CHAPTER 1
GENERAL RULES
[Prior to 5/18/88, see Fair Board[430] Ch 1]
371—1.1(173) Functions. The directors and members of the Iowa state fair board shall be responsible for establishing the policies governing the annual state fair, the premium lists, the control of the state fairgrounds including its buildings and equipment, the concessions operated at the state fair, and all other aspects related to the state fair and the state fairgrounds.
371—1.2(173) Organization and operations.
	1.2(1) Location. The board’s office is located on the Iowa State Fairgrounds, East 30th and Grand Avenue, Des Moines, Iowa; telephone (515)262-3111; mailing address: Iowa State Fair Board, P.O. Box 57130, Des Moines, Iowa 50319-0198; office hours are 8 a.m.	to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.
	1.2(2) The board. The Iowa state fair board consists of 15 members. All officers are elected by the regular board membership. The 15 members consist of 12 members elected by authorized delegates as specified in Iowa Code section 173.1, the governor, the state agriculture secretary and the president of Iowa State University, or their designees.
	1.2(3) Secretary and treasurer. A secretary and treasurer are appointed to implement and carry out policies of the board. The secretary conducts the operations of the board as the board’s policies may prescribe and as set forth by law.
	1.2(4) Meetings. Board meetings will generally be held once a month; however, establishment and public notice of meeting dates and locations are the responsibility of the secretary, unless the majority of the members of the fair board eligible to vote request a meeting.
	a. 	Agenda. The tentative agenda is prepared by the secretary in advance of the board meeting and will be mailed to board members in advance of the meeting date. A copy of the agenda will be mailed to those members of the public who request it and prominently posted at the fair office 24 hours before the meeting. Members of the public wishing to be scheduled on the board’s agenda should notify the secretary ten days in advance of the meeting and provide written materials explaining their reasons for wishing to address the board. Final decisions on the content and length of agenda items shall be the secretary’s.
	b. 	General conduct of meetings. The president, or vice president in the absence of the president, presides at all board meetings. Only individuals recognized by the presiding officer may address the board; in general, Robert’s Rules of Order will govern the meeting unless otherwise stated in this chapter or by special action of the board.
In all discussions before the board, members of the public shall address any questions for the board to the president. Individual questioning of board members will not be allowed without the explicit consent of the president and the board member in question.
	c. 	Voting. The board consists of 12 elected members and three members consisting of the governor, the state agriculture secretary and the president of Iowa State University who vote on issues. Two-thirds of the board members eligible to vote shall constitute a quorum. A majority of the board members is sufficient to carry an action.
	d. 	Public participation. All meetings are open to the public in accordance with the open meetings law, except that portions of a meeting may be closed in accordance with the open meetings law. A 15-minute public forum will be scheduled on each agenda of regular monthly meetings to allow the public an opportunity to address the board on any issue that may have arisen after the agenda was posted.
	1.2(5) Minutes. The minutes of all board meetings are recorded and kept by the secretary in the board’s offices.
	1.2(6) Records. The records of all of the business transacted and other information with respect to the operation of the Iowa state fair and grounds are public records and are on file in the board’s offices. All records including board minutes are available for inspection during regular business hours. (Copies of records up to ten pages in number may be obtained without charge. Pages in excess of ten will be provided at a cost of 15 cents per page. The charge may be waived by the secretary if deemed advisable.)
[ARC 0163C, IAB 6/13/12, effective 7/18/12]
371—1.3(173) Rules.
	1.3(1) Explanation of rules. The administrative rules of the Iowa state fair board are those of general applicability to the public and do not contain specific rules governing competitions, competitors, exhibitors, entertainers or others involved in the programming of the Iowa state fair. Other than general rules for competition, all specific rules for competition and other forms of fair programming will be adopted yearly at the regular April meeting by the Iowa state fair board, and published and made available in the Iowa state fair premium lists by June 1. Proposed rules may be obtained from the fair board office after April 1 each year.
	a. 	Comment on specific rules. Any person wishing to comment on the specific rules of competition and fair programming may do so in writing by submitting comments to the offices of the board for review at its regular April meeting. The board will take all comments received under advisement.
	b. 	Conflict of rules. In the event of conflict between general and specific rules, the latter will take precedence.
