Senate Finance committee approves $500 million for state parks

Last week, the Senate Finance committee approved a rider to SB 1 for $500 million to the Centennial Park Conservation Fund, contingent on passage of Sen. Tan Parker’s SB 1648 or similar legislation. The Centennial Park Conservation Fund could be used to acquire land for state parks, improve and develop state parks, give grants to cities for local parks, and support department land, soil, and water conservation efforts. The bill still has to pass, so we’ve got a long way to go, but this is very encouraging!