WSFA Legislative Day

Legislative Day this year is doubly important to all of our member Fairs in that firstly, we will be talking with our local legislators about the value of fully funding the Fair Fund and secondly, we are advocating for new legislation that will be introduced to increase the Fund from $2 million to up to $4 million. Immediate Past President, Terry Atchison, has prepared some excellent data for your use that summarizes the results of a 2005 study to determine the economic impact of Fairs and other fairgrounds activities on the state economy. It is clear that Fairs contribute positively to the economy, provide jobs, support youth, increase non-profit and volunteer participation and benefit the programs they support.

The recommended legislation that we are supporting passage of recognizes all of that and ties the Fair Fund to the actual revenues generated on the fairgrounds during the annual Fair.Given the small increase it provides for, it is well within the revenue generated annually. What it does is tie the Fair Fund funding to sales tax revenue and caps it at $4 million. Each year the Department of Revenue will estimate the amount of tax revenue and the Fair Fund will be funded at a minimum of $2 million and a maximum of $4 million. That is a reasonable amount given just the inflation factor when applied to a $2 million fund in 1991. Over those years the fund has remained stable but inflation has increased to where approximately $3.8 million is the equivalent amount at the end of 2018.

Our case is very arguable that we in fact are funding our own Fair Fund by the tax revenues we generate. And given the results of the 2005 study we are far exceeding the amount we are requesting.

Please review the data Terry is providing, familiarize yourself with the legislation and join us in Olympia on Jan 31 to show our representatives our support of this Bill and re-emphasize the importance of Fairs to the state, local communities, the public, the economy, education and the youth we serve.

Looking forward to seeing you in Olympia,

John Morrison

Past President and Chair, Legislative Committee