Your Legislative Committee at Work CSPRA is working hard in the Capitol to protect parks and park values. There are plenty of opportunities for you to become involved as well - even some ways that take very little of your time.

Legislative Committee

CSPRA's legislative committee is actively recruiting new members. Recently joining the committee are former Deputy Director Dick Troy and Chief of Interpretation Donna Pozzi. Dick has been a leader in the fight against the proposed toll road through San Onofre State Beach (see below for more details) and Donna led the successful campaign to save Bodie State Historic Park. Both will be able to provide valuable insight into the legislative and political process for CSPRA membership and help to analyze pending legislation.

In addition to members of the legislative committee, CSPRA is looking for members who would be willing to meet locally with legislators to explain CSPRA goals and positions, or who could speak at public hearings that take place in various places throughout the state, including but not limited to Sacramento. Time commitments would be minimal and we would provide you with background information. Your job would be to provide that vital first-person story of what parks mean to you.

Support for Legislation and Proposals

I write this during the final frantic days of the 2005-2006 legislative session. As CSPRA lobbyist Monica Miller says, "anything can change until that last gavel goes down." [See Monica's report, page 10]. Therefore, contents and status of bills are a moving target, but as of this writing CSPRA is supporting the following bills:

SB 1125 (Chesboro) Tidelands Oil Money for Parks. This bill supports funding for deferred maintenance for Parks and highlighted on Parks Advocacy Day 2006. At this writing it is on "suspense", which means it may not go to the floor.

SB 153 (Chesboro) Support for Proposition 84. Prop 84 is the initiative to provide bond money for Parks.

AB 2497 (Laird) Study to look at acquisitions for parklands being approved by a mechanism other than the Public Works Board (PWB). This bill would consider other ways to approve acquisitions. Currently our acquisitions must be approved by PWB, which approves most acquisitions of state land, where we must compete against nonresource priorities such as land for prisons, surplusing lands to get cash for the state, etc. The PWB is composed of non-resource agencies such as the Department of General Services and the Department of Finance, which have been reluctant to approve land acquisitions that don't have operations funding attached. An alternative is the Wildlife Conservation Board, which includes resource oriented agencies such as Dept of Fish and Game. Currently, some agencies such as the State Lands Commission and the Dept. of Water Resources have acquisitions reviewed by the Wildlife Conservation Board (although the bill text erroneously states that all state acquisitions go through PWB). CSPRA strongly supports acquisitions of parklands, even if current operations funding is not available. CSPRA believes that as California becomes more populated and developed, opportunities for parkland acquisition will diminish and become far more costly. We believe the far-sighted option is to acquire land now for future generations.

AB 2485 (Jones and Laird) Sea Otter protection measures.Sea otter mortality has increased and this bill would provide measures for protection, including education on how to properly dispose of cat litter to prevent transmission of disease to sea otters.

SB 168 would have ratified a compact to prevent construction of a casino at the environmentally sensitive Big Lagoon, but the bill died. This was another bill featured on Park Advocacy Day (PAD) 2006. CSPRA is signing on to a letter of conceptual support for the compact generated by the California State Parks Foundation.
Proposition 84 will be on the November ballot to provide bond funding for resources, including Parks. CSPRA urges each of you to talk to your neighbors, family, and friends and explain to them why funding for parks is key. While on duty in your park you are allowed to provide visitors with factual information about Prop 84, although you may not advocate for votes. CSPRA also actively supported the successful allocation of deferred maintenance funding for parks.

Opposition to Legislation and Proposals

CSPRA opposed AB 1708 (DeVore), which requires the Director of the Department of Personnel Administration and the directors of state agencies to determine the fair and reasonable value of housing provided to employees. CSPRA Board Member Natalie Lohi was instrumental in spurring us to action. This bill was, however, signed in to law by the governor in July. It remains unclear what the practical implications of this bill will be to employees. The legislation does not supersede existing Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) between the state and employee unions.

Proposed Toll Road at San Onofre State Beach.

A broad coalition of organizations including CSPRA, the California State Parks Foundation, and the Sierra Club are fighting this proposal, which threatens a campground, sensitive species, cultural sites, and world-class surfing. CSPRA's Dick Troy has been a leader and spokesperson in this battle, which was also highlighted on PAD '06. We fear that in addition to the impacts to San Onofre SB , this would set a precedent encouraging agencies across the state to look to parklands for land for non-park projects. We are currently looking for members who might be able to meet locally in opposition to this proposal. Please contact me if you might be able to provide assistance.

Auburn Dam

CSPRA continues to warily watch this perennial proposal. Past-President Ron Brean heads this issue and is interested in a proactive approach to strengthening Auburn State Recreation Area as a park. Check out Nature Noir, by retired ranger Jordan Fisher-Smith, for background on Auburn SRA. Working with DPR CSPRA feels fortunate that the Department leadership concurs with CSPRA's positions on most of the pressing issues we face. President Angy Nowicki met recently with new DPR Deputy Director for Legislation Bill Herms, and Angy and I have been conducting quarterly meetings with Director Ruth Coleman to coordinate efforts and strategies where appropriate.

So, Gail, What Can I Do?

Your CSPRA dues support our activities, including lobbying. There are several other ways you can directly help our efforts, with even just a little of your time.
-- Join our email alert list. Many CSPRA members joined before the advent of email (remember those days?) and so we might not have your email address. Send it either to me (gail@cspra.com) or Executive Manager Laura Svendsgaard (laura@cspra.com). We'll let you know about timely action you can take such as calling or emailing legislators, events, and pending hearings.
-- Put local legislators on your park's mailing list. Lawmakers need to know what is going on in their local parks and the services we provide to constituents, such as education, interpretation, special events, conservation, and recreation opportunities. Find out who your local legislator is (www.legislature.ca. gov/legislators and_districts legislators/ your_legislator.html) and add them to your mailing list. Extend personal invitations to special events. Make sure their staff is aware of what we do. Remember, many legislators will change after November elections.
-- Check out CSPRA's Capitol Watch web page. Found at www.cspra.com/legislation.html, webmaster Jeff Price posts the latest news from the Legislative Committee and more. You can also follow the status of bills at the website of our lobbyist Governmental Advocates at www.governmentaladvocates.com/ clientaccess.php, password CSPRA1005.
-- Plan to attend Parks Advocacy Day March 2007. Led by the California State Parks Foundation, which is joined by many partners including CSPRA, the annual Parks Advocacy Day provides lawmakers and their staff to meet the faces of the parks: you. There is nothing more powerful than a park employee explaining firsthand the challenges we face out there and the great things that we do.

The name California State Park Rangers Association carries a cachet with legislators and they listen. Orientation and training for Park Advocacy Day will be conducted around the state prior to the event and at next year's CA Parks Conference March 4-8, 2007 at Yosemite.