From: Tisha _
Date: Tue, Jun 15, 2021 at 2:14 PM
Subject: IMPORTANT: Office of the State Fire Marshall “Special Event Permit”
Good Afternoon,
I wanted to provide you with some alarming information about new regulations the State Fire Marshall is proposing in their latest update to code enforcement. In a nutshell, the State Fire Marshall is trying to pass new regulations and fees that will force state properties that host public activities to close. These fees will be passed on to state facilities in the way of oversight, inspection fees and permit fees.
A fully funded State Agency (Office of the State Fire Marshal) is proposing to charge (in our case) an unfunded State Agency whose sole purpose is to provide emergency facilities in a time of crisis, promote agriculture education and maintain the states asset by being fiscally responsible.
This could not only affect fairgrounds but other state facilities like; state parks, museums, state college campuses, Hearst Castle, the Performing Arts Center, state college sporting events just to name a few.
The proposed code enforcement will apply to events with as few as ONE (1) person. Currently the Office of the State Fire Marshall charges $250.00 per hour for staff time, travel, application review, and “special” event permits.
At the Paso Robles Event Center an event is typically allocated 10 hours of event time. With the new proposed regulations; an event can be back charged for the State Fire Marshal fees in excess of $2,500.00 for a one day 10-hour event. The annual California Mid-State Fair 12-day event could be charged in excess of $250,000.00 with the new regulations.
It is not hard to see how this would totally put us and many others out of business. Most State Facilities that are not funded by the State of California rely on event revenue to supplement their income. The California Mid State Fair receives no funding from the State of California and all of our revenue is generated from events.
The last economic impact study from 2015 looked at California’s 77 fairgrounds and showed that the fiscal impact on the economy at that time was $3.9 billion! These are funds that provide jobs, fill hotels, fill seats at local restaurants, fuel vehicles, buy groceries… not to mention the benefits that fairs provide to the community in the way of education, emergency services and hospitality.
We see this action as an unreasonable and excessive expense given the long history of state facilities hosting public events safely. We urge all event promoters, friends, partners and politically connected associates to stand up and make your voice heard. Correspondence must be sent to the State Fire Marshal’s office by June 21, 2021. Please copy [email protected]
Attached are some ways to help. Please let me know if you need any additional resources or information and I will try to assist in any way I can.
Thank you in advance for your support.
Respectfully,
Tisha Tucker
Event Manager/ Exhibit Manager
Paso Robles Event Center /California Mid-State Fair
2198 Riverside Avenue /PO Box 8
Paso Robles, CA 93447
P. 805.239.0655 xt 210 F. 805.238.5308
06.04.2021 State Fire Letter to CFA Fairgrounds
California Code of Regulation Fire Marshall-special-event-permit-4-22-2021
Special Event Bullet Points- State Fire Marshal Special Event Proposed Changes (2)
