Effective: April 12, 2021
Latest Legislation: House Bill 665 - 133rd General Assembly
(A) No person shall operate any concession at any fair or exposition conducted by a county or independent agricultural society or by the Ohio expositions commission without first obtaining from the director of agriculture a license to do so under division (B) of this section, nor shall any officer, agent, or employee of a county or independent agricultural society or of the Ohio expositions commission grant a privilege or concession to any person to do so, unless the person holds a license.
For the purposes of this section, "concession" means any show, amusement other than an amusement ride as defined in section 993.01 of the Revised Code, game, or novelty stand operation at a fair or exposition, but does not include food or drink operations.
(B) The director shall issue a license only upon a written application containing a detailed description of the concession. The director shall prepare and furnish blank applications for licenses.
(C) The director shall not issue a license until the applicant has paid a fee of seventy dollars to the director. However, the director shall not collect a fee from a nonprofit organization that is recorded as such by the secretary of state or with the internal revenue service. The director shall pay the fee into the state treasury to the credit of the amusement ride inspection fund established by section 993.04 of the Revised Code.
(D) The director shall include on a license issued under this section a detailed description of the concession licensed. A license expires on the thirty-first day of December following the date of issue. A licensee shall keep the license in a conspicuous place where the licensee's concession is in operation.
(E)(1) The director shall employ and provide training for a chief inspector and additional inspectors and employees as necessary to administer and enforce this section. The director may appoint or contract with other persons to perform inspections of concessions, provided that the persons meet the qualifications for inspectors established by rules adopted under division (G) of this section and are not owners or employees of owners of any concession subject to inspection under this section. No person shall inspect a concession who, within six months prior to the date of inspection, was an employee of the owner of the concession.
(2) Before the director contracts with other persons to inspect concessions, the director shall seek the advice of the advisory council on amusement ride safety on whether to contract with those persons. The advice is not binding upon the director. After receiving the advice of the council, the director may proceed to contract for amusement ride inspectors and award the contract to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder in accordance with section 9.312 of the Revised Code. In order to determine the lowest responsive and responsible bid, the director, with the advice of the council, shall adopt rules governing the terms of the contract between the department of agriculture and the inspector. The rules shall prescribe the training and work experience required of an inspector, any insurance or bonds required of an inspector, and all the services the inspector will be required to perform on behalf of the department in an efficient professional manner.
(F) This section does not require the officers of any county or independent agricultural society or of the Ohio expositions commission to grant any privilege or concession to any licensee.
(G) The director shall enforce this section and, in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, adopt all rules that are necessary for its enforcement. If the director finds that this section has been violated or that the licensee has been dishonest or has been fraudulent in dealings with the public, the director, in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, shall revoke the licensee's license or fine the licensee not more than one thousand dollars, or both. The director, for a period not exceeding two years from the date of revocation, may refuse to issue another license to a person for a concession for which the person's license has been revoked. Notwithstanding section 119.12 of the Revised Code, all appeals from any fine by, or order of, the director shall be to the court of common pleas of the county where the place of business of the person is located or to the common pleas court of the county in which the person is a resident or in which the concession is located.
(H) Any person holding a license issued under this section who permits or tolerates at any place on the fairground where the person's concession is in operation, any immoral show, lottery device, game of chance, or gambling of any kind, including pool selling and paddle wheels, or who violates the terms of the license issued to the person, shall forfeit the license, and the director shall not issue any other license to the person until after a period of two years from the forfeiture. For the purposes of this division, "lottery device," "game of chance," and "gambling of any kind" do not include the sale of lottery tickets by the state lottery commission pursuant to Chapter 3770. of the Revised Code at the state fairground during the state fair. For the purposes of this section and section 1711.09 of the Revised Code, contests, games, tournaments, and other activities, the outcome of which is predominantly determined by the skill of the contestants, participants, or players, whether or not the contestants, participants, or players pay a price for the opportunity to win a prize, do not constitute a game of chance or gambling within the meaning, purpose, and intent of this section and section 1711.09 of the Revised Code or sections 2915.01 to 2915.04 of the Revised Code. The foregoing definition does not apply where the contest, game, tournament, or other activity contains or includes any mechanical or physical device which directly or indirectly impedes, impairs, or thwarts the skill of the contestant, participant, or player.