Horse racing: fairs: funding.

(1) The Horse Racing Law provides that any unallocated balance from the total revenue received by the Department of Food and Agriculture pursuant to that law, except as specified, is hereby appropriated without regard to fiscal years for allocation by the Secretary of Food and Agriculture for capital outlay to California fairs for, among other things, fair projects involving public health and safety and projects that are required to protect fair property. That law also provides that a portion of these funds may be allocated to California fairs for general support. This bill would revise these provisions to include revenue deposited into the Fair and Exposition Fund pursuant to a specified provision and funding appropriated by the Legislature or otherwise designated for California fairs pursuant to the Horse Racing Law or any other law that is to be appropriated without regard to fiscal years for allocation by the secretary for those capital outlay purposes. (2) Existing law provides that all funds appropriated for California fairs and expositions pursuant to specified provisions of law shall not be utilized for the purposes specified in those provisions but shall instead be utilized for the construction or operation of recreational and cultural facilities of general public interest and may be allocated by the Secretary of Food and Agriculture to all state-designated fairs for those purposes. This bill would delete these provisions and instead require that all funds appropriated or designated for California fairs and expositions pursuant to specified law or any other law be deposited into the Fair and Exposition Fund and be continuously appropriated as provided in specified provisions of the Horse Racing Law. (3) By increasing the amounts to be deposited into the Fair and Exposition Fund, which is continuously appropriated, and by appropriating these amounts for new purposes, the bill would make an appropriation.