SB 441-FN - AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE
03/03/2016 0537s
11May2016... 1619h
2016 SESSION
\t16-2751
\t10/01
SENATE BILL\t441-FN
AN ACT\trelative to discounts and admission without charge at state parks.
SPONSORS:\tSen. Stiles, Dist 24; Sen. Little, Dist 8; Sen. D'Allesandro, Dist 20; Sen. Woodburn, Dist 1; Rep. Mullen, Straf. 1; Rep. C. Christensen, Hills. 21; Rep. Umberger, Carr. 2; Rep. Rosenwald, Hills. 30
COMMITTEE:\tWays And Means
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AMENDED ANALYSIS
\tThis bill modifies the authority for the division of parks and recreation to offer admission without charge to persons 65 years of age and older for state parks and other areas, and repeals an authority to issue coupon books for state parks in summer months.
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Explanation:\tMatter added to current law appears in bold italics.
\t\tMatter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
\t\tMatter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
03/03/2016 0537s
11May2016... 1619h\t16-2751
\t10/01
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Sixteen
AN ACT\trelative to discounts and admission without charge at state parks.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
\t1 State Parks; Admission Charges; Persons 65 Years of Age and Older. Amend RSA 218:5-c to read as follows:
\t218:5-c Admission Without Charge; Residents 65 Years of Age and Older. Any person who is a resident of this state and who has attained the age of 65 shall, upon proper identification, be admitted to any state recreation area, including but not limited to parks, historical sites, beaches, and state-operated ski areas, without charge except on weekends and holidays. Persons qualifying under this section shall be allowed to use any state owned facility within the recreation area without charge for the use of the facility, except those facilities operated by third parties. Persons qualifying under this section [shall] may be charged up to 2/3 of the usual fee for the use of so-called "uphill devices'' on [Saturdays and Sundays] weekends and holidays. Provided further that other special charges at state owned recreation areas, such as fees charged for parking at parking meters, shall be charged persons qualifying under this section at the usual rates. The foregoing provisions of this section shall not apply to state owned campsites or camping areas or state-owned ski areas operated by a lessee. Additional discounts or admission without charge for persons qualifying under this section may be provided in accordance with RSA 216-A:3-g.
\t2 Repeal. RSA 218:5-b, relative to state parks coupon books issued by the division of parks and recreation, is repealed.
\t3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t16-2751
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAmended 4/26/16
SB 441-FN- FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT\trelative to discounts and admission without charge at state parks.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Department of Resources and Economic Development states this bill, as amended by the Senate (Amendment #2016-0537s), will have an indeterminable impact on state revenue and expenditures in FY 2017 and each year thereafter. There will be no impact on county and local expenditures or revenue.
METHODOLOGY:
The Department of Resources and Economic Development states this bill eliminates discount coupon books, continues free access to parks for New Hampshire seniors on weekdays except for holidays, establishes senior rates for skiing at Cannon Mountain at 1/3 of the adult weekday rate and 2/3 of the adult weekend/holiday rate. In addition, the bill enables the Department, with approval of the fiscal committee pursuant to RSA 216-A: 3-g, to provide additional and/or discounted access for NH seniors to skiing, the tramway, and weekend access.
Discount Coupon Books.
Concerning the discount coupon books, the Department states the books are sold for $24 which is a 20% discount from the full $30 value of admission. In 2016, 306 books with a full admission value of $9,180 were sold for $7,344. If all coupons purchased were used, and if those visits would still have occurred without the coupons, there would be a $1,836 reduction in revenue attributable to the discount. The Department states there is an indeterminable administrative cost associated with producing the coupon books.
Under current law New Hampshire residents age 65 and older with proper identification are admitted to any state recreation area without charge, with exceptions for uphill devices on Saturdays and Sundays, state owned camping areas, special charges such as fees charged for parking at meters, and state owned ski areas operated by a lessee.
State Parks.
The Department states in 2015 the full value of visits at regular rates for park use, beach parking, and the Flume by NH seniors would have been $228,617. Under this bill, seniors would still receive free admission on non-holiday weekdays. Applying 2013 attendance percentage data to the senior weekend and holiday attendance information for 2015, the Department estimates:
The Department states revenue collected on the above visits would have been $93,965 if admission had been charged.
Cannon Mountain Ski Account.
In 2015, there were 4,315 visits by NH seniors to Cannon Mountain for midweek winter skiing and summer tramway access where admission was not charged. The value of these visits, had admission been charged, would have been $196,355. If this bill had been in effect seniors would have paid 1/3 of the adult rates for non-holiday weekdays. Assuming the same number of visits by seniors, an additional $80,934 of revenue could have been collected. For weekend and holiday visits NH seniors currently pay full admission. Under this bill seniors would pay 2/3 of full admission which would result in a reduction or $9,792 for summer weekend and holiday Tramway visits, based on 2015 senior visits of 1,728. Since seniors currently pay full adult admission for weekend and holiday skiing, the Department does not have attendance data on which to estimate the impact of the 2/3 senior rate for weekend and holiday skiing.
Concerning additional discounted access for NH seniors to skiing, tramway and weekend access with fiscal committee approval pursuant to RSA 216-A: 3-g, the Department has not determined what additional seniors discounts may be proposed to the fiscal committee for approval.