Analysis of the 2006-07 Budget Bill Legislative Analyst's Office February 2006

Department of Parks and Recreation (3790)

The budget proposes $29.4 million for capital outlay for the Department of Parks and Recreation. This amount includes $17.7 million from bond funding, $2.7 million from the Off-Highway Vehicle Trust Fund (OHVF), $1 million from the Habitat Conservation Fund, and $8 million from federal funds and reimbursements.

Delete Six out of Seven Minor State Vehicular Recreation Area Projects

We recommend the Legislature delete funding for six minor capital outlay projects at State Vehicular Recreation Areas because the Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Commission, as required by statute, has not approved these projects. (Reduce Item 3790-301-0263 by $1.9 million.)

As shown in Figure 1, the budget proposes seven minor capital outlay projects totaling $2.1 million (OHVF) to provide for improvements to existing facilities at various State Vehicular Recreation Areas. Current law requires all capital outlay projects funded from OHVF to be approved by the Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation (OHMVR) Commission.

Recommend Deletion of Six Projects Lacking Required Commission Approval. At its December 2005 meeting, the OHMVR voted to reject six of the seven proposed minor capital outlay projects. Consistent with statute, we therefore recommend the Legislature reject these six proposals and reduce the appropriation for minor capital projects by a corresponding amount.

For a discussion of the Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Program, please see the “Department of Parks and Recreation (Item 3790)” write-up in the “Resources” chapter of this Analysis.