Below is an important action alert about Arizona State Parks from the Grand Canyon Chapter of the Sierra Club. This is an important opportunity to save our state parks from closure. Please do your part!
You can also send a quick message through their website.
This bill would add a $9 surcharge onto the annual vehicle registration fees, which would generate enough money to maintain and operate our state park system. In return, Arizona-registered vehicles would be able to enter state parks for free. It’s a good deal, and while I’d love to see the Arizona Legislature fully fund the parks system from the general fund, this appears to be the most politically-viable alternative.
HCR2040 sustainable state parks fund (Jones, Brown, Ch. Campbell, et al) refers to the ballot a measure to allow free day use of all of our State Parks for a fee on every vehicle registration. The funds would be administered by the State Parks Board to operate and maintain parks. With a nine dollar fee, Parks can generate approximately $39 million per year which would provide the necessary dollars for operation and maintenance.
The bill will be heard in the House Natural Resources and Rural Affairs Committee on Thursday around 2pm in House Hearing Room 5.
PLEASE COME TO THE HEARING, EMAIL LEGISLATORS, SIGN IN ON THE REQUEST TO SPEAK SYSTEM, OR ALL OF THE ABOVE. ASK MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE NATURAL RESOURCES AND RURAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE TO SUPPORT HCR2040!
Members of the Committee include representatives:
- Konopnicki (Chair) (602) 926-5409, bkonopnicki@azleg.gov
- Jones (Vice-Chair) (602) 926-3002, rjones@azleg.gov
- Deschene (602) 926-5862, cdeschene@azleg.gov
- Fleming (602) 926-5836, pfleming@azleg.gov
- Pancrazi (602) 926-3004, lpancrazi@azleg.gov
- Pratt (602) 926-5761, fpratt@azleg.gov
- McComish (602) 926-5898 jmccomish@azleg.gov
- Jerry Weiers (602) 926-5894, jpweiers@azleg.gov
[Click here to email them all at once]
To sign in for Request to Speak, go to http://alistrack.azleg.gov/rts/login.asp and then enter your user name and password (remember this has to be set up at the legislature the first time and I can do that for you, but need for you to let me know what you would like to use for your user name and password). Click on House of Representatives and then hit login. Click on “Agenda Search,” then enter the bill number “HCR2040.” Click on “Begin Search.” You should see HCR2040 come up. Click on “Choose Bill.” You can then click on “for” the bill and indicate whether or not you wish to speak. If you are not going to be there, then you will want to leave it as the default, which is “no.” If you are going to be there, please consider speaking in favor of the bill and click on “yes.” One other thing, the default will be that you are speaking for yourself. If you are not listed as an authorized lobbyist for your organization, then you should just speak on behalf of yourself — that is more effective many times anyway.
Here’s the full text of the bill, as it currently stands:
