LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
                              Austin, Texas
                                     
                    FISCAL NOTE, 77th Regular Session
  
                              March 19, 2001
  
  
          TO:  Honorable Rene Oliveira, Chair, House Committee on Ways &
               Means
  
        FROM:  John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board
  
       IN RE:  HB2501  by Marchant (Relating to the exception from the
               hotel occupancy tax for a permanent resident.), As
               Introduced
  
**************************************************************************
*  Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for    *
*  HB2501, As Introduced:  positive impact of $6,091,249 through the     *
*  biennium ending August 31, 2003, if the effective date of the bill    *
*  is July 1, 2001; and a positive impact of $5,465,166 through the      *
*  biennium ending August 31, 2003, if the effective date of the bill    *
*  is September 1, 2001.                                                 *
**************************************************************************
  
The following table assumes an effective date of July 1, 2001:
  
All Funds, Five-Year Impact:
  
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*Fiscal      Probable        Probable        Probable        Probable     *
* Year       Revenue         Revenue         Revenue         Revenue      *
*          Gain/(Loss)     Gain/(Loss)     Gain/(Loss)     Gain/(Loss)    *
*          from General     from Hotel     from Cities    from Counties   *
*          Revenue Fund   Occupancy Tax                                   *
*              0001          Deposits                                     *
*                            Account                                      *
*                              5003                                       *
*  2001          $418,916         $38,084        $539,000         $37,000 *
*  2002         2,722,500         247,500       3,505,000         238,000 *
*  2003         2,949,833         268,167       3,797,000         257,000 *
*  2004         3,195,500         290,500       4,113,000         279,000 *
*  2005         3,461,333         314,667       4,456,000         302,000 *
*  2006         3,750,083         340,917       4,827,000         327,000 *
***************************************************************************
  
The following table assumes an effective date of September 1, 2001:
  
***************************************************************************
*Fiscal      Probable        Probable        Probable        Probable     *
* Year       Revenue         Revenue         Revenue         Revenue      *
*          Gain/(Loss)     Gain/(Loss)     Gain/(Loss)     Gain/(Loss)    *
*          from General     from Hotel     from Cities    from Counties   *
*          Revenue Fund   Occupancy Tax                                   *
*              0001          Deposits                                     *
*                            Account                                      *
*                              5003                                       *
*  2002        $2,515,333        $228,667      $3,238,000        $220,000 *
*  2003         2,949,833         268,167       3,797,000         257,000 *
*  2004         3,195,500         290,500       4,113,000         279,000 *
*  2005         3,461,333         314,667       4,456,000         302,000 *
*  2006         3,750,083         340,917       4,827,000         327,000 *
***************************************************************************
  
Fiscal Analysis
  
The bill would amend Chapter 156 of the Tax Code to clarify that an
individual, not a person, with the right to use or possess a hotel room
for at least 30 consecutive days with no interruption of payment, would
not be required to pay the hotel occupancy tax.  A person other than an
individual could not claim exemption from the tax.

The bill would take effect on the first day of the calendar month
following enactment, assuming that it received the requisite two-thirds
majority votes in both houses of the Legislature.  Otherwise, it would
take effect September 1, 2001.
  
  
Methodology
  
Under current law, a person with the right to use or possess a hotel room
for at least 30 consecutive days with no interruption of payment is not
required to pay the hotel occupancy tax.  The term "person" may include
individuals as well as businesses.  Therefore, a business renting blocks
of hotel rooms for use by its employees for more than 30 consecutive days
is not required to pay the hotel occupancy tax under current law.
Examples of such businesses include, but are not limited to, airlines,
trucking companies, and railroads.

Data were collected from Comptroller tax files on gross and taxable hotel
receipts to estimate the value of exemptions from the hotel tax.  Data
were collected from public and private sources to estimate the number of
units rented by businesses for more than 30 consecutive days.  The
current state hotel occupancy tax rate was applied to the average unit
cost to estimate the potential gain to the General Revenue Fund 0001 and
the Department of Economic Development Account 5003.  Local fiscal
implications were estimated proportionally.

This analysis assumes a "person other than an individual" refers to an
entity other than a natural person.
  
  
Local Government Impact
  
Local units of government would have a corresponding fiscal impact, as
indicated in the tables above.
  
  
Source Agencies:   304   Comptroller of Public Accounts
LBB Staff:         JK, SD