OLYMPIA — A dozen legislators have introduced bills this session to reform the Discover Pass.
But only one included a provision to eliminate the state Parks and Recreation Commission.
Rep. Kevin Van De Wege, D-Sequim, filed two bills regarding the pass, put in place last year to fund state parks.
They both are nearly identical and, like the other legislation, address problems associated with the pass, such as not allowing them to be transferred between vehicles.
The difference with Van De Wege’s bills is that one would get rid of the commission, charged with managing state parks, and replace it with a new department.
Van De Wege, who introduced one of the original Discover Pass bills last year, said he was frustrated with how the pass was rolled out to the public and wanted to send the commission a message.
“I really just wanted to send the message that customer service with government is always important,” he said.
Van De Wege said his issues included not allowing the pass to be transferred between vehicles; some vendors charging $35 for the pass, which was set by legislation at $30 per year; and requiring the pass to attend events held at state parks.
But he said he has had a lot of meetings with the commission’s staff since he introduced the bill Jan. 12 and has taken it off the table.
“I had some very long talks with parks management on how they can improve,” he said.
“They realize things could have been done better, and they are very much open to improvement.”
Co-sponsor
Rep. Steve Tharinger, D-Sequim, the co-sponsor of the bill, said he shared Van De Wege’s concerns but acknowledged that some of the problems with the pass could have to do with how the original legislation was written.
“We left a lot to be worked out by the agencies,” he said.
Virginia Painter, commission spokeswoman, said she couldn’t comment on the proposal to eliminate the commission but defended the agency’s handling of the pass.
“We all know that there are things we would like to have different,” she said.
“We’re working with the best tools we have to make it the best we can.”
The pass costs $35 if purchased through the state Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Wild System, which includes a $3 transaction fee and $2 dealer fee. The Wild System is handled by private vendors.
Painter said using the Wild System was seen as a way to make the pass quickly available to as many people as possible.
She said the commission is looking at ways to allow people to attend events held at parks, such as Brinnon’s ShrimpFest, without having to pay for a pass.
The event regional operations manager in State Parks’ Northwest Region Office in May has been partly held at Dosewallips State Park.
“We’re going to make this work, and we have a lot of work to do,” Painter said.
Van De Wege said his other bill would make the pass not be required to attend events and limit the cost of a pass to $30 by all private vendors, except those purchased through the Wild System.
Tharinger said he co-sponsored the bill because he also wanted to get the seven-member commission’s attention.
But he also said switching over to a department may make the agency more efficient.
“This isn’t about personalities,” Tharinger said. “It’s probably more about structure.”
Sen. Jim Hargrove, D-Hoquiam, the other North Olympic Peninsula representative in Olympia, has also introduced a bill to make the pass transferable between vehicles.
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Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.
