December 11, 2009
Pursuant to Elections Code Section 9005, we have
reviewed a proposed statutory initiative relating to funding for state
parks and wildlife conservation (A.G. File No. 09‑0072).
Background
The State Park System and State Wildland
Conservation Agencies. California has 278 state parks, of
which 246 are operated and maintained by the California Department of
Parks and Recreation (DPR) and 32 are operated and maintained by local
entities. Other state departments, such as the Department of Fish and
Game (DFG) and various state conservancies, own and maintain other lands
for wildlife conservation purposes. The Wildlife Conservation Board
acquires property and provides grants for property acquisition to state
and local entities for wildlife conservation purposes. The Ocean
Protection Council is a state agency responsible for coordinating state
activities to protect ocean resources.
Current Funding for State Parks and
Wildlife Conservation. Currently, the majority of funding for
the operation of state parks comes from the state's General Fund.
Additional funding sources are user fees (such as day use, camping, and
other use fees) and state gasoline taxes. The development of new state
parks and capital improvements to existing parks are largely funded from
bond funds. Wildlife conservation programs in other state departments,
such as DFG, are funded through a combination of the General Fund, user
fees, and bond funds. The DPR also administers grant programs for local
parks, funded largely through bond funds.
The Vehicle License Fee (VLF). The
VLF is an annual levy on the depreciated value of registered vehicles in
California levied in lieu of the local property tax. The Department of
Motor Vehicles (DMV) collects the VLF on behalf of the state and VLF
revenues are primarily distributed to cities and counties. Revenues from
the VLF are also used for grants to law enforcement organizations and
some revenues are deposited in the state's General Fund.
Proposal
Imposition of an $18 Surcharge on the VLF.
This measure places an $18 annual surcharge on the VLF for all
new vehicle licenses and renewals after January 1, 2010, except for
commercial vehicles, trailers, and trailer coaches. These surcharge
revenues would be deposited into the new State Parks and Wildlife
Conservation Trust Fund created by this measure.
Free Day-Use Entry to All State Parks for
Surcharge Payers. All California vehicles subject to the VLF
surcharge would have free admission to all units of the state parks
system, including state parks currently operated by local entities, as
well as to other specified state lands and wildlife areas. As such,
revenues currently collected for day-use access to state parks would be
reduced.
Allocation of Funds.
The measure allows up to 1 percent of revenues deposited into the trust
fund to be used for administration and oversight. The remaining funds in
the trust fund would be annually allocated, upon appropriation of the
Legislature, as follows:
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Operations, Maintenance, and Development
of State Parks. Eighty-five percent of the available funds
would be allocated to DPR for the operations, maintenance, and
development of the state parks system. The department would be
responsible for awarding grants to local entities to replace lost
day-use fees at locally operated state park units. It would also
administer a grant program to public agencies for urban river
parkways to provide recreational benefits to underserved urban
communities. The measure requires DPR to develop a strategic plan to
improve access to the state parks system for underserved groups and
regions of the state.
-
Management and Operation of DFG Lands.
Seven percent of the available funds would be allocated to DFG for
the management and operation of wildlife refuges, ecological
reserves, and other DFG lands.
-
Other Wildlife Conservation Activities.
The remaining 8 percent of the available funds would be allocated to
the Ocean Protection Council, state conservancies, and the Wildlife
Conservation Board to make direct expenditures or grants for
wildlife conservation activities.
Administration and Oversight. As
discussed above, this measure allows for up to 1 percent of annual
revenues to be used for collection, administration, and oversight of the
trust fund. The DMV would collect the surcharge and would deposit it
into the trust fund. The measure requires the State Auditor to conduct
annual reviews of expenditures from the fund to be reported to the
Legislature and to a Citizens Oversight Committee that, under the terms
of this proposal, must be established by the Secretary for Natural
Resources.
Fiscal Effects
Use of
New State Revenues.
The $18 VLF surcharge established by this measure would generate as much
as $500 million in revenues annually for the trust fund that could be
used to increase support of state parks and other wildlife conservation
programs.
However, under the measure, part of these new
revenues could be used instead to take the place of existing funds, such
as monies from the General Fund, currently used for the support of parks
and wildlife conservation activities. The savings to the General Fund
and other special funds could be as much as approximately $200 million
annually if the maximum amount of funds allowed were used for these
purposes.
Reduction in State and Local Park User Fee
Revenues. Since, under this measure, all California vehicles
subject to the VLF surcharge would receive free day-use entry to state
parks, revenues from day-use user fees at state parks (including those
operated by local governments) would decline significantly. Under this
measure, vehicles not subject to the VLF surcharge (that is, those not
registered in California or commercial vehicles) would continue to be
subject to day-use entry fees at state parks. Accordingly, we estimate
that the measure would result in a loss of about $50 million annually in
day-use user fee revenues. As noted earlier, this measure provides that
part of the new VLF surcharge revenues (up to 5 percent, or an estimated
$25 million annually) would be used to make grants to local entities
operating state parks to offset their loss of these day-use revenues.
These revenue losses could also be offset to an
unknown extent by increases in other types of park fees and revenues,
such as from tours, camping, and park concessions. That is because the
elimination under this measure of day-use fees could result in a larger
number of visitors to park facilities.
State Administration Costs to Implement the
Measure. The administration and oversight costs imposed on DMV
and the State Auditor by this measure would be in the low millions of
dollars annually. These costs would likely be fully offset by the
1 percent of surcharge revenues allocated by the measure for these
purposes.
Summary of Fiscal Effects
The measure would have the following fiscal
effects:
-
Increased state revenues of about $500 million
annually from the imposition of a surcharge on the VLF to be used
mainly to fund state parks and wildlife conservation programs.
-
Potential state savings of up to approximately
$200 million annually to the extent that the VLF surcharge revenues
were used to reduce support from the General Fund and other special
funds for parks and wildlife conservation programs.
-
Reduction of about $50 million annually in
state and local revenues from state park day-use fees. These revenue
losses could potentially be offset by increases in other types of
state park user fees and revenues.
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