ESCANABA – State Rep. Ed McBroom, R-Vulcan, wants to protect the title of “state fair” for the Upper Peninsula State Fair by allowing the Department of Agriculture to designate only one other state fair in the state.

He wants to prevent other fairs from claiming the title to promote something they are not.

“I think it is a good thing to highlight and keep the term from being too diluted,” McBroom said. “It’s really about focusing on what it means to be a state fair and not allowing it to become a hodgepodge of various things.”

The Upper Peninsula State Fair was designated by legislation in 1927. It continued to operate after the state transferred the operation to the county five years ago. The Michigan State Fair in Detroit did not continue to operate after the state ended its operation.

McBroom said his legislation would allow the state to designate one other fair to be a state fair.

“You would have to allow junior show people from all over the state of Michigan not just your county, not just you few counties but the whole state of Michigan. If you want to be a state fair let youth from all around the state be a part of that exhibit,” he said.

McBroom said a state fair would also have to promote different statewide industries and the state’s tourism economy.

The state House Tourism Committee will hold a hearing on the legislation on Sept. 11.