BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION
Senator Isadore Hall, III
Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 1907 Hearing Date: 6/28/2016
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|Author: |Daly |
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|Version: |5/27/2016 Amended |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant:|Felipe Lopez |
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SUBJECT: Orange County Fair: sale of state property
DIGEST: This bill repeals the authorization for the
Department of General Services (DGS) to sell the Orange County
Fair (OCF) and removes OCF from the list of state assets to be
sold.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Divides the state into agricultural districts within the
boundaries of which agricultural associations may be formed.
2)Creates District 32a from real property commonly known as the
Orange County Fair and authorizes the DGS to sell all or any
portion of the real property that composes District 32a.
This bill repeals the authorization for DGS to sell the OCF and
removes OCF from the list of assets to be sold.
Background
Purpose of the bill. In 2009, the Legislature, along with
Governor Schwarzenegger, approved legislation to facilitate the
sale of the OCF, as part of an effort to close a state budget
deficit of $42 billion. An auction was held in late 2010, with
the winning bid submitted by Facilities Management West.
AB 1907 (Daly) Page 2 of ?
However, the original sale price was deemed too low. While a
new bid was renegotiated, it was never approved by the
Legislature.
In 2011, a three-judge appellate panel halted the sale of the
OCF, overturning a lower court's decision that rejected an
injunction to stop the sale of the property. In its decision,
the court cited flaws in the bidding process, as well as a lack
of approval and oversight from the Legislature. Since that
time, Governor Brown has voiced his opposition to the sale of
the OCF. Since 2011, the OCF has been self-sustaining, thus
operating at no cost to taxpayers, and has drawn more than 1.3
million visitors every year.
This bill would strike two provisions that authorized DGS to
sell the OCF, and would formalize policy in place with the Brown
Administration.
Prior/Related Legislation
AB 146 (Olsen, 2014) would have authorized the construction of
the California American Portuguese Veterans Memorial within the
existing All Veterans Memorial in the State Capitol Park. (Held
in Senate Rules Committee)
SBX2 16 (Ashburn, Chapter 12, Statutes of 2009-10 Second
Extraordinary Session) shifted the horse racing industry's
obligation to fund the network of California Fairs from license
fees imposed on horse racing wagers to the General Fund.
ABX4 22 (Evans, Chapter 20, Statutes of 2009-2010 Fourth
Extraordinary Session) authorized DGS to establish a mechanism
whereby all or portion of the OCF could be sold.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.: Yes Local: No
SUPPORT:
Orange County Employees Association
Orange County Fair & Event Center
OPPOSITION:
AB 1907 (Daly) Page 3 of ?
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: Supporters of the bill argue that the
passage of the bill will preserve the OCF as an ongoing local,
regional and statewide asset that began in 1890 and will
continue in perpetuity.