by the Legislature. This bill would authorize the department, until January 1, 2020, to assist a park district or unit of the state park system in establishing specified numbers of innovation working groups for the purpose of developing innovative revenue proposals for the district or the park unit, as prescribed. The bill would require the department, in addition to evaluating revenue-generating ideas submitted by innovation working groups, to consider specified factors relating to ways to generate revenues for state parks. The bill would require each innovation team working group to perform specific duties and to make recommendations to the department on innovative revenue proposals, or ideas about how to make those districts or units more self sufficient, increase visitation, and generate new revenues.