Murray (SB 242) Act No. 410
New law provides that there is a direct correlation between the amount of funds spent on
destination-based marketing, sales and promotion of a locality and an increase in the number
of conventions, meetings, visitors, occupancy of hotels, retail sales of food, beverages and
other items, admissions to cultural and other entertainment venues, collections of related
state and local sales and use taxes, job creation and a resulting general economic vitality of
the traveler economy and related businesses in the locality.
Provides that it is in the state's public interest and vital to the welfare of the state's economy
to facilitate and encourage cooperating public-private partnerships for the enhancement and
expansion of the traveler economy and to provide for increased hotel occupancy, tourism,
economic development and job creation in Orleans Parish.
Provides that new law is enacted for the purpose of facilitating the collection and use of
private sector originated supplementary funds to market and promote greater New Orleans
as a traveler destination and to provide for increased economic activity within its traveler
economy, including an increased number of conventions, meetings, visitors, hotel occupancy,
food, beverage and other retail sales, tourism, including cultural and family tourism, new job
creation and other economic development and related purposes through an optional, self-
generated, private-sector hotel self-assessment program.
Provides that for the purposes of new law, the following terms shall have the following
meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
(1)"Assessed hotel" means a person operating a hotel and required to pay an hotel
assessment pursuant to new law and, until the hotel assessment is first levied, any
person operating a hotel authorized to vote for in referendum.
(2)"City" means the city of New Orleans.
(3)"Hotel" means any establishment engaged in the business of furnishing or providing
rooms intended or designed for dwelling, lodging, or sleeping purposes to transient
guests where such establishment consists of ten or more guest rooms but does not
include any hospital, convalescent or nursing home or sanitarium, or any hotel-like
facility operated by or in connection with a hospital or medical clinic providing
rooms exclusively for patients and their families.
(4)"Hotel assessment" means any hotel assessment that is: (a) levied under this new law
by a tourism organization on its members that are operators of hotels located in
Orleans Parish; (b) calculated by reference either to room occupancy or room sales;
and (c) for the general purposes of the organization, or otherwise for the direct or
indirect benefit of the tourism industry and economic development, for sales,
marketing and promotion, and for driving and hosting tourism growth and visitors.
(5)"Operator of a hotel" means the person in whose name the occupational license for
the hotel is issued by the city.
(6)"Person" means an individual, public entity, firm, corporation, partnership, limited
liability company, trust, association, or any other business entity or juridical person,
whether operating on a for-profit or nonprofit basis.
(7)"Referendum" means any vote by assessed hotels by mailed ballot of measures
proposed by the tourism organization in accordance with new law.
(8)"Surcharge" means any charge in addition to the daily room charge for services to a
hotel guest that is required to be paid in order to occupy a room and any hotel
assessment that is passed through to hotel guests as a charge on the guest folio.
Surcharge does not include charges for food and beverages, Internet access, spa
access or other goods or services sold at the hotel unless the payment for the goods
or services is required in connection with the use of the hotel room.
(9)"Tourism organization" means any private nonprofit corporation domiciled in
Orleans Parish that is a nationally accredited comprehensive membership based
organization engaged in destination sales and marketing, visitor support and other
tourism related activities including the New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Provides that a tourism organization, under authority of its articles or bylaws, may levy a
hotel assessment of up to one and three quarters percent of the daily room charge upon its
hotel members in Orleans Parish pursuant to new law for destination marketing, sales, public
relations and for other matters deemed by the tourism organization to benefit directly or
indirectly economic development, the traveler economy and tourism growth as shall be approved by resolution of the board of directors of the tourism organization and ratified by
a vote of the assessed hotels in a referendum conducted in accordance with new law.
Provides that a hotel assessment proposed to be levied pursuant to new law by a tourism
organization (1) shall be authorized by its board of directors or other governing body by
resolution that describes in general terms the hotel assessment to be levied and includes a
statement that the hotel assessment is to be levied pursuant to new law and (2) shall be
approved in a referendum of the assessed hotels as provided in new law.
Provides that a hotel operator shall not be liable for payment of a hotel assessment under new
law for any time period in which it is not a member of the tourism organization.
Provides that in addition to the right to resign from the tourism organization as provided in
the bylaws or other governing documents of the tourism organization, an assessed hotel shall
have the right to resign its membership in the tourism organization by written notice given
to the tourism organization within 30 days of the announcement of the results of the
referendum approving the hotel assessment and, for purposes of new law, such resignation
shall be effective as of the date of the referendum.
