(a)
All county fairs and citrus fruit fairs shall, prior to entering into a carnival contract, do both of the following:
(1)
Notify all persons on the department’s list of qualified carnival contractors of the contract opportunity at least 180 days prior to entering into the contract.
(2)
Provide all applicants for the carnival contract a hearing before the board or governing authority on their proposal.
(b)
If a county fair or citrus fruit fair enters into a carnival contract with a person other than the highest bidder, it shall submit a justification for that action to the department.
(c)
No county fair or citrus fruit fair shall enter into a carnival contract for a term which exceeds three years without the approval of the department.