Committee debates repeal of population trigger for county fair boards; motion made to hold bill

Representative Gerald Raymond introduced House Bill 106, saying the bill would remove a 200,000-population trigger in Idaho Code that allows counties to convert county fair boards from administrative to advisory status and would "go back to the way that the state has been operating county fairs since 1922." Raymond told the committee the change would let fair boards continue to "tell the story of agriculture" as populations grow and urbanize.

The measure would repeal language in Title 22, Chapter 202A that lets county commissioners convert fair boards to advisory status by ordinance once a county reaches 200,000 residents; the bill would grandfather the two counties that already exceeded that threshold and provide a pathway for them to remain advisory if they choose.

Supporters told the committee the change protects fair boards’…