Public event action plans and cooperative agreements for agricultural inspector services.

Existing law generally authorizes state agencies, including district agricultural associations, to allow private individuals or corporations to hold events on state property. This bill would require any state agency that seeks to hold an event with an expected attendance level over a specified amount on property that is either owned or operated by a state agency to, prior to the event, conduct a threat assessment that addresses specified topics. This bill would also require that if the state agency determines, based on the facts presented to it in the assessment, that there is a strong probability that loss of life or harm to the participants could occur, then the state agency must require the promoter to prepare an event action plan that includes specified information. This bill would also require the state agency to approve the event action plan before the promoter may hold the event. This bill would authorize the state agency to charge the promoter a fee that does not exceed the reasonable costs to the state agency to prepare the threat assessment, or to review the event action plan. This bill would exempt certain events from these requirements, including an annual fair within the network of California fairs if the primary purpose of the event is to exhibit or promote the state's agriculture, livestock, or industrial or natural resources through exhibits, vendors, or other educational programming. Prior law, which was repealed on July 26, 2011, prohibited the Secretary of Food and Agriculture, for the 2006–07 fiscal year, from entering into a cooperative agreement with the County of Los Angeles for agricultural inspector services if the agreement required that the county provide year-round services unless not less than 66% of the agricultural inspectors not afforded protections as permanent employees employed by the county providing year-round services under the cooperative agreement were afforded protections as permanent employees under the county's civil service or other personnel system. This bill would enact a similar provision and make it operative indefinitely.