Michigan lawmakers consider boosting county-fair funding, tap online gaming tax for harness-racing purses

Representative Ken Koontz, sponsor and presenter, told the Michigan House Committee on Agriculture that three related bills would redirect existing online gaming tax revenue to support county fairs, 4‑H programs and harness racing without raising taxes. “This is a county fair bill,” Koontz said as he opened testimony, adding the proposal would ‘‘reallocate some of the existing non‑tribal internet gaming tax’’ now capped at $3,000,000.

The bills would raise the annual cap on deposits to the Michigan Agricultural Equine Industry Development Fund (often called the Ag Equine Fund) in staged steps — witnesses discussed figures of $9 million, $12 million and $15 million as possible future caps — and Representative Green proposed a separate supplemental appropriation of $2 million from that fund for 2025 purses to support races scheduled for this summer into 2026. “This is a supplemental bill that would take in $2,000,000 from the fund to be able to use to increase the purses,” Representative Green said.

Why it matters: Supporters said the bills would move money already collected through online gaming toward a long‑established industry and county fair system that provides youth programming and local economic activity. Byron Chunk, a…