HB573 Summary

• Establishes the Alabama State Parks Enhancement Authority as a public corporation to issue up to $85,000,000 in general obligation bonds for state parks and historical sites improvements, with proceeds backed by the full faith and credit of the state.

• Allocates $80,000,000 of bond proceeds to state parks under the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and $5,000,000 to public historical sites and parks under the Alabama Historical Commission, excluding Confederate Memorial Park in Marbury.

• Creates a governance structure with the Governor as president, Commissioner of Conservation and Natural Resources as vice-president, and Director of Finance as secretary, with five board members required for a quorum.

• Authorizes the authority to issue refunding bonds and specifies that any bond proceeds exceeding $85,000,000 due to original issue premiums shall be allocated to the Alabama Forestry Commission for state forest improvements.

• Amends Section 40-23-35 of the Code of Alabama 1975 to include bonds issued by the authority among those secured by license tax revenues, and makes the act contingent on ratification of HB565 proposing a constitutional amendment.