By: Guillen (Senate Sponsor - Lucio) H.B. No. 4037
(In the Senate - Received from the House May 18, 2015;
May 18, 2015, read first time and referred to Committee on Natural
Resources and Economic Development; May 22, 2015, reported
adversely, with favorable Committee Substitute by the following
vote: Yeas 11, Nays 0; May 22, 2015, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 4037 By: Lucio
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the authority of certain counties to impose a hotel
occupancy tax and the use of revenue from the hotel occupancy tax by
certain counties; authorizing an increase in the rate of a tax;
authorizing the imposition of a tax.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 352.002, Tax Code, is amended by adding
Subsection (n) to read as follows:
(n) The commissioners court of a county with a population of
more than 300,000 and in which there is located all or part of the
most populous military installation in this state may impose a tax
as provided by Subsection (a).
SECTION 2. Section 352.003, Tax Code, is amended by adding
Subsections (p) and (t) to read as follows:
(p) In a county authorized to impose the tax under Section
352.002(n), the county tax rate in relation to a hotel located in a
municipality that imposes a tax under Chapter 351 may not exceed a
rate that, when added to the rate of the tax imposed by the
municipality under Chapter 351, exceeds the sum of the rate
prescribed by Section 351.003(a) plus two percent.
(t) The tax rate in a county that is authorized to impose the
tax under Section 352.002(a)(6), that has a population of less than
25,000, and that is adjacent to a county with a population of more
than 750,000 may not exceed nine percent of the price paid for a
room in a hotel.
SECTION 3. Sections 352.1033(a) and (c), Tax Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(a) Subject to Subsection (c), the revenue from a tax
imposed under this chapter by a county that borders the Gulf of
Mexico authorized to impose the tax by Section 352.002(a)(6) may be
used only to:
(1) clean public beaches;
(2) acquire, furnish, or maintain facilities,
including parks, that enhance public access to beaches;
(3) provide and maintain public restrooms on or
adjacent to beaches or beach access facilities;
(4) provide and maintain litter containers on or
adjacent to beaches or beach access facilities;
(5) create, renovate, promote, and maintain parks
adjacent to bays, rivers, and other navigable waterways if the
county does not operate a public beach on the Gulf of Mexico; [and]
(6) advertise and conduct solicitations and
promotional programs to attract tourists and convention delegates
or registrants to the county or its vicinity, any of which may be
conducted by the county or through contracts with persons or
organizations selected by the county;
(7) acquire a site for and construct, improve,
enlarge, equip, repair, operate, and maintain a visitor information
center; and
(8) encourage, promote, and improve historical
preservation and restoration efforts.
(c) In addition to the uses allowed by Subsection (a), a
county authorized to impose a tax under this chapter by Section
352.002(a)(6) that has a population of 50,000 or less and in which
there is located at least one [state park and one] national wildlife
refuge may use the revenue from the tax to:
(1) acquire, construct, furnish, or maintain
facilities, such as aquariums, birding centers and viewing sites,
history and art centers, and nature centers and trails;
(2) advertise and conduct solicitations and
promotional programs to attract conventions and visitors; and
(3) provide and maintain public restrooms and litter
containers on public land in an area that is a tourism venue.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2015.
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