BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE AGRICULTURE COMMITTEE
Senator Anthony Cannella, Chairman
BILL NO: SB 249 HEARING: 04/05/11
AUTHOR: Yee FISCAL: Yes
VERSION: 02/10/11 CONSULTANT: John Chandler
District agricultural associations: 1-A District Agricultural
Association: membership.
BACKGROUND AND EXISTING LAW
Over 140 years ago, California began organizing what is today
one of the largest fair system in the nation. The 54 district
agricultural associations, state agency fairs, are managed under
the Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) in the Division of
Fairs and Expositions. Each fair operates with a degree of
autonomy with a board of directors appointed by the governor and
in accordance with state law governing the operation of state
agencies.
Current law specifies that district agriculture associations
(DAA) are governed by a board of directors made up of nine
citizens and residents of the DAA. If the district includes two
or more counties, at least two members on the board shall
represent each county in the DAA. All members of a DAA board of
directors are appointed by the governor for a term of four
years.
District Agriculture Association 1-A (Cow Palace) first opened
in 1941 after a long period of development. A local newspaper
headline read, "Why, when people are starving, should money be
spent on a "palace for cows?" The headline became the origin of
the world famous name. The Cow Palace hosts a wide variety of
events from the annual Grand National Rodeo to the Exotic Erotic
Ball.
Current law states that the Cow Palace district is the County of
San Mateo and the City and County of San Francisco. The present
board of directors for the Cow Palace includes three residents
of San Mateo County, and four residents of San Francisco, and
two vacancies.
PROPOSED LAW
SB 249 would change the composition of the DAA 1-A nine-member
board of directors. It would require that two members be
appointed by the Mayor of San Francisco, two members be
appointed by the Mayor of Daly City, and five members be
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appointed by the Governor. Further, the bill specifies that the
board changes in this bill would happen as vacancies occur on
the current board.
COMMENTS
1.According to the author, the current board of directors of the
Cow Palace does not reflect the needs and wishes of the
surrounding communities. None of the current board of
directors is a resident of Daly City which incorporates much
of the Cow Palace property and surrounding neighborhoods.
Recent events held at the Cow Palace have resulted in several
drug-related deaths. Further, as the local community, Daly
City is responsible for emergency service response to public
safety and health related incidents at the Cow Palace. SB 249
changes the Cow Palace board composition to address a lack of
local representation and help provide crucial insight into the
needs of the neighborhoods in Daly City and San Francisco.
2.Under current law, members of district agriculture association
boards of directors are required to be from the region the
district represents. In the case of the Cow Palace, this
would be the entire County of San Mateo and City and County of
San Francisco. SB 249 would require a much more focused
representation requirement for individual cities in the
district. A district agriculture association's purpose is to
represent the entire area of the district. The committee may
wish to consider if giving the mayors of Daly City and San
Francisco designated seats to fill on the board will further
the purpose of DAA 1-A.
SUPPORT
Bayshor Sanitary District
City of Daly City
Daly City Police Department
Mayor Carol L. Klatt, City of Daly City
Real Options for City Kids
San Mateo County Narcotics Task Force
Supervisor Adrienne Tissier, County of San Mateo
Visitacion Valley Business Opportunities and Outreach to
Merchants
3 Individuals
OPPOSITION
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None received