State parks: local operating agreements.

(1) Existing law authorizes the Department of Parks and Recreation to enter into agreements with any agency of the United States or any city, county, district, or other public agency for the care, maintenance, administration, and control by a party to the agreement, of lands under the jurisdiction of any party to the agreement for purposes of the state park system. Existing law prohibits an operating agreement to be entered into or amended, unless, among other things, the Legislature has reviewed the lease or agreement, or amendment, as part of the annual budget process. This bill would require the department, if it proposes to fully close a unit of the state park system, with no planned public access, to notify the county or city in which the unit is located. Pursuant to procedures specified in the bill, a county or city would have the opportunity to take over operations and maintenance of the unit of the state park system. The bill would require the department to enter into negotiations with a county or city that notifies the department of its intention to take over the operation and maintenance of a unit of the state park system in response to the department's notice. The bill would require an agreement entered into to include certain provisions, including a provision that would require the length of the term of the agreement to be not less than one year and not longer than 5 years, with an option to renew upon the conclusion of the agreement. (2) Existing law vests with the Department of Parks and Recreation control over the state park system, including historical units of the state park system, and requires the department to implement laws intended to protect, develop, and preserve historical resources in the state. Existing law establishes the State Office of Historic Preservation in the department and authorizes the office to, among other things, enter into agreements for the preservation and management of historical resources under its control with public agencies, nonprofit organizations, private entities, or individuals, and to award grants not exceeding $1,000,000 or 50% of the cost of a project, on a competitive basis, to public agencies and nonprofit organizations for the preservation of historical resources. In this connection, the Budget Act of 2008 appropriated a specified amount of funds from the California Clean Water, Clean Air, Safe Neighborhood Parks, and Coastal Protection Fund to the department, to be available for expenditure until June 30, 2011, for a grant to the California State Railroad Museum Foundation for the rehabilitation and development of the boiler shop core, shell, and site rehabilitation and development at the California State Railroad Museum site, subject to specified terms and conditions. This bill would authorize the department to expend any remaining funds from that appropriation for a grant to the California State Railroad Museum Foundation for expenditure, until June 30, 2013, for the core, shell, and site and track rehabilitation and development of the erecting shop and the track rehabilitation and development of the boiler shop at the California State Railroad Museum site, subject to specified terms and conditions. By authorizing the department to expend those previously appropriated funds for the above-described purposes, the bill would make an appropriation.