TO: | Honorable John Davis, Chair, House Committee on Economic & Small Business Development |
FROM: | Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board |
IN RE: | SB1678 by Deuell (Relating to the events and expenses eligible for, reporting requirements concerning disbursements from, an audit by the state auditor of, and a study by the comptroller of the Major Events trust fund and the Events trust fund.), As Engrossed |
Fiscal Year | Probable Net Positive/(Negative) Impact to General Revenue Related Funds |
---|---|
2014 | $0 |
2015 | $0 |
2016 | $0 |
2017 | $0 |
2018 | $0 |
Fiscal Year | Probable Savings/(Cost) from Major Events Trust Fund No. 869 |
Probable Savings/(Cost) from Events Trust Fund No. 830 |
Change in Number of State Employees from FY 2013 |
---|---|---|---|
2014 | ($153,294) | ($472,394) | 4.4 |
2015 | $0 | $0 | 0.0 |
2016 | $0 | $0 | 0.0 |
2017 | $0 | $0 | 0.0 |
2018 | $0 | $0 | 0.0 |
The bill would amend eligibility, disbursement, and reporting requirements related to the Major Events Trust Fund (METF) and the Events Trust Fund (ETF) and an audit by the State Auditor's Office (SAO) and report by the Comptroller of Public Accounts (CPA) on certain events trust funds. The bill would require that an event funded through METF have an incremental increase in state and local revenues of at least $1 million. The bill would reduce the length of time the CPA has to complete a post-event impact study for a METF event from 18 to 10 months and would require the CPA to post certain documents or information related to the study and event on the CPA's website. The bill would repeal provisions related to the METF which provide authority to fund an eligible event ahead of the event through appropriations made for that purpose.
The bill would limit the number of requests an endorsing county or municipality may submit for funding through ETF within any 12-month period to 10 requests, of which only three may be for nonsporting events. The bill would prohibit an endorsing county from submitting a request for funding through ETF for an event held at a location wholly within the corporate boundaries of a municipality. The bill would prohibit disbursements from the ETF for: construction of an arena, stadium or convention center; usual and customary facility maintenance; and major renovations. The bill would authorize the CPA to adopt a model event support contract and to make the contract available on the CPA website.
The bill would limit distributions from both the METF and ETF only for expenses deemed necessary to conduct the event and would limit disbursements for expenses to make a structural improvement or an addition of a fixture to a site for which the improvement or fixture is expected to derive most of its value in subsequent uses to five percent of the cost of that improvement or fixture. The CPA would be authorized to proportionately reduce the amount of a disbursement for an endorsing entity from the METF and ETF if an event's actual attendance figures are significantly less than the projected attendance count.
The bill would require the SAO and CPA to conduct, respectively, an audit and study related to certain events trust funds, including the METF, Motor Sports Racing Trust Fund and ETF. The bill would specify that the audit conducted by the SAO include a determination on whether money from an events trust fund is: disbursed in compliance with relevant laws or standards; monitored so that the recipients of events funding comply with applicable agreements, laws, or standards; and maintained to provide for financial controls and accountability regarding use of the money. The bill would specify that the study required by the CPA determine the economic impact of events which qualify for funding through the affected events trust fund and whether the events would likely be held in this state absent incentives provided through the trust funds. Both the audit by the SAO and the study by the CPA would be due by January 1, 2015 to the Lieutenant Governor, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the presiding officer of each standing committee over the Senate and House of Representatives having primary jurisdiction over fiscal matters or matters related to tourism and recreation. The bill would require that, notwithstanding any other law, the CPA reimburse the SAO for the cost of the audit required under the bill using any balances available in fiscal year 2014 from the affected events trust funds. The reimbursement would be paid proportionally from the established funds based on the maximum balances in the funds during fiscal year 2014. This provision of the bill would expire on September 1, 2015.
The bill would take effect immediately upon receiving a two-thirds majority vote in each house. Otherwise, the bill would take effect September 1, 2013.
Source Agencies: | 304 Comptroller of Public Accounts, 308 State Auditor's Office
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LBB Staff: | UP, RB, EP, LCO
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