Dear Friends of the Heritage Fund
Arizona
voters approved the creation of the Arizona Heritage Fund in 1990; The
Heritage Fund originally allocated $10 million per year of Lottery
monies to Game & Fish and another $10 million to State Parks. From
1991 to 2007, the State Parks Heritage Fund served our state well with
its dedication to parks, outdoor recreation, open space, non-motorized
trails, outdoor and environmental education, and historic preservation
awarding 579 grants totaling $24,179,567 and supporting projects in every County in our State. However, as many of us remember, the State Parks portion of the Heritage Fund was defunded and eliminated from statute during the Great Recession.
The Arizona Heritage Alliance
was formed in 1992 to help protect and educate about the Heritage Fund
which was passed by Voter Initiative in 1990 with nearly a two-thirds
majority of the vote. For the last decade the Heritage Alliance has been
fighting to reinstate the State Parks Heritage Fund which was
eliminated from statute in 2010 during budget negotiations, after 20
years of successful projects!! That’s a decade of lost income to
Arizona’s communities. Game & Fish has continuously received their
$10 million without a stop.
The Arizona Heritage Alliance Legislative Task Force has been working closely with our Sponsors Senator Kate Brophy McGee (LD28) and Representative Joanne Osborne
(LD13). It is our hope that this Legislature restores the Fund after
satisfying all other current encumbrances, and to bring the Fund back to
effect in a responsible and deliberate manner.
Senator Kate Brophy McGee’s Senate Bill 1241 (state
parks; heritage fund) puts the State Parks Heritage Fund back into
statute. There is no dedicated funding attached to this bill, however
when Lottery encumbrances are repaid and removed, it will receive its
$10 million from the Lottery as intended. It will also open the door for
grants, donations, and direct appropriations. This Bill flew through the Senate with a vote of 30-0. It is now in the House.
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