State Parks Funding a Win for Texas

HOUSTON - The 80th Texas Legislature recently approved two measures which provide significant new funding for state parks and address chronic budget shortfalls that were crippling a resource that benefits all Texans. The bills now head to the Governor’s desk for his consideration.

House Bill 12, the omnibus parks bill co-authored by State Rep. Dwayne Bohac (R-Houston), along with related provisions in House Bill 1, the state budget, include a large investment in state and local parks without raising any additional taxes. Together, these two bills provide approximately $182 million in additional funding for the 2008-2009 biennium.

With regard to a specific local park in the area, Bohac voted for $3.75 million to fund the West 11th Street Park near House District 138. This amount pays off an existing loan on the property and keeps intact the 21-acre park inside Loop 610. This beautiful pocket of wilderness is a wonderful escape from the stresses of fast-paced Houston life, having over 1800 mature trees, natural wildlife, and serene wooded trails.

“Since taking office, I’ve been concerned about the lack of funding for our parks,” Bohac said. “While the overall state budget increased by 68 percent between 1990 and 2003, the Legislature cut spending on state parks by 34 percent. In fact, funding over the past 15 years had become so bad that the Texas Parks and Wildlife has had to close or reduce operations at several state parks and could not afford to buy new vehicles.

“This past session, I made a strong, solid commitment to folks in my district that parks would be a priority for me,” Bohac said.

The parks legislation sent to the Governor addresses Texas’ short-term funding needs, but Bohac said that more needs to be done to put parks on a sound financial footing in the long term.

Over the next two years, a comprehensive study will be conducted to examine the sporting goods tax in general, and specifically, will seek to determine how much of that fee should be allocated to parks. Currently, there is a $32 million cap on what can be spent on parks, even though the sporting goods tax raises $105 million each year. The bill that passed the Texas House completely lifted the cap and dedicated the entire amount collected from the sporting goods tax to parks, as was originally intended when the fee was created. The Senate altered this provision.

”There’s much more to be done to protect our state parks in the future, so we can’t just declare victory and move on,” Bohac continued. “I am committed to finding a permanent solution to our parks funding so we don’t slip back to where we were before. Our state parks are home to some of the most breathtaking views in America, and they help protect drinking water supplies, wildlife habitats, and provide countless recreational opportunities.”