HB2001 Archives - Arizona Heritage Alliance

[Source: Philip Wright, Camp Verde Bugle] — If passed, House Bill 2001 would just about kill any hope that the Douglas Mansion in Jerome State Historic Park will reopen within the foreseeable future. In spite of work continuing on the stabilization project to the mansion, the current news reports regarding the budgets for conservation funds, including State Parks, predict that most, if not all, state parks in Arizona may be forced to close.

Although the state parks board originally targeted Jerome State Historic Park for closure due to budget constraints, when it finally closed – suddenly – on Feb. 26, the parks board gave “maintenance and repairs” as the reason. Tom Pitts, president of the Jerome Chamber of Commerce, said in a recent interview, “When they shut it down, that was the excuse. Most of us thought it was a ploy.”

Pitts, along with the chamber, the Jerome Historical Society and officials at town hall, were all surprised when the park closed so suddenly. Most people involved locally assumed that the town would have time to come up with some proposals of its own to help keep the park open. Pitts had put together a petition of more than 3,000 signatures of Arizona residents. He included with the petition a fact sheet based on a 2007 study by Northern Arizona University on the economic impact of Arizona’s state parks. [Note: To read the full article, visit News not promising for Jerome (Arizona) State Park.]

[Source: Scott Stahl, www.examiner.com] — In a 5th Legislative Special Session on December 17, 2009, elected officials continue to play with the future of Arizona. They could easily be rewriting the history of the state. They are a legislature that seems to be unable to make difficult decisions and still maintain the integrity of this great state. Their position has been no temporary tax increase and cut spending. Thus far, every special session has added new cuts, loss of personnel and services.

The most recent cuts in a proposed House Bill 2001 calls for a further reduction of 7.5% to all state agencies budgets and reallocation of funds. The Secretary of State’s office has stated that it is now too late to consider a tax referendum because of time constraints.

Arizona State Parks would lose $3,151,100 in Fund reductions and transfers along with Fund sweeps of $6,088,700. Apparently the studies done by Northern Arizona University, The Morrison Institute, and the Governor’s Task Force on State Parks Sustainability had no impact on the legislature. The impact of this cut could reduce revenue to the state’s economy by over $266 million dollars.

When you think of the stories of our National Parks by Ken Burns, “One of America’s Greatest Ideas”, you have to wonder what America will say about Arizona’s destruction of their State Parks System. That is exactly what will happen if this current bill passes. More people will lose their jobs and parks will have to close. The loss of revenue will force the Parks System to dispose of property purchased and paid for by the people of Arizona, to benefit the people of Arizona, now and in the future.