Washington State Fairs Association – 2022 Legislative Report
The 2022 legislative session adjourned sine die on March 10, ending on the 60th day
of session, a second session conducted entirely virtual. We continue to
see significant numbers of bills introduced, with approximately 2000
pieces of legislation introduced in the 2021-22 Biennium, including 1050
in 2022 alone. With the overall challenges of the remote session, the
volume of legislation during the 2021-22 Biennium was approximately
three-quarters of what was introduced in 2019-20 Biennium.
Broadly, this session will be remembered for the passage of a new
round of transportation spending with investments in road projects,
transit, and electrifying the states ferry fleet. Soon, legislators will
shift toward campaigning as this fall every member of the House and
approximately half of lawmakers in the Senate will be up for election.
Several lawmakers have announced that they will not run again, and we
anticipate many new faces in the Legislature in 2023. A Supplemental
Operating Budget proposal was agreed to in the final week of the
session. Overall, General Fund spending increased by $5 billion when
compared to the biennial budget adopted last year. That brings the total
spending to just over $64 billion for the 2021-23 biennium, that’s an
increase of almost 25% over the previous biennium.
Issues/Legislation of interest to WSFA –
Free Fair Admission – Late in the budget process an amendment was
placed in the Senate budget that sought to make fair admission free in
Washington. The amendment set aside $20 million dollars within the
Department of Agriculture to reimburse fairs that chose to offer free
admission to fair attendees. The proposal was a surprise to WSFA. The
original language had a technical issue in that area fairs were
excluded, that issue was taken care of as the Budget was passed from the
Senate. Additionally, we had concerns that the $20 million would not
have been enough to cover the concept if all fairs chose to offer free
admission. To alleviate that concern we suggested language to budget
writers that would have narrowed the scope of free admission to
“youth”. It was our belief that amendment would protect a given fairs
ability realize reimbursement. Throughout the final weeks of session
WSFA made considerable outreach to legislators to protect fairs
viability if the free admission language were to be part of the final
budget. In the end the proposal was not included on the final budget
agreement.
SB 5643 – Youth Development – This legislation provides that certain
organizations representing the social and economic interests of farm
and ranch families at the local, state, and national levels may sponsor
youth development programs to promote participation in agricultural
fairs, youth shows, and exhibitions. Additionally, the bill attempted
to set in statute specific general fund support for youth development
programs described in the bill. The bill passed the Senate but failed
to pass the House.
SB 5531- Unclaimed Property - Unclaimed property is money or
intangible property owed to an individual or business. Property is
considered unclaimed after it has been held for a period of time with no
owner contact, and a good faith effort has been made to locate the
owner. Certain entities are required to report unclaimed property to the
Department of Revenue (DOR), including banking and financial
institutions, utilities, businesses, and governments. Unclaimed property
is eventually given to the state to support the general fund. The bill
modernized the statue to account for new forms/technologies such as
electronic gift and reward cards. This issue matters to Fairs because
premiums fall under the definition of money or property. Historically,
premiums had been exempted from the unclaimed property statute. The
original version of this legislation didn’t include the premium
exemption but was later amended to maintain the status quo. Simply put,
nothing changes for fairs regarding premiums that aren’t deposited or
claimed. The bill passed the legislature and is awaiting signature by
the Governor.
HB 1928 – Equine Industry Support – The bill created the “Washington
Equine Industry Reinvestment Account” in the State Treasury. Resources
going into the Reinvestment Account consist of any funds appropriated or
transferred to the Reinvestment Account at the direction of the
Legislature. Funds can be used for nonprofit race meets, grants to
support equine activities, and equine health and safety programs and
research and facility improvements and maintenance. The bill was
reliant on a general fund transfer into the newly created account. The
bill passed the House but failed to pass the Senate.
Looking to the remainder of 2022 and the 2023 legislative session
Fairs will need to continue their outreach to legislators and build
relationships. We will want to tell legislators about how important the
Capital Budget support from last session is for fairs. That will help
set the table for the grant program to continue next biennium. Look for
WSFA to provide members with some “homework” to do with their
legislators later in this spring.
Mike Burgess
MJB Consulting Inc.
Government Affairs
360-223-3020