California’s state parks would receive an additional $282 million if lawmakers approve a budget proposal by Central Coast Assemblyman John Laird to pump additional revenue into the struggling state park system.

The “state parks access pass,” which Laird introduced in a budget subcommittee hearing on Wednesday, May 28, would fully fund the entire state park system and provide free, year-round access to millions of Californians who would pay a $10 vehicle registration surcharge. The annual surcharge would be assessed on all vehicles except trailers and commercial vehicles subject to the CVRA weight fee. In exchange for the $10, California registered vehicles would get free day-use access to all state parks.

Laird’s plan is an alternative to a budget fix in Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s revised $144.3 billion state spending plan, released in mid-May, that would raise money for parks by increasing user fees. Schwarzenegger’s earlier budget proposal included shuttering 48 state parks and reducing lifeguard staffing on 16 state beaches. The governor’s “May revise” spending plan keeps parks open by requiring the state parks department to raise $1.5 million through fee increases.

While state park advocates laud the governor’s plan to keep parks open, they said the original threat to close 48 points to the larger problem: California state parks are woefully underfunded, and have been for years.

“We need to look at long-term funding solutions that are more broad-based,” says Traci Verardo-Torres, director of legislation and policy for the California State Parks Foundation. “There needs to be strong and stable funding, dedicated funding for the parks system so that every year it’s not a process of fighting with other sectors to get money for state parks.”

Schwarzenegger says upping park charges for one year will allow the state to keep them open. But Laird, a Democrat, counters that the governor’s plan would mean fewer people would use parks and pay the fees.

“The governor’s proposal is a one-year patch to parks funding and doesn’t address the long-term issues of deferred maintenance, staffing new parks, and making sure we have adequate support for our park system,” Laird says. “Plus, the last time park fees were raised to cover a budget shortfall, total park attendance dropped by 10 million visits, from 86 million visits to 76 million visits the year the fees went up. A temporary fee increase cuts accessibility to the state park system.”

Charging more money to visit state parks also presents socio-economic problems, Laird says. “The state park system clearly provides recreation for middle-income and lower-income people in California. Raising the fees cuts them off from coastlands and parklands.”

Currently, state parks are funded with $150 million annually from the General Fund. But they need an additional $240 million to pay for operations and maintenance. Laird says the state park access pass would raise about $282 million, including $40 million to backfill loss of entrance fees at gate receipts; $120 million to increase maintenance; $60 million to increase operations and public safety; and $62 million to reduce maintenance deficit.