State parks: Accessibility Advisory Committee.

Bennett, alongside Caloza, Jeff Gonzalez, and Papan, advances a measure to create an Accessibility Advisory Committee within the Department of Parks and Recreation to advise on accessibility across the state park system, with the committee serving in an advisory capacity to the director and producing recommendations for accessibility improvements and general planning.

The committee would include eight to fourteen members, mandating the Chief of the department’s Accessibility Division and, appointed by the director, up to two additional department representatives, with the remaining seats filled by individuals who bring demonstrated experience in public accessibility requirements. Its duties encompass evaluating disability accessibility models and provisions used by relevant federal and state park systems, reviewing the department’s services, programs, and activities, and providing recommendations on drafting and updating the department’s general plans as requested by the director. The director would have discretion to implement the committee’s recommendations as deemed appropriate.

From a fiscal and governance standpoint, the measure does not authorize a direct appropriation, though a fiscal analysis is contemplated as part of the legislative process. Members would not be compensated, but their reasonable and necessary expenses would be reimbursed. The advisory structure imposes no enforcement mechanism or mandatory funding, and there is no specified timeline, reporting requirement, or cadence for meetings beyond the directive to establish and utilize the committee’s input at the director’s discretion.

Stakeholders potentially affected include individuals with disabilities, disability advocacy organizations, and internal department offices focused on accessibility, alongside state park users and surrounding communities who interact with park accessibility planning. The measure adds a formal advisory mechanism that could influence the department’s general planning and program reviews, while preserving the department’s ultimate decision-making authority and the absence of new penalties or funding mandates. This framework sits within California’s broader governance approach to accessibility, introducing structured external input without altering existing statutory language beyond the new advisory provision.