By ROD ZOOK
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — All eyes are on the legislative session for the Kansas State Fair as the organization looks to support two possible pieces of legislation that would support the fair.
The first is to open the fairgrounds to alcohol consumption during the fair and not have it confined to certain areas. The legislation would also allow the fair to collect at least a portion of the sales tax generated from alcohol sales.
The second would allow the fair to sue its capital outlay funds to help pay for daily operations in the short term. Interim GM Ed Berger says both proposals have been provided to area legislators.
“We’ve provided that information to them, so they’re aware of it,” Berger said. “They’ve had a chance to review it and, if they have any questions, certainly they’ll be getting back I’m sure.”
Berger says the response from those legislators has, for the most part, been positive, but added that the fair board wants the use of the funds to be optional.
“I think our fair board wants these two pieces of legislation permissive,” Berger said. “It doesn’t mean they’re going to do either one but it gives the option duly to the fair board to do those kinds of things.”
The use of the capital funds must be approved since they are generated by collection of sales tax. That was part of a bill passed by the state two years ago with the funds to be used only for facility repairs and construction. Berger says such a move would only be temporary.
“That capital improvement fund is so important. It would only be a dire circumstance that we would dip into that at all,” Berger stressed. “When you lose 90 percent of your revenue, and we’ve had a hit to our revenue, so that’s only in case we need it, but we want to keep that capital improvement fund.”
If both pieces of legislation were to make it through the upcoming session, plans would be to use the capital improvement funds through 2022.