New law provides that a hotel operator shall not be an assessed hotel liable for payment of
a hotel assessment under new law during any time period in which it is not a member of the
tourism organization.
New law provides that an assessed hotel shall place the hotel assessment as a mandatory
surcharge on the folio and in so doing shall comply with new law.
New law provides that receipts from any hotel assessments levied pursuant to new law are
not part of gross receipts or gross revenue for any purpose, including the calculation of hotel
sales or occupancy taxes or state income taxes and are not part of income pursuant to any
lease or operator agreement.
New law provides that payment of the assessment to the tourism organization shall not be
taken as a deduction from income for state income tax purposes.
New law provides that any hotel assessment levied and passed through to a guest as a
surcharge in accordance with new law is an enforceable obligation of the guest to the same
extent as daily room charges and other lawful surcharges.
Provides that procedures for collection of hotel assessments, interest charges and penalties
for delinquent remittance of hotel assessments to the tourism organization or other matters
incident to the hotel assessment shall be as provided by resolution or in the bylaws of the
tourism organization.
Provides that the state, the city, and any and all of their agencies and political subdivisions
may, upon the request of a tourism organization, enter into a cooperative endeavor agreement
with the tourism organization for the collection of hotel assessments on behalf of the tourism
organization.
Provides that rate schedules setting forth room charges and any surcharges as required by
new law for hotels shall be posted or disclosed in all hotels and shall be delivered to the
director of the department of finance of the city as required by applicable local ordinances.
Provides that each operator of a hotel shall comply with applicable local ordinances relating
to furnishing a schedule of charges for the rental or use of hotel rooms and shall include
therein surcharges in effect for the following year, a schedule of binding rates, applicable
surcharges, and length-of-stay requirements.
Provides that an operator of a hotel shall place line itemization of any hotel assessment for
which the operator is responsible on the guest folio as a charge to the guest immediately
after, or included in, the itemization of hotel tax and occupancy tax.
Provides that all hotel assessments to be passed through to guests as surcharges shall be
disclosed on all information or communication platforms of the hotel in the same manner as are other surcharges and hotel and occupancy taxes as required by applicable laws and
regulations.
Provides that the provisions of new law shall not supersede or limit the authority of a tourism
organization to levy assessments on its members under the Nonprofit Corporation Law or
other applicable law and apply only to assessments that are declared by resolution of the
board of directors or other governing body of the tourism organization to be made under new
law.
Provides that any hotel assessment to be levied pursuant to new law shall be approved by a
vote of the assessed hotels in a referendum conducted in accordance with new law.
Provides that a referendum of all assessed hotels shall be called by the president of the
Greater New Orleans Hotel and Lodging Association, Inc., by written notice mailed to all
hotel operators identified by the tourism organization as its members in accordance with such
procedures as the tourism organization may establish in its discretion.
Provides that in any referendum, each assessed hotel shall have a number of votes equal to
the number of its hotel rooms as shown on its occupational license. In any referendum, 2/3
of the votes cast shall be required to approve or ratify any hotel assessment.
Provides that the written notice of the referendum shall include a description of any hotel
assessment, including the effective date thereof, a ballot, and a statement of the referendum
period, which shall be not less than 30 days from the date of the mailing of the notice and a
ballot.
Provides that ballots may be delivered to the Greater New Orleans Hotel and Lodging
Association, Inc., or any other person designated for the purpose of receiving, tabulating and
counting ballots at any time during the referendum period. The Greater New Orleans Hotel
and Lodging Association, Inc., may in its discretion extend the referendum period not more
than 15 additional days.
Provides that at the close of the referendum period, the Greater New Orleans Hotel and
Lodging Association, Inc., or other person designated for the purpose of receiving, tabulating
and counting ballots shall count and tabulate the ballots received during the referendum
period. All ballots shall be presumed to be valid.
Provides that a notice of the results of the referendum shall be mailed by the Greater New
Orleans Hotel and Lodging Association, Inc. or any other person designated for the purpose
of receiving, tabulating and counting ballots to the tourism organization and the assessed
hotels.
Provides that the costs of the referendum, in the first instance, shall be paid by the tourism
organization and shall be reimbursed from hotel assessments as received.
Provides that new law shall be liberally construed to effect the purposes of new law.
Provides that the provisions of new law are severable.
Effective upon signature of the governor (June 20, 2013).
(Adds R.S. 21:201-208)