State parks: proposed closures.

Existing law vests with the Department of Parks and Recreation control of the state park system. Existing law requires the department to achieve any required budget reductions, as defined, by closing, partially closing, and reducing services at selected units of the state park system, based on specified factors. This bill would instead declare that it is the intent of the Legislature that the department should achieve any required budget reductions by implementing efficiencies and increasing revenue collection, or reducing services at selected units of the state park system, as prescribed. The bill would revise the factors the department is required to use as a basis for selecting which units of the state park system are to be closed, and would, for any parks proposed or designated for closure on or after January 1, 2013, require the department to document and publicly disclose the methodology, rationale, and scoring system used to evaluate and select parks designated for closure. Existing law authorizes the department to enter into agreements between the department and the federal and local governments and other public agencies for the care, maintenance, administration, and control of lands under the jurisdiction of any party to this agreement for the purpose of the state park system, as prescribed. This bill would require the department to conduct a review of the parks that are proposed, as of July 1, 2012, or thereafter, for future closure. The bill would require the review process required to be conducted pursuant to those provisions to include an examination of proposed park closures recommended by the department, based on specified criteria. The bill would require the department, no later than July 1, 2013, with respect to any park that is closed on or after July 1, 2012, to prepare a plan for the reopening of that unit of the state park system, within one year from the date of a unit being closed to public access or the ending of all department support, including specified information. The bill would require the department to annually update any plan prepared pursuant to those provisions, if needed, or if there are any additional park closures on or after July 1, 2013, and to post a copy of the plan on its Internet Web site. The bill would require the department, no later than January 1, 2014, and by January 1 of each year thereafter so long as any unit of the state park system remains closed or is designated for closure due to budgetary restrictions, to prepare and submit to the Legislature a master parks reopening plan, which shall be compiled from park reopening plans or updated park reopening plans required to be prepared pursuant to provisions of the bill, and that sets out priority actions and determines a process for reopening any park that has been temporarily closed, to the extent that circumstances permit, as prescribed.