HBA-RBT C.S.S.B. 1603 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.S.B. 1603 By: Sibley Ways & Means 5/7/1999 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Currently, there is no accountability and no enforcement mechanism for wrongful expenditure of municipal hotel occupancy tax revenue. Chapter 351, Tax Code, sets forth specific tourism-related uses for hotel occupancy taxes, but some municipalities may have misused the revenue for purposes such as utility bills, toilet repairs, fax machines, library books, cemetery fences, and park maintenance. In addition, municipalities have used the interest from the revenue for such improper purposes. C.S.S.B. 1603 redefines revenue in the context of hotel occupancy tax, and requires that a municipality accurately identify the receipt and expenditure of all revenue derived from the tax imposed under this chapter. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Section 351.001, Tax Code, by adding Subdivision (10), to define "revenue." SECTION 2. Amends Subchapter B, Chapter 351, Tax Code, by adding Section 351.107, as follows: Sec. 351.107. RECORDS. Requires a municipality to maintain a record that accurately identifies the receipt and expenditure of all revenue derived from the tax imposed under this chapter. SECTION 3. Effective date: September 1, 1999. Makes application of this Act prospective. SECTION 4. Emergency clause. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE The substitute differs from the original in SECTION 2 by modifying proposed Section 351.107, Tax Code, which would have authorized a district court to grant injunctive relief to prevent misuse of revenue derived from a hotel occupancy tax. The substitute requires a municipality to keep accurate records concerning the receipt and expenditure of revenue derived from the hotel occupancy tax. The substitute also deletes proposed Section 351.108, Tax Code, which would have required a municipality to maintain a record that identified the amount of revenue derived from a tax imposed under this chapter and the amount and purpose of each expenditure from that revenue.