* The $11 million General Fund reduction in 2011 will grow to $22 million, which will result in the closure of up to 70 state parks effective July 1, 2012. The Budget includes $517.8 million and 4,056.5 positions for the Department.

* Revenue Incentive Opportunities — An increase of $4.3 million State Parks and Recreation Fund in 2012?13 and a shift of $11 million from its base budget to a continuous appropriation to provide the Department additional flexibility to implement new projects and/or new programs that generate additional revenues and help keep parks open to the public. The Department has been pursuing concessions, operating agreements, and other arrangements with public, non?profit, and private entities to keep as many parks open as possible.

* Ballot Trigger Reduction: All seasonal lifeguards and 20 percent of park rangers would be eliminated if the Governor’s tax proposal is not approved in November. The reductions would result in savings of approximately $8.7 million when fully implemented.

*  Eliminate the Department of Boating and Waterways and Transfer the Functions into the Department of Parks and Recreation — The Department of Parks and Recreation currently partners with Boating and Waterways in facilities construction projects. Boating and Waterways funds operations at all of Parks’ reservoirs. This proposal will transfer the functions of the Department of Boating and Waterways to a division of the Department of Parks and Recreation, similar to the Off-Highway Vehicle Recreation Division. Because the Department of Boating and Waterways is being transferred to the Department of Parks and Recreation, the California Boating and Waterways Commission will be eliminated. The Commission advises the Department of Boating and Waterways on matters within its jurisdiction and consents to all boating facilities loans and grants. The duties performed by the Commission will be absorbed by the Department of Parks and Recreation.

*  The budget proposal eliminates the California Technology Agency and makes it a department under the new Government Operations Agency. Major components of state administration, including procurement, information technology, and human resources, are currently dispersed among different agencies. Combining these and other functions that assist in the general operation of state government into one agency will make state government more manageable and efficient. This new agency will include the departments of General Services, Human Resources, Technology, the Office of Administrative Law, the Public Employees’ Retirement System, the State Retirement System, and the newly restructured Department of Revenue. It also will include the State Personnel Board and the Government Claims Board.

*  The Highway Patrol will fall under a new Transportation Agency