House panel hears testimony for $3 million county fair resiliency grant program

House Agriculture Committee members opened a hearing on House Bill 15‑91 on a proposed County Fair Resiliency Grant Program that would appropriate $3 million to the agriculture commissioner to help county fair associations repair or replace aging fairgrounds infrastructure.

The bill’s sponsor, Representative Mitch Ausley, District 12, told the committee the program is "designed to provide financial support for these much needed upgrades" and said the Agriculture Commissioner’s office would administer the grants and develop application criteria. "This grant program is an opportunity for us to partner with local organizations, nonprofits and municipalities," Ausley said.

The bill would provide a $3,000,000 appropriation to the agriculture commissioner and authorize reimbursable awards on a 50% cost-share basis, limited to $100,000 per county fair association, according to testimony from John Schneider, business marketing and information division director speaking on behalf of Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring. Schneider told the committee the awards would be "based on need." He asked the committee for a do‑pass recommendation.

Fair managers, fair board members and agricultural groups gave unanimous support in testimony. Wallace County fair manager Brad Brumman described an engineering report that showed his livestock arena likely needs full replacement at an estimated $1.5 million to $2 million; he said routine repair budgets for his county were about $16,000 per year. Don Gelsing, vice president of the Pierce County Fair, described starting a fair from scratch in his community and said new fairgrounds will require water, sewer, buildings and parking. Mercer County Fair volunteer Mark Hafner described recent investments in hoop barns and electrical work and said building a new out‑of‑town fairground could cost an estimated $20 million.

Committee members asked how many county fair organizations exist (testimony put the number at about 31) and whether counties and local communities could provide the local match. Brumman said his fair board had discussed how a $100,000 award would be used and expected counties and communities would raise additional funds for larger projects. Representative Ausley said he initially capped the per‑project award at $100,000 when developing the appropriation and left administration details to the commissioner’s office. Committee Chair Belts noted the bill as written does not require a local match but that the Ag Department had suggested including one.

Speakers emphasized fairs’ community and youth roles. Multiple witnesses described fairgrounds being used year‑round as community centers, the role of 4‑H and FFA education, volunteer labor (Pierce County described about 300 volunteers), and safety improvements such as pathways for emergency vehicles and accessible routes for wheelchair users.

There were no formal committee actions or votes recorded in the hearing transcript. Testimony closed with committee staff reminding audience members to sign in if they wished to register support.

The committee recessed after the hearing; the transcript does not record whether the committee took subsequent action on the bill.

Outlook: The hearing record shows substantial stakeholder support and a request for a $3 million appropriation, while committee questions focused on the cap per project, whether a local match should be required, and how limited state funds would be allocated among roughly 30–31 fairgrounds.