BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                  AB 2592
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   May 14, 2014

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                  Mike Gatto, Chair

                   AB 2592 (Chesbro) - As Amended:  April 28, 2014

          Policy Committee:                              Governmental  
          Organization Vote:                            19-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:              No

           SUMMARY  

          This bill requires the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) to  
          conduct an economic analysis whenever it considers a change  
          within the fair horse racing calendar that changes the  
          allocation of racing days to a fair by more than three days.   
          The bill further specifies the CHRB must consider all proposed  
          alternative racing dates based on the economic analysis before  
          voting on any proposal.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          GF costs to the CHRB to conduct each economic analysis of  
          approximately $40,000 per fair affected by the change in the  
          horse racing calendar.  Based on the proposed changes to the  
          California Exposition, Sonoma, and Humboldt fairs' racing  
          schedule that prompted this legislation, three fairs in all  
          would have been affected, which would have resulted in $120,000  
          in costs to the CHRB to conduct the analyses mandated by this  
          bill.

           COMMENTS  

          1)  Purpose.   According to the author, currently when the CHRB  
            proposes changes in the live fair horse racing schedule, there  
            is no independent economic analysis conducted of those  
            proposals.  Without economic information, CHRB members must  
            make decisions without clear knowledge of the potential  
            financial impact to those fairs and their communities.

            The author notes this bill was introduced as a result of a  
            recent experience that he and Assemblymember Levine had with  








                                                                  AB 2592
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            the CHRB regarding a 2015 race dates proposal to move the  
            Sonoma and Humboldt fairs' horse racing schedule one week  
            later in the racing calendar.  This change would have resulted  
            in an overlap between the final week of the fairs and the  
            first week of the new school year, and both fairs felt  
            strongly that this would negatively affect the profitability  
            and viability of their respective fairs.

          2)  Economic Analysis.   The bill requires the economic analysis  
            include the following items for any proposed change to the  
            fair horse racing calendar: (i) the financial loss or gain to  
            each fair impacted by the proposed changes; (ii) jobs  
            generated or lost due to the proposed changes; (iii)  
            availability of seasonable workers as a result of the proposed  
            changes; (iv) impact on agricultural education programs, if  
            applicable; and (v) financial impact on the community at large  
            due to the proposed changes.

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Joel Tashjian / APPR. / (916) 319-2081