State parks: real property: acquisitions and leases.

Senator Allen, with principal coauthor Assembly Member Pellerin, frames a package of changes to how the state’s parks system handles real-property acquisitions and leases, centering on new authority for the department to bypass certain traditional approvals under clearly defined conditions. The core provision authorizes the director to waive the approvals that ordinarily come from the Department of General Services for acquisitions, conveyances, and related appraisals conducted by the Department of Parks and Recreation, with a sunset and specific safeguards.

Key mechanisms include a new latitude for the director to waive required approvals for state real-property transactions up to a specified threshold, and a parallel set of changes affecting how parks real-property transactions are appraised and reviewed. Under the bill, the Department of Parks and Recreation would conduct the appraisal for lands proposed to be leased, while the Department of General Services would review and approve the appraisal unless that review is waived. In addition, the measure would extend temporary exemptions from certain approvals for park-property acquisitions through early 2033, under particular conditions, and would raise the threshold for exemptions available without formal approval. The legislation also envisions the Department of General Services retaining the ability to waive its oversight in those lease and acquisition contexts and would require notices and public processes for larger or more complex transactions.

The bill provides for reporting and oversight to accompany these changes, including periodic legislative reports detailing how the authorization is used and the outcomes of transactions conducted without standard approvals. It would also introduce requirements around public notice and public meetings for acquisitions exceeding defined values and would preserve a structured process for larger or more sensitive park acquisitions, including public notice, meetings, and interagency communication. Several provisions would become operative only if related reform measures are enacted concurrently and in a specified order, and many changes would sunset in 2033, returning the framework to prior oversight unless extended. The proposal situates these adjustments within the existing statutory framework that governs state park acquisitions, leases, and related appraisal and budgeting processes, while articulating a targeted set of exceptions and reporting obligations to maintain accountability for park-related real-property transactions.