California Food And Agricultural Code Section 4511

(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.