Upcoming Fair Season

As we enter the heart of fair season, please remember fair passes are a thing of value.  While an individual pass to the State fair or your local county fair may not exceed $25, attending multiple days, or accepting multiple passes from a single source may trigger disclosure.  Fairs have various ticket levels/packages (e.g. ensuring access to rides or specific sections of the fair) with different pricing options.  Lobbyists must track the value of any gifted tickets/passes.

As a reminder, absent an independent relationship, the value of a fair pass provided to a legislator or legislative staff person’s spouse or family member is attributable to the legislator/staff.  In this circumstance the amount of the ticket for the spouse or family member must be added to the amount, if any, of the ticket provided to the legislator/staff.

Fair pass(es) received from a lobbyist or employer of a lobbyist, exceeding $25 in total value, will be reported on the corresponding Activity & Expenditure Report.  If you file a financial disclosure statement, these tickets may be reportable on your 2018 filing.  Legislators/staff members are prohibited from accepting more than $75 in gifts, aggregated per calendar year, from a lobbyist.