CA State Parks Nonprofits Law Renewed

SACRAMENTO, CA — California has renewed a law that aims to improve state parks and save money by allowing nonprofits to help maintain the parks.

Under the existing law, which is set to expire in January 2025, nonprofits may partner with the state to improve, restore, maintain and operate state parks.

After passing the state legislature, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday signed Senate Bill 668, proposed by Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, which will continue operating or co-management agreements between the state and nonprofits.

According to Dodd's office, these partnerships have provided important capital investments in the preservation and improvement of more than a dozen parks statewide, playing a critical role in keeping parks open during the 2011 recession.

"Nonprofit partners have provided important, stable funding to California's state parks that allows them to remain open and allow continued public access," said Rachel Norton, executive director of California State Parks Foundation, a nonprofit that sponsored the bill. "We envision a future where every state park has a dedicated partner that helps with financial support, programming, staffing and community engagement, and SB 668 is a crucial step in reaching that future."

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