Gov. Brown Signs Bill on State Park, Nonprofit Partnerships

Gov. Jerry Brown has signed a bill that will allow some state parks scheduled for closure to remain open if qualified nonprofit organizations agree to run them.

Assemblyman Jared Huffman's Assembly Bill 42 authorizes the California Department of Parks and Recreation to enter into agreements with the nonprofits.

Seventy state parks are scheduled to close next summer because of the state budget deficit.

In Los Gatos, Castle Rock State Park along the crest of the Santa Cruz Mountains, is on the list.

“The Governor has recognized the important role that state parks play for Californians, and my bill represents a creative solution that will allow the state to secure partnerships to enable a number of the state parks on the closure list to stay open,” Huffman said in a statement. “Particularly in these tough economic times, creative public/private partnerships are an essential tool in providing ongoing protection of, and continued access to, these treasured public assets. As we struggle to address California’s state budget deficit, I will continue to work to protect funding for state parks.”

California State Parks Foundation president Elizabeth Goldstein said the CSPF will continue to work with nonprofit groups that want to protect the parks.

She said Huffman's bill will lessen the blow from park closures and encourage other groups to get involved in saving the parks.

The nonprofits that get involved in supporting state parks would be required to provide an annual report with an accounting of all revenues and expenditures that would be made publicly available. All revenues received from the park could be expended only for the benefit of the state park unit. The nonprofit could contribute additional in-kind services and funding from outside entities for support of the park.

In May, Huffman said he believed the closure of state parks would do little to improve the state’s fiscal situation in the short run and only serve to harm state and local economies in the long run by losing tourism dollars. 

“We need to continue to seek stable long-term funding for state parks while at the same time work to facilitate other creative solutions, including public/private partnerships, to keep state parks open for the public’s benefit,” Huffman said at the time.

—By Bay City News Service

—Additional reporting by Novato Patch