Bill Text - SB510 (2016)

Relative to parking at state park parking meters.

Revision: March 8, 2016, midnight

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SB 510-FN - AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE

02/11/2016   0380s

2016 SESSION

\t16-2752

\t10/04

 

SENATE BILL\t510-FN

 

AN ACT\trelative to parking at state park parking meters.

 

SPONSORS:\tSen. Stiles, Dist 24; Sen. Little, Dist 8; Sen. Watters, Dist 4; Rep. F. Rice, Rock. 21; Rep. C. Christensen, Hills. 21; Rep. Mullen, Straf. 1; Rep. Gottling, Sull. 2; Rep. Spang, Straf. 6

 

COMMITTEE:\tTransportation

 

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ANALYSIS

 

\tThis bill allows vehicles with state park system license plates to use metered parking for up to 6 hours without charge on certain days.  The bill also allows for increased parking fees in state parks on holidays and weekend days with high traffic rates.

 

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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\t\tMatter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

02/11/2016   0380s\t16-2752

\t10/04

 

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

 

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Sixteen

 

AN ACT\trelative to parking at state park parking meters.

 

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

 

\t1  State Park System; Fees for Parking.  Amend RSA 216-A:3-g, VI to read as follows:

\t\tVI.  No admission fee shall be charged for day use of the state park system to the occupants of a vehicle with a number plate bearing a special registration plate symbol authorized by RSA 261:75-c.  [Any fees for the use of metered parking or enterprise activities as defined in paragraph II shall be charged to such persons.]  Any fees for:  (a) enterprise activities as defined in paragraph II, (b) metered parking after June 15 and before September 16, (c) metered parking on weekends and holidays on or before June 15 and on or after September 16, (d) more than 6 consecutive hours of metered parking, or (e) metered parking for residential use or business employee use, shall be charged to occupants of such vehicles.

\t2  New Paragraph; State Park System; Fees for Parking.  Amend RSA 216-A:3-g by inserting after paragraph VII the following new paragraph:

\t\tVIII.  The commissioner may adopt parking fees or charges within the state park system that assess an increased rate for parking on holidays and weekend days with high traffic rates unless such plan for parking fees and charges is denied by the fiscal committee of the general court as provided by this section.

\t3  Effective Date.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2016.

 

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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t16-2752

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAmended 3/3/16

 

SB 510-FN- FISCAL NOTE

 

AN ACT\trelative to parking at state park parking meters.

 

 

FISCAL IMPACT:

The Department of Resources and Economic Development states this bill, as amended by the Senate (Amendment #2016-0380s), will have an indeterminable impact on state restricted revenue in FY 2017 and each year thereafter.  There will be no impact on state, county and local expenditures or on county and local revenue.

 

METHODOLOGY:

The Department of Resources and Economic Development states this bill would allow motor vehicle owners with state park license plates to park without charge at state-owned beaches with parking meters including Jenness, North Hampton, North Beach, and Hampton Beach from September 16th through June 15th, excluding weekends and state holidays when such vehicle owners would still be required to pay.  There is no charge for parking between November 1st and March 31st.  Vehicle owners with state park plates would pay the parking meter if timed parking exceeds six consecutive hours or the vehicle parking is for residential or business use.  The Department indicates the bill also would permit the Commissioner, with approval of the fiscal committee, to assess increased parking rates on holidays and high traffic weekends.  

 

The Department states the impact on revenue to the State Park Fund is indeterminable because it has no a way to determine how many, or how often, state park plate owners would utilize the metered and pay station lots without charge or how many additional state park plates might be purchased.  The Department provides the following information and assumptions concerning the fiscal impact of the bill:

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  • The bill may provide an incentive to attract new owners of state park plates and an incentive for current owners to retain their state park plates.  If so, additional revenue from the sale of state park plates would offset a portion of any revenue lost from metered parking.
  • State park plates sell for $80. $5 is retained by the Department of Safety and $75 benefits the State Park Fund.
  • For park visitors, an $80 park plate is worth at least 40 hours of parking at $2.00 per hour.
  • The Department assumes there would be a revenue impact if current state park plate owners choose to use metered and pay station lots instead of other sites where the plates are currently valid such as Wallis Sands and Hampton Beach South.  In 2015,  13% of the vehicles entering Wallis Sands and 8% entering Hampton Beach South had state park plates.  Information from park staff suggests many are repeat visitors.
  • Free parking at metered and pay station lots when lots are full represents the extreme where full-pay visitors with regular plates would be displaced by visitors with state park plates.  In 2015, the average value of paid tickets when the metered lots were full between was $3.14 to $4.36.  The Department assumes this represents the possible loss of parking revenue if a parking space was occupied by a vehicle with a state park plate parking for free.
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Concerning the ability to assess premium parking rates on holidays and high traffic weekends, the Department has not determined what the potential premium rates would be and cannot estimate the fiscal impact of this provision.  The Department did calculate an estimate for Hampton Beach parking based on a $0.50 per hour increase.  Based on FY 2015 revenue, the Department estimates an increase of $0.50 per hour would generate an additional $200,000 of revenue to the State Park Fund.