Washington State

House of Representatives

Office of Program Research

BILL

ANALYSIS

General Government Appropriations & Oversight Committee

HB 2528

This analysis was prepared by non-partisan legislative staff for the use of legislative members in their deliberations. This analysis is not a part of the legislation nor does it constitute a statement of legislative intent.

Background:

The Washington State Parks system, the fourth oldest in the nation, includes 117 developed parks on over 100,000 total acres. Each year, the system sees well over 40 million visitors, with many using one of the over 2,000 modern camping sites or other overnight accommodation, holding events with use of group facilities, or simply for day-use recreating purposes.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), Department of Natural Resources (DNR), and State Parks and Recreation Commission (State Parks) are charged with managing the public lands of the state. The WDFW owns or manages nearly one million acres of public land for fish and wildlife, habitat conservation, and wildlife-related recreation. The DNR protects and manages 5.6 million acres of state-owned land.

Until July 1, 2011, there was no charge to the public for access to both DNR or State Parks land and recreation sites. The WDFW charged $10 for the annual fish and wildlife lands vehicle use permit, or the permit was provided free of charge with all hunting and fishing licenses.

State Parks have historically been funded with varying levels of state general fund. In response to reductions in general fund support and in an effort to make the State Parks self-supporting, agency request and subsequently enacted legislation in 2011 created the Discover Pass permit as a way to increase contributions from users.