Horse racing: fairs and expositions: Special Trust Account for the Rebuilding and Renewal of Fairs.

Existing law requires that all license fees from satellite wagering that are deposited in the Fair and Exposition Fund be deposited in a separate account in the fund for specified purposes, including for health and safety repair projects at fairs, which includes fire and life safety improvement projects, California Code of Regulations compliance projects, and long-term deferred maintenance projects. Under existing law, all revenues transferred to this account are continuously appropriated from that account to the Department of Food and Agriculture, for allocation by the Secretary of Food and Agriculture, at the secretary's discretion, for those specified purposes. This bill would instead require that funds appropriated or designated for California fairs and expositions be first deposited in a separate account in the Fair and Exposition Fund designated by the bill as the Special Trust Account for the Rebuilding and Renewal of Fairs, and continuously appropriated from that account to the Department of Food and Agriculture, for allocation by the Secretary of Food and Agriculture. The bill would delete a provision requiring certain allocations from the fund be made with the concurrence of the Joint Committee on Fairs Allocation and Classification. The bill would specify that, with the concurrence of the Director of Finance, moneys from the fund could be additionally used for constructing or acquiring capital improvements at fairgrounds and for emergency services projects. The bill would also specify that these moneys could be used for expenses incurred in developing and operating revenue generating projects at fairgrounds, as specified. The bill would provide for the allocation of funds in excess of $11,000,000 that are deposited in the separate account in any fiscal year. Because the bill would add a new source of funds to a continuously appropriated fund, as well as add to the purposes for which moneys deposited in that fund may be expended, the bill would make an appropriation.