BILL ANALYSIS

Senate Research Center	S.B. 660
83R2579 JTS-F	By: West
	Intergovernmental Relations
	3/12/2013
	As Filed

AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT

The 82nd Legislature expanded Chapter 372 (Improvement Districts in Municipalities and Counties), Local Government Code, to allow municipalities to create public improvement districts (PIDs) composed solely of hotels with 100 or more rooms for the purposes of economic development.  In 2012, the City of Dallas approved the creation of the Dallas Tourism PID upon petition of over 60 percent of local hoteliers. This district provides a means for funding marketing and incentives to secure increased conventions and group meetings, and promotes economic development in the Dallas area.

The existing language found in Chapter 372, Local Government Code, allows municipalities to collect the self-assessments from hoteliers within the district through the procedures that are commonly in place for collection of ad valorem property tax assessments.  However, the self-assessments for tourism PIDs are based on total hotel tax sales and not on property tax valuations. This inconsistency causes difficulty for both hoteliers and the City of Dallas.

S.B. 660 remedies this by allowing those municipalities that create a tourism PID to use the same procedures for collection of the assessments that the city already has in place for collection of the local hotel occupancy tax. This will provide greater consistency and ease in the collection process for both the city and participating hotels.   

As proposed, S.B. 660 amends current law relating to assessment collection in certain public improvement districts.

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 Section 372.0035, Local Government Code, by adding Subsection (d), as follows:

(d) Authorizes a municipality that undertakes a project under this section to:

(1) adopt procedures for the collection of assessments under this chapter that are consistent with the municipality's procedures for the collection of a hotel occupancy tax under Chapter 351 (Municipal Hotel Occupancy Taxes), Tax Code; and

(2) pursue remedies for the failure to pay an assessment under this chapter that are available to the municipality for failure to pay a hotel occupancy tax under Chapter 351, Tax Code.

SECTION 2. Effective date: upon passage or September 1, 2013.