	1.3(2) Rule application. The administrative rules of the fair board will apply only to the yearly fair-time operations except where year-round applicability is so stated.
	1.3(3) Appeal procedures. All protests, challenges to disciplinary action or complaints shall be heard initially by the Iowa state fair board’s competition committee according to procedures set out in the fair’s annual premium book. An exhibitor may appeal the decision of the competition committee to the fair board. An exhibitor appealing a disqualification or recommended disciplinary action may request an evidentiary hearing conducted pursuant to Iowa Code chapter 17A. If the exhibitor requests that the appeal be heard as an evidentiary hearing, the fair board may retain an administrative law judge from the department of inspections and appeals to conduct the evidentiary hearing and to render a proposed decision. The fair board may affirm, reverse or modify the proposed decision.
[ARC 0163C, IAB 6/13/12, effective 7/18/12]
371—1.4(173) Admissions. All admissions to the annual fair and designated shows shall be determined by the fair board and advertised or posted, and anyone entering the fair or the shows being charged for must pay the admission fee or present the proper credentials obtained from the secretary’s office.
	1.4(1) Return admissions.
	a. 	Persons wishing to leave the fair and return the same day may do so by having one of their hands stamped at the gate.
	b. 	Campers will be required to pay the regular admission to the fair when entering the fairgrounds proper from the campgrounds.
	c. 	Refunds for fair admissions. Requests for refunds for admissions to the fair shall be reviewed by the secretary of the fair or the president of the board to determine if a refund is justified.
	1.4(2) Show admission. The Iowa state fair board will contract, produce and stage shows and events within the fair that are suitable to the tastes of the Iowa public, and the fair board shall determine which shows necessitate additional admission charges to the public.
	a. 	Fair board admissions. Each fair board member will be allowed two admissions to each show where there is an admission charge to witness the quality of the show.
	b. 	Refund for shows. In the event the fair is not able to provide cash refunds on demand, refunds will be made by mail upon receipt of proper ticket stub and a self-addressed return envelope.
[ARC 0163C, IAB 6/13/12, effective 7/18/12]
371—1.5(173) Returned checks. In accordance with fair board policy, a fee of $20 will be charged to anyone whose issued document is not honored by the issuing institution, and the issuer could be liable for up to three times the amount of the document with a maximum charge of $500 in accordance with Iowa Code section 554.3513.
[ARC 0163C, IAB 6/13/12, effective 7/18/12]
371—1.6(173) Records. The Iowa state fair board will retain its records in accordance with the standards of the records management manual of the Iowa state records commission.
371—1.7(173) Liability insurance. All concessionaires, commercial exhibitors and competitive events exhibitors shall carry liability insurance and shall name the state of Iowa, Iowa state fair authority, their officers, employees and agents as additional insured and shall furnish a certificate of such insurance to the authority.
[ARC 0163C, IAB 6/13/12, effective 7/18/12]
371—1.8(173) Hiring. A person who has served as a member of the Iowa state fair board shall not, within a period of two years after termination of membership on the board, accept employment with the Iowa state fair.
[ARC 0163C, IAB 6/13/12, effective 7/18/12]
These rules are intended to implement Iowa Code sections 173.14 and 173.15.
[Filed 6/19/81, Notice 4/15/81—published 7/8/81, effective 8/12/81]
[Filed 10/8/82, Notice 7/21/82—published 10/27/82, effective 12/2/82]
[Filed 6/28/85, Notice 5/22/85—published 7/17/85, effective 9/1/85]
[Filed 2/14/86, Notice 12/18/85—published 3/12/86, effective 4/16/86]
[Filed 7/1/87, Notice 5/6/87—published 7/29/87, effective 9/2/871]
[Filed emergency 9/25/87—published 10/21/87, effective 10/21/87]
[Filed 4/22/88, Notice 2/24/88—published 5/18/88, effective 6/30/88]
[Filed 8/1/88, Notice 5/18/88—published 8/24/88, effective 9/28/88]
[Filed 3/23/95, Notice 2/15/95—published 4/12/95, effective 5/17/95]
[Filed ARC 0163C (Notice ARC 0049C, IAB 3/21/12), IAB 6/13/12, effective 7/18/12]
1	Effective date of 1.5(173) delayed 70 days by the Administrative Rules Review Committee.