It is now more important than ever before to support our State Park
system
It is now more important than ever before to support our
State Park system. Our parks provide a haven for needed relief from the state
and global events that surround our lives today. Our parks provide a place to
slow down, gather our thoughts and reenergize. They provide a place for our
children to connect with nature and for us to connect with our children. But,
we are losing our parks. Currently, Texas ranks 49th among the states in per-capita
spending on state parks.
The Legislature is Now in Session!
Budget Realities
Contact your Legislator
Find Bill
Text
Status of Parks Legislation
Texans for State Parks Legislative Position Statement
Texans for State Parks believes that the
Sporting Goods Sales Tax should continue to be a dedicated source of funding
for operations of state parks and for grants for local parks and that the cap
on the amount of funding from that source should be removed and the full amount
appropriated for state and local parks, historic sites and natural areas. The TexasParks
and Wildlife Department (Department) should receive, as dedicated funding for
state and local parks, the full amount of sales taxes generated by the sales
tax on sporting goods. Based on data supplied by the National Sporting Goods
Association, it is estimated that Texans pay over $100 million in sales tax on
sporting goods annually. The legislature capped the amount that the Department
can access in the mid-1990s at $32 million and even less was actually
appropriated for parks. That cap remains in place.
In
addition to urging more funding for operation and maintenance, TFSP supports additional
funding for state parkland acquisition. The population of Texas is growing at a tremendous rate and an
increasing percentage of Texans do not have ready access to large tracts of
undeveloped land. However, state parkland acquisition is virtually stagnant. Texas already is far
below the national average in state parkland per resident and the figure
continues to drop as our population rapidly expands. There will be no better
time than now to acquire parkland to provide public access opportunities for an
increasingly urbanized population. The Department's new "Land and Water
Resources Conservation and Recreation Plan," prepared in accordance with
the requirements of Senate Bill 305, 77th Legislature, graphically illustrates
the pressing need for renewed acquisition efforts for state parkland for the
benefit of all Texans. That Plan can be viewed via the TexasParks
and Wildlife Department website.
Texans for State Parks will continue to monitor legislative
developments and work in support of state and local parks, historic sites and
natural areas.
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SOME BUDGET REALITIES
The Texas State Park
System has suffered continuing budget cutbacks over the past several years. The
cumulative effects of inflation, maintenance and repair of infrastructure,
facilities, and historic buildings and worn out equipment has exceeded
authorized funding. Texas ranks 49th in the US in per capita funding for parks,
with a contribution from Texas taxpayers for parks of less than $1 per Texan
each year.
Local Parks(city,
county, etc.)receive matching funds from the state park
budget for the legislative-mandated grant program.The grants are funded from the same source as
state parks, currently a portion of the state sales tax collected on sporting
goods. No park use fees or license fees are used for these grants. The grant
program has been greatly reduced in funding in the past two successive
legislative sessions, from about $20 million a year to only $5 million a year
today.
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THE LEGISLATURE IS NOW IN SESSION AT TEXAS LEGISLATURE ONLINE!
Several
parks funding bills been filed to provide funding for State and local parks by
allocating the entire amount of revenue from the sales tax on sporting goods to
parks.
HB6
Hilderbran:Representative Harvey Hilderbran has filed HB 6 “relating to the allocation and
use of the sporting goods sales tax revenue to fund state and local parks.
TfSP
is working with other park supporters to encourage as many representatives as
possible to sign on to cosponsor the bill.By
lifting the cap on the "Sporting Goods Tax" entirely, HB 6 will cover
the full funding for state and local parks as recommended by the Texas State
Parks Advisory Committee.
HB 6 was heard by the
Culture, Recreation and Tourism Committee Tuesday,
February 20th with very good support, but remains in Committee
pending substitutes.
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SB 232, Estes:The
Senate companion, SB 232 is beginning to gather supporters as well, but we
still have a long way to go, and you can help with your letters and phone calls
to Senators asking them to sign on to support SB 232.For the Text and a list of Senators who have
signed as authors of the bill, go tohttp://www.capitol.state.tx.us/BillLookup/actions.aspx?LegSess=80R&Bill=SB232.
HB
466, Flores:A similar bill by Representative Flores
states ‘the proceeds from the collection of the
taxes imposed by this chapter on the sale,
storage, or use of sporting goods shall be credited to the parks and Wildlife
Department…the department shall deposit to the credit of the state parks account…’ See the text atwww.legis.state.tx.us/BillLookup/history.aspx?LegSess=80R&Bill=HB466.
House Joint Resolution 38, filed by Rep. David Leibowitz, D-Helotes, would allow Texans to vote on
whether to dedicate to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department all money
generated from general sales tax paid on sporting goods. Leibowitz's bill would allow Texans to vote on a
constitutional amendment which would mandate the Texas Legislature annually
appropriate all revenue from sales tax on sporting goods to TPWD. The agency
would be required to use that money - now, about $105 million a year - only for
"managing and conserving the natural and cultural resources of this
state," and" providing hunting, fishing, and outdoor recreation
opportunities for the people of the state." See the text of the bill at House Joint Resolution 38, and click on the TEXT tab at the top of the
page.
In
the event HJR 38 should be passed and the tax approved by voters, it would be a
much more certain source of funding for parks now and in the future.A law dedicating funding can be changed by a
majority vote of the legislature in any session, while a constitutional
amendment must be approved be the legislature and then go to the voters, and
would require voter approval to repeal. http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=80R&Bill=HB318
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Senator
Ellis has filed SJR 16 asking for a
Constitutional Amendment regarding the Sporting Goods Tax, and SB 353 which
calls for 60% of the Sales Tax on Sporting Goods to go to Parks. It does not
give any guidelines about the grant programs.
