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Committee backs $1 county surcharge on state park entrance fees to fund public safety and infrastructure
Summary
The Senate Natural Resources Committee passed House Bill 12-45, allowing counties that host state parks or recreation areas to add a $1 surcharge to vehicle entrance fees, with collections handled by the state and transfers to county treasurers; the bill was recommitted to the Senate Appropriations Committee.
The Senate Natural Resources Committee passed House Bill 12-45, a measure that would allow counties with state parks or state recreation areas to impose a $1 surcharge on vehicle entrance fees to fund public safety and infrastructure, and recommitted the bill to the Senate Committee on Appropriations.
Supporters told the committee that counties hosting state-owned lands lose property tax revenue while still providing emergency services and infrastructure for visitors. Representative Hall, who presented the bill, said the surcharge would be collected by the Indiana Department of Revenue as part of state park entrance fees and the Department of Natural Resources would transfer the funds to county treasurers. Representative Hall said the surcharge would not apply to annual pass holders and that county councils — not commissioners — would adopt an ordinance to make a county eligible to receive the funds.
Brown County officials described local impacts. Scott Rudd, a member of the Brown County Council, said the county’s state park and Yellowwood State Forest together amount to roughly 40,000 acres that pay no property taxes while generating more than a million visitors a year; the council voted unanimously to support the bill. Brown County Sheriff Bridal Stogettenell described repeated rescues and medical responses in the park, noting the county has two ambulances, six volunteer fire departments and no in‑county hospital. He said holiday weekends spike demand for emergency services and lengthen response times for residents when resources are committed to park incidents.
Committee members asked operational questions. Senator Yoder asked how revenues would be split when a park spans multiple counties; Representative Hall said each county must adopt the ordinance to be eligible and, where multiple counties adopt it, the Department of Natural Resources would prorate the surcharge among them. Senator Cordero asked about exemptions for veterans and disabled veterans; Representative Hall said multiple exemption categories had been discussed but were not included in the House version because proponents worried exemptions could multiply and materially reduce revenue to the DNR and to parks. Brown County’s estimate of annual revenue from the surcharge was described in testimony as about $81,000, a number some members said would not fully cover staffing needs.
The committee heard support from the Indiana Wildlife Federation, which said the carve-out for annual pass holders incentivizes frequent users to buy passes and that local officials have described water and public safety strains during peak season.
On a roll call the committee moved to pass and recommit the bill; the clerk recorded seven yeas, one nay, and one excused. The committee’s recorded yeas included Senators Yoder, Kidora, Alexander, Clark, Leising, Toms and Chair Glick; Senator Byrne recorded the sole no vote and one senator was excused. The bill was recommitted to the Senate Appropriations Committee.
The measure leaves several implementation details to county ordinance and state administration; the DNR and Department of Revenue roles for collection and transfer were described in testimony but committee members signaled they may seek further details at appropriations.
