Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the State Parks Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Appropriations panel trims some local grants, focuses budget on state parks and deferred maintenance
Summary
The committee approved amendments to House Bill 1019 that prioritize state park staffing and deferred maintenance, add two temporary FTEs for new parks, limit certain local grant appropriations, and add a new provision requiring legislative approval to create or rename state parks.
The Appropriations Committee advanced House Bill 1019 with amendments that refocus funding toward state park operations, deferred maintenance and staffing and remove or reduce some local grant line items.
Senator Thomas, presenting the bill language and amendments, said the package adds two full-time-equivalent positions that would not start until July 2026 to staff Pembina State Gorge and Rough Riders State Park (formerly Sully State Park). “Number 1, we are... asking for an additional 2 FTEs. They would not start until July of 2026,” Thomas said.
The committee removed a $7.5 million house proposal for local park grants and reduced other one-time items while retaining deferred maintenance funding. The panel also shifted a $1,000,000 House appropriation for International Peace Gardens sewer work to a $100,000 engineering study to determine true costs before committing larger capital funds. Committee discussion said Manitoba had committed funds toward matching projects at the International Peace Gardens.
The session included an extended review of multiple carryover items and deferred maintenance projects from prior biennia (ARPA and SIF funding) and a plan to provide an additional $12.5 million for deferred maintenance in the next biennium. Committee members emphasized the department’s execution timeline and environmental or historic-preservation constraints that have slowed some projects.
The $70 million line-of-credit authorization for the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library was retained but clarified to be usable only for reimbursement of construction costs, fixtures, exhibits and related building items. The committee also added new statutory language that would bar a state agency from creating a new state park or renaming an existing state park without prior approval from the legislative assembly, a change the division said was intended to preserve legislative oversight of park creation and names.
Committee members discussed cabin construction projects that had been delayed by coordination with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at certain Corps-managed lakes and directed parks staff to consider alternative sites if Corps approval is not forthcoming. Committee staff reported the Parks and Recreation Operating Fund balance was approximately $30.2 million, with about $9.2 million from recurring park fee sources after accounting for one-time transfers.
The committee moved and approved the amendments and then approved HB 1019 as amended; recorded votes showed amendment and final due-pass-as-amended margins of 15–1.
