House and Senate negotiators seemed to come to an agreement this morning on a new license plate design to support New Hampshire’s struggling state park system.

New Hampshire has the only state park system in the country that is 100% funded by user fees, meaning the park system received no general fund appropriation from the state budget.  This unique funding system has left the parks system severely underfunded, running an average budget deficit of $400,000 on an annual basis over the past 20 years. The result has been deferred maintenance, reduced programming, and a growing backlog of capital needs.

The plan agreed to today calls for the creation of a new “state park symbol” to be made available for purchase and printed on individual license plates. The symbol would be available on normal plates and the popular “Moose” Conservation Plate.  The symbol will not be available for other specialty plates, such as the New Hampshire Veterans Plate.

The cost of the state park symbol will be $85, in addition to registration and other fees, and will enable the automobile and its passengers free access to state park facilities.  Proceeds from the sale of the State Parks Plate will be designated to a fund to support the maintenance and operation of New Hampshire’s state parks.

The creation of the state park symbol will provide New Hampshire residents the ability to showcase their support for New Hampshire’s state parks. The agreement reached this morning will form a committee to work on the design of the symbol and the implementation plan.  No date has been established for the start of the program, although Senator Martha Fuller Clark voiced support for the plates to be on sale by summer 2011.

Sponsors and advocates of the state park license plate do not expect sales of the plate to solve the budget gap, but the additional funding, as well as the additional public attention a license plate can draw, will  support the park system as a whole.