Senate committee advances $1 county surcharge on state park entrance fees to fund public safety and infrastructure

House Bill 12-45, approved by the Senate Natural Resources Committee on a 7–1 vote and recommitted to the Senate Committee on Appropriations, would let county councils adopt an ordinance to add a $1 surcharge on vehicle entrance fees at state parks and recreation areas located in their county.

Representative Hall, the bill presenter, told the committee that the surcharge is aimed at counties that “lose out on property tax revenue” because large tracts are state- or federally owned, while still shouldering costs for law enforcement, emergency response and infrastructure. He said the surcharge funds “would be used exclusively for public safety. So police, fire, and EMS, and infrastructure improvements including water quality.”

The fee would apply to per‑vehicle day-use entrance payments and would not apply to annual pass holders, Representative Hall said. If a park spans multiple counties, each county would need to adopt an ordinance to receive funds; the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) would collect the surcharge as part of the state park entrance fee and transfer the proceeds to the county treasurers, Representative Hall told the committee.

Local officials from Brown County said the county supports the bill. Scott Rudd, a member of the Brown County Council, said Brown County hosts extensive DNR lands and receives “a million plus visitors a year” that consume local public safety resources while the lands pay no property taxes. Sheriff Bridal Stogafell of Brown County described repeated emergency responses in the park—including mountain‑biking injuries—and warned that the county’s two ambulances and volunteer fire resources are strained when visitor demand spikes.

Committee members questioned details including the size of the revenue stream and targeted uses. Sheriff Stogafell estimated Brown County’s share at roughly $81,000 annually; committee members noted that while helpful, that amount would not cover a full additional officer and termed the surtax one of several “buckshot” approaches to the county’s funding challenges. Senator Alexander said he was concerned about asking counties to charge extra for attractions that bring economic benefit to the county.

The bill includes language limiting the surcharge to day‑use fees (not annual passes) and specifies eligible uses as public safety and infrastructure such as water services. Senator Poudoir asked whether veterans or disabled veterans could be exempted; Representative Hall said broad exemptions were difficult to craft and were not included in the House bill, though he said sponsors would consider the issue further.

The committee moved and seconded passage and then voted to pass and recommit the bill to the Senate Committee on Appropriations. The committee recorded the final tally as 7 yays, 1 nay and 1 excused.