By R.A. DYER
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
AUSTIN -- The budget for the state's beleaguered parks system is set
to more than triple under legislation given final approval Monday by
the Texas Legislature and sent to Gov. Rick Perry.
Much of the
funding boost for the 600,000-acre system was included in the state's
$152.5 billion two-year budget. But House Bill 12, which received final
passage Monday, freed up additional money, and now the state parks
operating budget should increase from about $50 million over the
two-year budget cycle to nearly $157 million.
"We've got a
substantial, if not record, appropriation of new dollars for parks,"
said state Rep. Harvey Hilderbran, R-Kerrville, who wrote the
legislation. "We've got reforms, and [it mandates] better business
practices that will help generate more income."
The vote brings to a close a pitched legislative battle over the parks system. A Star-Telegram investigation
last year found the underfunded Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
dealing with layoffs, inoperable equipment and shuttered facilities.
Under
the legislation and the separate budget bill, about $16 million of the
new funding must be generated by the parks system, mostly through more
vigorous collections at the front gates.
As originally crafted,
HB 12 called for the removal of a cap on how much of the state sales
tax on sporting goods can go to the parks department. In 1993, the
Legislature allocated revenues from the tax for parks, but in recent
years it has used most of the money for other things.
But the final version calls for studying the issue, not for permanently removing the cap.
Lawmakers
also approved the transfer of 18 properties from the parks department
to the Texas Historical Commission. About $6.7 million from the
sporting goods tax will go to support the commission. House Speaker Tom
Craddick pushed for the land transfer.
Funding for local parks
grants will go from about $10 million to more than $30 million.
However, most of that money could get set aside for about a dozen local
parks, many in the districts of Craddick supporters.
The director of the Environment Texas group called that provision bad public policy, but he praised the spending plan.
"After
decades of neglect, the Legislature has put our parks on the path back
to excellence," said Luke Metzger in a news release. "The additional
funds will allow the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to rehire park
rangers, re-open campgrounds, repair decaying facilities, and acquire
sensitive lands to create new state parks."
Lawmakers earlier
announced that more than $9 million from the recent sale of park
property at Eagle Mountain Lake in northwest Tarrant County will also
go to new parks acquisition. That should set the stage for the creation
of a 5,000-acre regional park in North Texas.
