A proposed license plate program could be the answer to the state parks’ budget woes.

“Our state park system is really in need of help,” State Rep. Andy Peterson said Wednesday.
Peterson led the development of House Bill 1620, which proposes a program to sell specially designed state park plates for $85 a year.

The plates would retain the “Live free or die’’ motto and would come in a choice of four stare park scenes — seashore, mountains, lakes, and skiing.

Not only would the state park plate motorist show support for the state park system, he or she would also be able to use the plates as a free pass into state parks.
Under the proposed bill, the program entrance fees for daily use into state parks would be waived for the plate owner.

“I think there are a lot of benefits that come from this. We can find creative ways to fund state park needs,” Peterson said. “People feel, for good reason, tremendous pride in our state and the natural amenities that we have here and a vehicle is a very personal thing and you would like to have something on your car that expresses how you feel.”

Last year the State Council of State Parks reported a $400,000 annual short fall in the day-to-day budget, Peterson said. Additional state park capital improvement needs run into the millions, he said. After the ice storm last year many parks delayed opening because they didn’t have the money to clean up.

“It’s beginning to pinch. The fees are going up,” Peterson said, adding that at the same time, “They have to let things go and cut back.”

The proposed plate program could generate more than $1 million annually for state parks, he said. “If 1 percent of the population that is on the road today gets one of these plates, it would raise $1.1 million.”

Because of the state’s current budget problems, walking away from the self-funded system would be difficult if not altogether unlikely, Peterson said. That’s why he was driven to create funding without proposing an independent tax or adding a state budgetary line item, he said.

Having a state park system that is not drowning in expenses is important to the state’s tourism economy, he said. Almost 9 million people visit New Hampshire state parks every year, he said.

The proposed program would be a responsible way to infuse the kind of funding that would allow the state park system to continue to show off the very best of our state, Peterson said. The plate would also be a rolling advertisement for state parks, he said.

There is a lot of interest in the plate program as well as a lot of support in the State House and Senate, he said.

Peterson said the proposed plate program would not have a negative affect on the Conservation License Plate program, better known as the moose plate program. Moose plates cost $35 a year and fund conservation and cultural heritage projects.

“I don’t really see it as competition for this,” he said. “The moose plate, frankly, is a lot more affordable. ... This would be more for someone specifically interested in supporting the state park and taking advantage of the day admission occasionally,” he said.

Peterson said he is sure moose plate owners would agree, “It depends on what somebody likes.”

This story appears on Page 6 of the Jan. 28 Ledger-Transcript.