BILL ANALYSIS

Senate Research Center	H.B. 4660
88R21142 SRA-F	By: Isaac (Campbell)
	Natural Resources & Economic Development
	5/16/2023
	Engrossed

AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT

Wimberley is a beautiful, unique town in the heart of the Texas Hill Country that benefits from Dark Sky and ecotourism events that attract tourists to the area. Wimberley's Dark Sky designation and ecotourism events have a huge impact and mean so much to the people and businesses in the community. H.B. 4660 seeks to authorize Wimberley to utilize a portion of its municipal hotel occupancy tax revenue for the promotion and preservation of dark skies through construction and maintenance of infrastructure and the purchase and installation of hardware that reduces light pollution and sky glow.

H.B. 4660 amends current law relating to the use of municipal hotel occupancy tax revenue in certain municipalities.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency.

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1. Amends Subchapter B, Chapter 351, Tax Code, by adding Section 351.10693, as follows:

Sec. 351.10693.� ALLOCATION OF REVENUE: CERTAIN MUNICIPALITIES.� (a) Provides that this section applies only to a municipality:

(1)� with a population of less than 3,000;

(2)� through which the Blanco River flows; and

(3)� that is located in a county that:

(A)� is adjacent to the county in which the State Capitol is located; and

(B)� has a population of at least 250,000.

(b) Authorizes a municipality to which this section applies, notwithstanding any other provision of Chapter 351 (Municipal Hotel Occupancy Taxes), to use revenue from the municipal hotel occupancy tax for the promotion and preservation of dark skies through construction and maintenance of infrastructure and the purchase and installation of hardware that reduces light pollution and sky glow.

(c) Authorizes a municipality to which this section applies, notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, to use revenue from the municipal hotel occupancy tax for promotional and event expenses for an ecological tourism event, including an event for which the primary attraction is traveling to an area of natural or ecological interest for the purpose of observing and learning about wildlife and the area's natural environment, if:

(1)� a majority of the event's participants are tourists; and

(2)� the event substantially increases economic activity at hotels and motels within or in the vicinity of the municipality.

(d) Provides that a municipality that uses revenue from the municipal hotel occupancy tax for a purpose described by Subsection (b) or (c):

(1) is required to determine the amount of area hotel revenue attributable to events and activities related to those purposes for five years after the date the municipality first uses hotel occupancy tax revenue for a purpose described by Subsection (b) or (c); and

(2) is prohibited from spending municipal hotel occupancy tax revenue for the purposes described by Subsections (b) and (c) in a total amount that exceeds the amount determined under Subdivision (1).

(e) Prohibits a municipality from spending more than 25 percent of the municipality's annual hotel occupancy tax revenue for the purposes described by Subsections (b) and (c).

(f) Prohibits a municipality to which this section applies from reducing the amount of revenue that the municipality uses for a purpose described by certain statute an amount that is less than the average amount of revenue used by the municipality for that purpose during the 36-month period that precedes the municipality's use of revenue under Subsection (b) or (c).

SECTION 2. Effective date: upon passage or September 1, 2023.