AR SB246

Appropriates $21,694,473 from the Parks and Tourism Fund Account for Department of Parks and Tourism State Operations for fiscal year 2017-2018, including $14,799,125 for regular salaries and $5,725,799 for personal services matching.

Establishes maximum of 788 regular employees and authorizes up to 799 temporary or part-time "Extra Help" employees across various park and tourism positions and salary grades.

Appropriates additional funds from multiple sources including Conservation Tax ($53,976,263), Tourism Development Trust Fund ($16,072,093 for tourism promotion and $928,278 for retirement/relocation promotion), and Parks Cash Fund ($34,418,202 for operations).

Authorizes specialized funding programs including $7,835,680 for Outdoor Recreation Grants, $1,006,614 for Wildlife Observation Trails, $75,000 for Trails for Life Grants, and $116,260 for Keep Arkansas Beautiful operations.

Includes special language provisions authorizing cash prizes up to $10,000 annually for park contests, $150,000 annual commitment to small festivals in communities under 10,500 people, and employee golf lesson contracts, effective July 1, 2017 through June 30, 2018.