HJR38
and SJR16 are slightly different: the Senate bill more tightly restricts the
money from sporting goods tax to the parks, HJR38 is more broad and the funds could probably go to any TPWD
purpose.
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HB 71, filed jointly by Hilderbran and
Donna Howard, “Proposing a constitutional amendment relating to the allocation
and use of the sporting goods sales tax revenue to fund state and local parks”
states in part: “This proposed constitutional amendment shall be submitted to
the voters at an election to be held November 6, 2007.The ballot shall be printed to permit voting
for or against the proposition: The constitutional amendment requiring that
revenue received from the collection of the taxes imposed on the sale, storage,or use of sporting goods be
appropriated only to fund state and local parks."See the entire bill at www.capitol.state.tx.us/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=80R&Bill=HJR71
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LEGISLATION FILED PROPOSING TRANSFER OF
HISTORIC SITES
HB 7 has been filed by Hilderbran and Flores
“Relating to the transfer of historic sites from the Parks and Wildlife
Department to the Texas Historical Commission, to the allocation and use of
revenue by the department and commission, and to the eligibility of certain
land for entry into the state parks system.”
HB 7,
which proposes to transfer a number of sites to the Historical Commission, was
heard by the Cultural, Natural Resources Committee March 6, with numerous park
supporters voicing their opposition.The
bill remains in the committee pending substitutes which will, according to
testimony from Hilderbran, add more sites to those named in the bill as well as
increase funding to be transferred with the sites.See
text of HB 7 at www.capitol.state.tx.us/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=80R&Bill=HB7
.
Texans for State Parks is encouraging park supporters to contact your City and
County officials ask them to prepare resolutions supporting the dedication and
appropriation of the full amount of the tax on sporting goods for state and
local parks, and forward them to Senators and Representatives.
A draft resolution is included below, or anyone may prepare
their own version.A number cities and
counties have already done this. Some of those, obtained by the TRAPS
Legislative Committee, are listed athttp://www.traps.org/legis.htm#platform.If your local officials haven’t submitted Resolutions as a result of being contacted by TRAPS or
someone else, please encourage them to do so now.
Please request that copies for record be sent to TfSP at leevans@texas.net , or mail to Texans for State Parks, P.O. Box 41480, Austin,
TX78704
so we can add them to the list.
A RESOLUTION OF THE [CITY/COUNTY] OF
__________________ [CITY COUNCIL/COMMISSIONERS COURT] URGING THE MEMBERS OF THE
TEXAS LEGISLATURE TO TAKE ACTION TO INCREASE FUNDING FOR THE TEXAS STATE PARK
SYSTEM AND THE TEXAS RECREATION & PARKS ACCOUNT LOCAL PARK GRANT PROGRAM
WHEREAS,
there are 114 state park units operated by the Texas Parks and Wildlife
Department which provide natural and historic sites for youth education
programs, hunting, fishing, hiking, camping, and family outings; and
WHEREAS,
13 of the 28 reasons out of state visitors list for choosing to visit Texas are
state park experiences; and
WHEREAS,
10 million park visitors spend money in local communities generating over $1.2
billion in economic activity and about 12,000 jobs for Texas communities; and
WHEREAS,
the income and jobs generated by park visitors are increasingly important to
communities located near to state park units; and
WHEREAS,
Texas ranks
49th in per capita spending among the 50 states for parks and
recreation; and
WHEREAS,
the primary means of funding state parks, in addition to revenues directly
generated from park operations, is through the “sporting goods sales tax,”
which is that portion of the existing sales tax derived from sporting goods;
and
WHEREAS,
the “sporting goods sales tax” generates over $100 million annually but only
about 20% of that amount, or about $20 million, was appropriated to the Texas
Parks and Wildlife Department in Fiscal Year 2006; and
WHEREAS,
inadequate funding has resulted in partial closings and curtailment of
operations at numerous state park units; and
WHEREAS,
inadequate funding has resulted in a backlog of major maintenance and in the
deterioration of visitor facilities at state park units; and
WHEREAS,
the “sporting goods sales tax” also is the source of funding for the Texas
Recreation & Parks Account Local Park Grant Program (“TRPA”) also
administered by TPWD; and
WHEREAS,
the TRPA provides matching funds to local governments to develop local parks
that are critical to quality of life and economic development in local
communities across the state; and
WHEREAS,
the development and operation of state and local parks encourages and promotes
public health, economic development, job creation, education, corporate
relocations, an improved quality of life, and juvenile crime prevention; and
WHEREAS,
the population of Texas
continues to grow at a rapid rate resulting in an increasing demand for state
and local parks; and
WHEREAS,
the State Park Advisory Committee to the Parks & Wildlife Commission issued
a report in August 2006 detailing the problems created by inadequate funding
for state and local parks and providing recommendations for funding increases;
NOW,
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE [CITY COUNCIL/ COMMISSIONERS COURT] OF
______________________________, TEXAS:
That,
we hereby urge the members of the Texas Legislature to pass legislation to
authorize and appropriate revenues from the sporting goods sales tax to the
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department for the purposes of supporting the state
park system and the TRPA in an amount at least consistent with that recommended
in the August 2006 State Park Advisory Committee Report to the Parks &
Wildlife Commission.
PASSED
AND APPROVED by the _________________ [City Council/Commissioners Court] on this
the ____ day of _____________, 2007.
