Commemorative license plates meant to raise funds for California state parks shelved

A commemorative license plate program that potentially could have raised millions for California’s cash-strapped parks system failed to garner enough pre-orders and has been shelved, officials confirmed this week.

Only 2,581 motorists signed up for the license plates, well shy of the 7,500 needed for the Department of Motor Vehicles to put the plates into general circulation.

North Coast Rep. Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, who as a state assemblyman authored the 2012 legislation authorizing the license plates, said he was “disappointed” the initiative didn’t pan out.

“I’m afraid what this seems to reflect is maybe we’ve fallen back into a bit of complacency on state park funding,” Huffman, D-San Rafael, said Monday. “The threat of park closures is becoming a bit of a distant memory as the economy recovers and state budgets are in better shape.”

When Huffman wrote his legislation, California’s Parks and Recreation Department was in crisis, dealing with revelations that $54 million had been hidden by department officials to protect their budget. Dozens of parks were slated to be closed.

State Parks promised an overhaul of its management practices and operations to restore public confidence in the agency and bring the system that supports 280 parks, beaches, trails, historic sites and other state-run locations into the 21st century.

A key component of the effort calls for parks to find new sources of revenue. In that context, the failure of the license plate program appears to be a setback.

Gloria Sandoval, a State Parks spokeswoman, said people who paid for the license plates will receive a refund. The plates were scheduled to cost $50 for first issue and $40 each year after, and $98 for first-issue personalized plates and $78 each year after.

Sandoval did not directly respond to questions about why the license plates failed to capture more of the public’s attention, or whether State Parks could have done more to generate interest. The plates featured an image of redwoods designed by a Napa County educator.

Caryl Hart, Sonoma County’s outgoing parks director, attended her final meeting this week as a member of Parks Forward, the group spearheading the overhaul of the state system. She said the license plates needed more time to catch on.

“It’s because you see them around, then you want it,” she said. “I think it takes awhile to get those things off the ground.”

Hart said despite the loss of potential revenue from the plates, California’s parks system is in line to receive a windfall from the recently enacted 12-cent gas excise tax increase on gas purchases for boats and off-highway vehicles. The money will be go toward state parks, boating programs, off-highway vehicle parks and other services.

Hart also noted that revenue from taxes on recreational marijuana sales, once they become legal in January, will go toward environmental cleanup on state lands, with the funds distributed by State Parks and California Fish and Wildlife.

As for the license plate program, Hart said she hopes “it makes a comeback.”

California has 12 specialty license plates that have raised a combined ?$217 million for everything from environmental causes to services supporting military veterans.

Several advocacy groups also helped with promoting the license plates, including Save the Redwoods League, the California State Parks Foundation and Stewards of the Coast and Redwoods.