A measure that would've guaranteed a set amount of funding to state parks was upturned in 2015. Lawmakers and advocates are hoping similar legislation will stick this session.
After a push to increase funding for state parks failed in 2015, a House panel revisited the issue on Thursday, with some lawmakers and advocates hopeful a similar proposal to boost funding for parks — and guarantee future funding — passes this time.
The House Appropriations Committee took public comment on House Bill 78 by state Rep. Ryan Guillen, D-Rio Grande City. The legislation would ensure that almost all of revenue generated by the state’s “sporting goods sales tax” would go to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to fund the operation and maintenance of all 103 state parks and historical sites in Texas.
The Legislature created the tax in 1993 to fund portions of the department and the Texas Historical Commission, later stipulating that up to 94 percent of generated revenue would go to parks and up to 6 percent to the historical commission. But lawmakers have hoarded much of the tax revenue, often using part of it to balance the state budget.
The state comptroller's office estimates the sporting goods tax will generate $333.5 million in revenue during the 2018-2019 biennium, meaning the department would receive $313.5 million in revenue if Guillen's bill passes. Meanwhile, the parks department is facing a $100 million shortfall.
The Legislature in 2015 passed similar legislation championed by Guillen and other legislators, but Gov. Greg Abbott later signed another bill that essentially repealed that one. The legislation instead gave authority to state lawmakers to decide how to use revenue from the sporting goods sales tax.
“Last session, everybody thought we got it done, but it wasn't until months later did we figure out it had been repealed by another bill,” Guillen told the committee at Thursday's public hearing. “Most folks still believe this has already been done, but it hasn’t.”
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