AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 16, 2026
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION
98
Introduced by Assembly Member Rogers
February 20, 2026
An act to add Article 1.8 (commencing with Section 526) to Chapter 1 of Division 1 of the Public Resources Code, relating to outdoor recreation.
Vote: majority Appropriation: no Fiscal committee: yes Local program: no
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST
Existing law authorizes the Department of Parks and Recreation to enter into a statewide agreement with a park support organization to facilitate the implementation of reforms recommended by the Parks Forward Commission and to develop and secure expertise, services, resources, and projects that are not readily available to the state park system, for specified purposes.
This bill would authorize the Natural Resources Agency to enter into a statewide agreement with a public recreation access and outdoor economy support organization organization, as defined, to facilitate and
implement certain objectives, and would require the agency and support organization to, after entering into a statewide agreement, collaborate to develop an annual list of strategic initiatives and projects that are statewide priorities, as provided. The bill would authorize certain persons, including the Director of the Department of Parks and Recreation, to serve as ex officio, nonvoting members of the support organization’s board of directors, as provided.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) Outdoor industry encompasses gear design, tourism, hospitality, and guided experiences, including fishing and hunting, and contributes significantly to the economy, including a record $1.2 trillion in total national output and $81.5 billion in California in 2023.
(b) The Natural Resources Agency’s Outdoors for All initiative, the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development’s Jobs First report, and the California Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force’s Joint Strategy for Sustainable Outdoor Recreation and Wildfire Resilience, and future similar reports
Resilience include recommendations to optimize public recreation access opportunities and support recreation as an economic driver through enhanced engagement in California’s outdoors and our natural landscapes.
(c) There are numerous existing nonprofit support organizations collaborating with the Natural Resources Agency and its many departments to promote the health, fitness, mental, and economic values of outdoor engagement.
(d) Among the many collaborating organizations, Parks California is a codified support organization dedicated to interfacing with the Department of Parks and Recreation to advance priority programmatic and capital improvement projects identified by the department in conjunction with Parks California.
(e) The success of Parks California as a support organization encourages the creation of a separate support organization dedicated to collaborating with the Natural Resources Agency and its departments on the coordination and implementation of several initiatives to facilitate greater engagement with California’s outdoors, which will lead to beneficial outcomes, including economic development opportunities.
(f) Among the many economic benefits that could be realized are expanded branding and promotion of the outdoors on federal, state, regional, local, and private lands and greater federal,
state, and local collaboration with gateway communities to transition from mining and lumber to recreation-based economies.
(g) Through the leadership of the Outdoor Recreation Roundtable, Outdoor Industry Association, and the Confluence of States, nearly 50 percent of the states in the union have created some iteration of an office, division, or department within state government specifically designed to capitalize on the health, fitness, and economic benefits inherent in the public-outdoors interface.
(h) The Natural Resources Agency would benefit from establishing a new strategic partnership with a nonprofit support organization dedicated to promoting access to the outdoors in all landscapes that would complement and support the work of the agency and other state entities, including the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development, by bringing new resources, expertise, and flexibility to assist the agency in accomplishing its mission.
SEC. 2.
Article 1.8 (commencing with Section 526) is added to Chapter 1 of Division 1 of the Public Resources Code, to read:
Article 1.8. Public Recreation Access and Outdoor Economy Support Organization
For purposes of this article, the following terms have the following meanings:
(a) “Agency” means the Natural Resources Agency.
(b) “Outdoor access” means the ability, right, or opportunity for all people to safely and equitably enter and use outdoor recreation spaces, ranging from public parks to private land, for outdoor recreational activities such as hiking, biking, camping, backpacking, skiing, snowboarding, rock climbing, mountaineering, kayaking, hunting, fishing, and off-roading.
activities.
(d)
(c) “Outdoor economy” means the gross output, compensation, employment, and value-added gross domestic product (GDP) generated by activities that occur outdoors, including conventional core activities, including fishing, hiking, and hunting, other activities, including gardening, and supporting activities, including tourism.
(f)
(d) “Outdoor recreation” means all recreational activities responsibly undertaken for pleasure that occur outdoors, including human-powered and motorized activities if the activity takes place in a natural environment. environment with a
respect for conservation, wildlife, habitat, and off-limit areas. Outdoor recreation includes hiking, biking, surfing, camping, backpacking, skiing, snowboarding, rock climbing, mountaineering, kayaking, hunting, fishing, off-roading, and adaptive outdoor sports with responsible recreation principles and conservation at the forefront.
(e) “Priority list” means the annual list of strategic initiatives and projects developed by the agency and the support organization pursuant to Section 527.2.
(f) “Support organization” means a nonprofit organization that meets the following requirements:
(1) Is exempt from taxation pursuant to Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
(2) Is established for the principal purposes of increasing outdoor access and promoting expanded recreation opportunities on, and within, California’s diverse landscapes to support mental, physical, and economic health objectives in the state.
(3) Complies with the Supervision of Trustees and Fundraisers for Charitable Purposes Act (Article 7 (commencing with Section 12580) of Chapter 6 of Part 2 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code).
(a) The agency may enter into a statewide agreement with a support organization to facilitate and implement, among other objectives, the findings and recommendations of the department’s Outdoors for All initiative, the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development’s Jobs First report, and California’s Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force’s Joint Strategy for Sustainable Recreation and Wildfire Resilience Resilience, and efforts through the Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Hunting and Fishing Recruitment,
Retention, and Reactivation Initiative to develop greater capacity to expand, enhance, and complement projects and programs proposed by the agency through the following methods:
(1) Developing and engaging new sources of public and private funding for the vast network of outdoor businesses and
outdoor industry outlets owned, administered, or supported by the agency,
including philanthropic sources and enterprise- and revenue-generating activities, where appropriate. strengthening the outdoor economy to better support the workforce, mitigate seasonal fluctuations, attract new opportunities and experiences, and generate funds to support the sustainable operation of outdoor recreational amenities and activities.
