FROM THE DESK OF Commissioner of Agriculture Adam Putnam
The 2014 Florida State Fair began with the traditional “flip the switch” event, where Governor Rick Scott, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater and I turned on the lights of the midway rides, signaling the opening of the Florida State Fair. This year’s fair is special for many
Adam H. Putnam Commissioner
reasons. The Florida State Fair cele- brates its 110th anniversary this year. The first Florida State Fair was held in 1904 on a 27-acre plot adjoining Henry Plant’s Tampa Bay Hotel, now the University of Tampa. It featured small, simple attractions, races and a
few agricultural exhibits. The original fairgoers would be as- tounded at the progress of the Florida State Fair over the last century. Today, the Florida State Fair boasts more than 110 fun rides and features more than 6,000 animals. Nearly 1,500 FFA and 4- H students come through the fairgrounds to compete. Every year, the Florida State Fair attracts nearly one-half million fairgo- ers, supports 1,000 jobs and has a nearly $171 million impact on the economy. This economic activity, which begins in Hillsbor- ough County, ripples through the Tampa Bay region and across the state of Florida. This year, the Florida State Fair is also adopting new technol-
ogy to bring it into the 21st century. New digital FUNCARDs will allow fairgoers to use one card – rather than bundles of tickets – to exchange for admission on each ride. This is an easy and con- venient way for fairgoers to enjoy the rides without the hassle of tickets. I know the Florida State Fair is just one example of how Flor-
ida’s fairs and livestock shows are celebrating Florida’s rich his- tory and having a positive impact on the surrounding communi- ties.
Best of luck for a great event in 2014! And best of luck for a successful Annual Convention in Naples in May.
Attorney’s Corner
By Lance Fuchs “SOLICITATIONS”
Many fairs are confronted with
solicitations from individuals and groups on their fairgrounds who have failed to purchase a booth from the fair.
Lance Fuchs The question often Foster & Fuchs, P.A.
arises can these solicitors be stopped and/or removed from the fairgrounds as they often present a safety risk to fair patrons and the fair. It is widely known in legal circles that the First Amendment does not guarantee the right to communicate one’s views at all times and places, in any manner that one desires. The Court has routinely approved restrictions on speech, when they serve a significant governmental interest, so long as it leaves an open channel for communication. With respect to free speech and solicitations on fairgrounds, the United States Supreme Court has opined on this issue in 1981 in a case entitled Hef- fron v.
International Society for Krishna Consciousness
“ISKON” (452 US 640). In the case, the State Fair of Minne- sota had a rule which stated in part: “all persons, groups or firms which desire to sell, exhibit or distribute materials during the annual state fair, must do so only from fixed locations on the fairgrounds.” The Court viewed the fair’s rule as constitu- tional (confining solicitors to booths) given the fact that the fair needed to maintain the orderly movement of large crowds and exhibitors on its fairgrounds (which the Court defined broadly to include parking lots). The Court stated: ”ISKCON desires to proselytize at the fair
because it believes it can successfully communicate and raise funds. In its view this can be done by intercepting fair patrons as they move about, and if success is achieved, stopping them momentarily, or for longer periods, as money is given or ex- changed for literature. This consequence would be multiplied many times over if the rule could not be applied to confine such transactions by ISKCON and others to fixed locations……… There would be a much larger threat to the State’s interest in crowd control if all other religious, nonreligious and noncom- mercial organizations could likewise move freely about the fairgrounds distributing and selling literature and soliciting funds at will.” We suggest that fairs review their existing rules and regula-
tions governing solicitations to ensure that they are consistent with the Court’s ruling.
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