State parks reopen but there's no state budget

By Diane Saunders
Staff Writer
Published on Wednesday, July 1, 2009 3:52 PM MST

At the stroke of midnight, July 1, all Arizona state parks were closed and Arizona Department of Public Safety patrols were reduced by 50 percent, District 5 Rep. Bill Konopnicki said.

By 9 a.m. July 1, however, the state parks, including Roper Lake State Park, reopened and DPS patrols were restored to the normal level.

"Nobody is happier than we are to welcome guests back into the parks and to get ready for our biggest week of the year, the Fourth of July holidays, said Renee Bahl, executive director of the state parks. "During this difficult economic time it is critical that we continue to offer park opportunities for our residents and visitors."

She said Arizona's 30 state parks help generate business for rural restaurants, gas stations and retail businesses.

The park closures and DPS patrol reductions were in response to the Arizona Legislature's failure to produce a state budget that Gov. Jan Brewer would accept, Konopnicki said. The reopenings and bringing DPS patrols back to normal levels were the result of actions by the governor.

A news release from Brewer said she used her line-item veto powers to reject portions of the budget and to accept other parts of the budget to keep critical services open. The governor also called a special session of the Legislature that begins July 6.

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Comments

2 comment(s)

To Joe Public wrote on Jul 2, 2009 3:59 PM:

" Anarchy because the DPS was at 50 percent ?????, all they do is chase taillights up and down the highway and now most of that job has been taken over by the photo radar vehicles. DPS could have stayed at 50 percent and there would not have been any noticeable change. The DPS Officer on the road is on the way out, they are being replaced by the photo radar at a much cheaper cost. "

JoePublic wrote on Jul 2, 2009 9:30 AM:

" Close one..
What was once a great nation; nearly had the parks closed on the 4th of July.
Half of DPS on patrol, it would be anarachy for sure.
Politics in the capital..
Line item veto..
And no one moves a muscle, without getting paid and they call themselves patriots?
Close one, indeed.
Bought another quarter of relative stability. "

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