GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1997

H	1 

HOUSE BILL 1193

Short Title:  Agricultural Fairs Committee/Funds.	(Public)

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Sponsors: Representatives Brown, Mitchell, McCrary; and G. Wilson.

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Referred to:  Agriculture, if favorable, Appropriations.

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May 1, 1997

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO CREATE AN AGRICULTURAL FAIRS ADVISORY COMMITTEE IN THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND TO APPROPRIATE FUNDS FOR LOCAL AGRICULTURAL FAIRS.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  Article 45 of Chapter 106 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new Part to read:
"Part 5.  Agricultural Fairs Advisory Committee.
"§ 106-520.12.  North Carolina Agricultural Fairs Advisory Committee.
(a)	The North Carolina Agricultural Fairs Advisory Committee is created within the Department of Agriculture.
(b)	The Committee shall consist of five members as follows:
(1)	The President of the North Carolina Association of Agricultural Fairs, as appointed by that association.
(2)	Four county agricultural fair managers, to be appointed by the Commissioner of Agriculture.
The Commissioner of Agriculture or the Commissioner's designee, shall serve as an ex officio member.  The members of the Advisory Committee appointed under subdivision (2) of this subsection shall serve for a term of four years.  In the event of a vacancy, the Commissioner shall appoint a replacement in the same manner as for the original appointment to serve for the remainder of the unfinished term.
(c)	The Commissioner of Agriculture or the Commissioner's designee shall serve as chairman.  A majority of the members shall constitute a quorum for the purpose of transacting business.
"§ 106-520.13.  Advisory duties.
The Committee shall advise the Commissioner of Agriculture in matters pertaining to the development and improvement of local agricultural fairs.
"§ 106-520.14.  Powers and duties of the Commissioner of Agriculture.
(a)	The Commissioner of Agriculture, with the advice of the Committee and subject to available funds, may make grants to qualified local agricultural fairs.  The Commissioner may make grants to be used by local agricultural fairs to pay premium awards for competitive exhibits of products of agriculture and home economics and of domestic livestock, and for vocational and judging skills.
(b)	The Commissioner may make grants to help establish new facilities and to improve existing facilities used in conducting events at local agricultural fairs.  Grants for facilities shall be made under conditions as may be imposed by the Commissioner with the advice of the Committee.  Grants to improve existing facilities shall require matching funds from the local agricultural fair in an amount to be determined by the Commissioner, with the advice of the Committee.  Preference shall be given to agricultural fair associations that are most representative of agricultural interests.  Grants to establish new agricultural fairs may be made to agricultural fair associations without matching funds.
(c)	The Commissioner may make grants, not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000) to any one fair, to be used to promote agricultural commodities.
"§ 106-520.15.  Eligibility for grants.
(a)	In order to be eligible to receive a grant under this Part, a recipient must satisfy all of the following:
(1)	Sponsor a fair that is licensed as an agricultural fair by the Commissioner of Agriculture pursuant to G.S. 106-520.3.
(2)	Be a nonprofit or governmental organization.
(3)	Provide for an annual fair running for at least three days.
(4)	Present through the medium of youth organizations such as 4-H Clubs, Future Farmers of America, Future Homemakers of America, and other similar organizations, an educational program concerning the production, marketing, and consumption of livestock, poultry, field crops, and horticultural crops.
(5)	Comply with rules adopted by the Department of Agriculture.
(b)	Any local agricultural fair or agricultural fair association receiving a grant shall file with the Department of Agriculture by February 1 following the year in which the grant is received satisfactory proof that all State premium awards have been paid.  As used in this subsection, ‘proof' means a certified financial report notarized and submitted by the treasurer of the local fair association."
Section 2.  G.S. 106-520 reads as rewritten:
"§ 106-520. Local aid to agricultural, animal, and poultry exhibits.
Any county or municipality may appropriate funds to aid any agricultural exhibition or fair."
Section 3.  G.S. 106-508, 106-509, and 106-510 are repealed.
Section 4.  G.S. 106-516.1 reads as rewritten:
"§ 106-516.1.  Carnivals and similar amusements not to operate without permit.
Every person, firm, or corporation engaged in the business of a carnival company or a show of like kind, including menageries, merry-go-rounds, Ferris wheels, riding devices, circus and similar amusements and enterprises operated and conducted for profit, shall, prior to exhibiting in any county annually staging an agricultural fair, apply to the sheriff of the county in which the exhibit is to be held for a permit to exhibit.  The sheriff of the county shall issue a permit without charge.  No permit shall be issued if the sheriff finds that the requested exhibition date is less than 30 days prior to a regularly advertised agricultural fair.  Exhibition without a permit from the sheriff of the county in which the exhibition is to be held shall constitute a Class 1 misdemeanor.  Nothing contained in this section prevents veterans' organizations and posts chartered by Congress or organized and operated on a statewide or nationwide basis from holding fairs or tobacco festivals on any dates that they select if these fairs or festivals have been held previously as annual events."
Section 5.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Agriculture the sum of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) for the 1997-98 fiscal year to be used for grants for local agricultural fairs pursuant to Part 5 of Article 45 of Chapter 106 of the General Statutes, as enacted in Section 1 of this act.
Section 6.  This act becomes effective July 1, 1997.