Sept. 14, 2018- UPDATE on the below update… California’s legislature has now passed Assembly Bill 1918, effectively creating an Office of Sustainable Outdoor Recreation for California, under the state’s Natural Resources Agency. The bill currently sits on Governor Brown’s desk and it is anticipated that he will sign it. This is a watershed moment for California’s Outdoor Recreation Economy and the thousands of organizations reliant on a strong platform, and an engaged advocate in Sacramento. Read More Here
Latest update from us on the state of State OREC Offices.
Offices of OREC have been popping up like wildflowers in spring lately… with California ramping up to supercharge the effort nationwide. Read more here, from SNEWS, if you want a deep dive.
It’s been happening at a blistering pace and for someone not used to dedicating large chunks of time to writing content, very hard to keep up with and document as the changes have been coming fast and furious. But here’s the quick update for California (13-22% of the national Outdoor Recreation Economy, depending on how you measure, with 48% of land area in the state publicly held).
- Assembly Bill 1918 (the now passed bill to create the Office Of Sustainable Outdoor Recreation in California) had a hearing two weeks ago and scored 6 co-authors for the bill, garnering bipartisan support and shifting into a new phase of scrutiny and more active support.
- A press conference was held Aprill 11, 2018 at the Capitol building (outdoors of course) with the bill’s author, Assemblyman Eduardo Garcia (56th District) and many supporters from both business and conservation entities, sharing the merits of the bill with the greater public and all lawmakers across the country.
- OIA, People For Bikes, SIMA, and a growing list of brands and retailers from various industry sectors and many corners of the state are in support of establishing the office, and have been helping to build momentum for an amplified industry voice in Sacramento for nearly a year. This includes the development and support of CORP, the California Outdoor Recreation Partnership, which is the private c6 organization in the state made up of stakeholder businesses and organizations.
- Secretary Zinke openly pushing for Outdoor Recreation offices in all 50 states. Yup. His latest move to assign a ‘czar’ position for outdoor recreation at the Federal level, Rick May, is an intriguing choice; a recent KC acquaintance and fellow native Californian… he’s also ridden the Great Divide Trail. 5 times. We at Kenji Consults reserve judgment, preferring to work off empirical evidence over conjecture and theoretical performance.
- Importantly, Proposition 68 was voted into law June 5… that means $4.1B available for Parks and improved access to natural areas in California. Other relevant bills are flowing through the legislature for the November general election. AB2615 (transportation corridor reinforcement to access open spaces) and AB2534, even 1782 (Surfing named as the official California state sport) are meaningful to the Outdoor Recreation Economy in California.
Stay tuned as Kenji Consults is very much ‘fingers on the pulse’ of developments in California and nationwide with focused efforts to support the greater Outdoor Industry (inclusive of Bike, Surf, Paddle, and even some Motorized).