(2) Supporting marketing and communications activities that promote the programs, amenities, and resources of the agency, its departments, and its partners.
(3) Supporting programs, policies, projects, and completion of
and projects that facilitate increased responsible outdoor recreation, outdoor access, and visitations visitation to visitor-serving amenities and facilities, including, but not limited to, the establishment of new trail corridors that connect people to nature and communities and communities, the establishment of bicycle greenway routes or systems.
systems, and the maintenance, operation, stewardship, and mitigation of new and existing amenities and facilities.
(4) Supporting and providing recommendations to a designated state director, if the state joins the Confluence of States.
(5) Enhancing outdoor recreation and conservation educational opportunities, particularly for younger and more diverse audiences.
(6) Promoting the health and well-being of the state’s residents.
(7) Promoting or developing strategic research, data collection, and economic modeling for, among other things, tracking outdoor recreation trends and outdoor participation rates in California.
(8) Providing communities of interest, including regional outdoor recreation collaboratives, with technical assistance to better inform, educate, and capitalize on intrinsic and economic values of public recreation access.
(9) Reinforcing and building upon the inclusivity of the definition of “outdoor recreation” as all inclusive to include, among other activities, off-highway vehicle and consumptive
activities, including hunting and fishing. with respect for trail boundaries and off-limit areas for wildlife, habitat, and conservation.
(10) Prioritizing a coexistence between outdoor recreationists, wildlife, biodiversity, and habitat with a purpose to protect and preserve wildlife habitats and inspire conservationists for generations to come.
(11) Initiating collaboration with existing tribal entities and maintaining respect for their wishes for the land and waters on which we recreate.
(b) (1) To complement these efforts, the agency and support organization shall collaborate with the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development on a suite of interventions designed to promote the outdoors, including, but not limited to, the implementation of the following:
(A) Regional industry sector activation plans for the recreation and tourism sector.
(B) Regional economic development strategies.
(C) Regional tourism strategies that support, but do not duplicate
duplicate, efforts underway by Visit California.
(2) The collaboration pursuant to paragraph (1) shall organize and prioritize recommendations rooted in the work of the California Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force’s Joint Strategy for Sustainable Outdoor Recreation and Wildfire Resilience.
(3) The collaboration pursuant to paragraph (1) shall establish a single point of contact as a federal lands liaison to communicate and respond to federal policies and practices of impact to federal lands within California and stakeholder interests.
(c) If the agency enters into an agreement with a support organization, the support organization, in consultation with the agency, shall do the following:
(1) Communicate and coordinate with government entities, partners, friends, and volunteers to ensure that activities undertaken pursuant to the agreement complement, support, facilitate, and amplify ongoing partnerships, programs, and projects in support of increasing access to the outdoors.
(2) Engage with public agencies and organizations that manage, operate, and support protected lands in the state.
(a) The director, the Director of Finance, the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency, secretary of the agency, and the Director of the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development, or their respective designees, designees or proxy, may serve as ex officio, nonvoting members of the support organization’s board of directors to provide for effective communication and coordination
of efforts between the agency and the support organization. The secretary of the agency may designate additional ex officio members, as appropriate, from departments within the agency.
(b) A public recreation access and outdoor economy support organization is not a state agency or a state body.
(a) If the agency enters into an agreement with a support organization pursuant to Section 527, the agency and the support organization shall collaborate to develop an annual list of strategic initiatives and projects that are statewide priorities for the agency and for the support organization and that the support organization will undertake in partnership with the agency.
(b) (1) Any initiative or project included on the priority list shall be consistent with the purposes specified in subdivision (a) of Section 527.
(2) For the first three years of an agreement entered into pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 527, the support organization and the agency shall prioritize a limited subset of focus areas and projects from the list of purposes specified in subdivision (a) of Section 527, consistent with paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 527.
(c) Any initiative or project included on the priority list involving properties operated or managed by the department shall be consistent with Sections 5001.2 and 5019.53 regarding protection of the natural, scenic, cultural, and ecological values of the state park system.
(d) The agency shall post a copy of the priority list on its internet website and shall provide copies of the list to the chairpersons of the Senate Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review, the Assembly Committee on Budget, the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Water, and the Assembly Committee on Water, Parks, and Wildlife.
(a) In order to advance the purposes described in subdivision (a) of Section 527, an agreement between the agency and the support organization pursuant to Section 527 shall, at a minimum, include and specify the following:
(1) Clear goals and objectives.
(2) Any commitments of oversight, staffing, and coordination that are needed to accomplish the goals and objectives.
(3) The process for developing the priority list pursuant to Section 527.2.
list.
(b) The agency may develop and enter into supplementary agreements with a support organization for the purpose of securing any expertise, capacity, or financial resources that may be needed to identify, plan, develop, or implement strategic initiatives and projects on the priority list. A supplementary agreement may include, but is not limited to, grants, contracts, memoranda of understanding, staff-sharing agreements, leases, and rights of entry onto specified public lands.
(c) The secretary of the agency may receive donations of projects, services, and funds from a support organization.
(d) The Director of Finance shall have 60 days to review and approve or disapprove any agreement proposed pursuant to subdivision (a), or any substantial amendment to such an agreement. Upon approval of the agreement, the secretary of the agency may accept donations pursuant to subdivision (c) and enter into supplementary agreements as authorized pursuant to subdivision (b).
Nothing in this article shall be interpreted as a limitation on the ability of a support organization to apply for, receive, or administer grants, loans, or other funds from public entities other than the agency and its departments. A support organization shall consult with the agency.