Under last year’s budget, 70 state parks were slated to shut down July first. Several of them will stay open thanks to non-profit organizations and local communities.And now Democratic Senators Joe Simitian and Noreen Evans say they’ve come up with a plan to provide long term funding for dozens more. It would use about $40 million from existing accounts for sewer and road maintenance, and off-highway vehicle programs.
Simitian says it will also shift money from other sources. “If we access funds that are available from the motor vehicle account and we think up to 10 million dollars can be found in that particular location in an annual basis our hope is that all that put together turns into a sustainable parks plan for the future."
Lawmakers will take a first look at the proposal at a budget hearing this week.
