Newsom Vetoes Hadwick’s Bill to Fill Fair Board Vacancies

SACRAMENTO — Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed Assembly Bill 2588 on September 18, rejecting District 1 Assemblywoman Heather Hadwick’s proposal to let district agricultural association boards temporarily fill vacancies when delays in state appointments leave them with too few directors to conduct business.

Hadwick sought a way for fair boards to keep operating while awaiting appointments. Newsom said the proposed process would bypass his office’s screening of candidates and raise concerns about oversight of state properties.

The bill addressed boards governing district agricultural associations, the state entities that operate many California fairs. Under existing law described in the bill, those boards have nine directors appointed by the governor to four-year terms. Five members are needed for a quorum, the minimum required to conduct official business.

A March 25 Assembly Agriculture Committee analysis cited the Nevada County Fair board, which had gone more than two years without a quorum while awaiting appointments. The committee analysis explained that boards lacking a quorum can be unable to approve contracts, authorize spending, or take other actions needed to operate a fair.

Hadwick’s argument for the bill centered on the work fairs do throughout the year, including agricultural education, community events, and emergency response. In a statement following the veto, she described fairs as gathering places, economic drivers, and venues for 4-H and FFA. She says she represents more fairs than any other Assembly district.

“Our fairs are so much more than a few days of rides and exhibits,” Hadwick said.

AB 2588 would have allowed a board to appoint a temporary director when two conditions were met: the governor had left a vacancy unfilled for 90 days, and the board lacked enough members to establish a quorum. The appointment would have had to comply with the state’s open-meeting law, and the temporary director would have had to meet the same eligibility rules as a gubernatorial appointee.

The governor could still appoint a different director for the remainder of the term, replacing the board’s temporary choice. Hadwick presented that arrangement as a way to sustain operations while preserving the governor’s appointment authority.

Newsom’s objection concerned how a candidate would be selected. In his veto message, he said his office works with local groups and leaders to recruit candidates and obtain recommendations, then vets applicants for their qualifications and ability to reflect their communities.

He said allowing temporary appointments outside that process would create problems, “raising accountability and oversight concerns as decisions are made regarding these state properties.”

Newsom said he shared Hadwick’s goal of keeping enough appointees on the boards to conduct business. He encouraged her and other interested parties to continue working with his office to expand the pool of candidates for review through the existing process.

The March Agriculture Committee analysis listed support from the Western Fairs Association, Rural County Representatives of California, and California Emergency Response and Resiliency Venues and Fairgrounds, with no opposition on file.

Lawmakers advanced the proposal without a recorded vote against it. Introduced February 20, AB 2588 cleared the Assembly Agriculture and Appropriations Committees before passing the Assembly 68-0 on April 16.

The Senate Agriculture Committee approved the bill with a nonsubstantive change on June 16. It passed the Senate 40-0 on August 24, and the Assembly accepted the amendment 78-0 on August 30. The measure reached Newsom’s desk September 10.

Hadwick said she would continue pursuing help for fairs after the veto. “I’ll keep working with our fairs to find solutions that give them the tools they need to keep serving our rural communities.”