By: Springer, Guillen H.B. No. 1300
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the collection and use of certain hotel occupancy
  taxes.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 334.001, Local Government Code, is
  amended by amending Subdivisions (1) and (4) and adding Subdivision
  (1-a) to read as follows:
               (1)  "Active transportation" means transportation that
  is wholly or primarily powered by human energy.  The term includes
  walking, running, and bicycling.
               (1-a)  "Approved venue project" means a sports and
  community venue project that has been approved under this chapter
  by the voters of a municipality or county.
               (4)  "Venue" means:
                     (A)  an arena, coliseum, stadium, or other type of
  area or facility:
                           (i)  that is used or is planned for use for
  one or more professional or amateur sports events, community
  events, or other sports events, including rodeos, livestock shows,
  agricultural expositions, promotional events, and other civic or
  charitable events; and
                           (ii)  for which a fee for admission to the
  events is charged or is planned to be charged;
                     (B)  a convention center, convention center
  facility as defined by Section 351.001(2) or 352.001(2), Tax Code,
  or related improvement such as a civic center hotel, theater, opera
  house, music hall, rehearsal hall, park, zoological park, museum,
  aquarium, or plaza located in the vicinity of a convention center or
  facility owned by a municipality or a county;
                     (C)  a tourist development area [along an inland
  waterway];
                     (D)  a municipal parks and recreation system, or
  improvements or additions to a parks and recreation system, or an
  area or facility, including an area or facility for active
  transportation use, that is part of a municipal parks and
  recreation system;
                     (E)  a project authorized by Section 4A or 4B,
  Development Corporation Act of 1979 (Article 5190.6, Vernon's Texas
  Civil Statutes), as that Act existed on September 1, 1997; [and]
                     (F)  a watershed protection and preservation
  project; a recharge, recharge area, or recharge feature protection
  project;  a conservation easement; or an open-space preservation
  program intended to protect water; and
                     (G)  an airport facility located in a municipality
  located on the international border.
         SECTION 2.  Section 334.1015, Local Government Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 334.1015.  APPLICATION.  (a)  Except as provided by
  Subsection (b), this [This] subchapter does not apply to the
  financing of a venue project that is an area or facility that is
  part of a municipal parks and recreation system.
         (b)  A municipality located on the international border may
  finance a venue project described by Section 334.001(4)(D) with the
  revenue from a tax imposed under this subchapter.
         SECTION 3.  Section 334.2515, Local Government Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 334.2515.  APPLICATION.  Except as provided by Section
  334.2516, this subchapter does not apply to the financing of a venue
  project that is:
               (1)  an area described by Section 334.001(4)(C);
               (2)  an area or facility that is part of a municipal
  parks and recreation system as described by Section 334.001(4)(D);
  [or]
               (3) [(2)]  a project described by Section
  334.001(4)(E), except for a project [projects] described by [in]
  Section 334.001(4)(A); or
               (4)  a facility described by Section 334.001(4)(G).
         SECTION 4.  Subchapter A, Chapter 351, Tax Code, is amended
  by adding Section 351.0043 to read as follows:
         Sec. 351.0043.  TAX COLLECTION BY SHORT-TERM RENTAL
  MARKETPLACE. (a) For purposes of this section:
               (1)  "Booking charge" means the charge imposed on a
  person by a host for the purpose of renting a short-term rental in
  this state and includes any fees charged by the host, regardless of
  whether separately itemized.
               (2)  "Host" means a person who owns a short-term rental
  and offers the short-term rental for rent through a short-term
  rental marketplace or, if applicable, that person's authorized
  agent who offers the short-term rental for rent through a
  short-term rental marketplace.
               (3)  "Short-term rental" has the meaning assigned by
  Section 156.001.
               (4)  "Short-term rental marketplace" means a
  marketplace, Internet website, mobile application, or other
  platform:
                     (A)  through which a host offers a short-term
  rental for rent; and
                     (B)  that collects the booking charge for the
  rental of the short-term rental.
         (b)  Notwithstanding Section 351.004 or any other law:
               (1)  a short-term rental marketplace:
                     (A)  shall collect the appropriate amount of the
  tax imposed under this chapter by a municipality in which a
  short-term rental is located on each booking charge with respect to
  that short-term rental;
                     (B)  shall report and remit all taxes collected by
  the short-term rental marketplace under Paragraph (A) in the manner
  required:
                           (i)  of a person owning, operating,
  managing, or controlling a hotel under this chapter and in
  accordance with the ordinance adopted by the municipality imposing
  the tax; or
                           (ii)  if applicable, by an agreement under
  this section; and
                     (C)  is considered to be the person owning,
  operating, managing, or controlling the short-term rental for
  purposes of the collection and enforcement of the tax imposed under
  this chapter; and
               (2)  the host may not collect and is not liable for a
  tax imposed by this chapter on a booking charge for a rental made
  through the short-term rental marketplace.
         (c)  A short-term rental marketplace may:
               (1)  enter into an agreement with the comptroller to
  collect and remit to the comptroller the taxes imposed by a
  municipality under this chapter on each booking charge for a rental
  made through the short-term rental marketplace; or
               (2)  enter into an agreement with a third-party vendor
  to remit to the municipality the taxes described by Subdivision (1)
  that the short-term rental marketplace collects.
         (d)  To be effective, an agreement described by Subsection
  (c)(2) must be approved by the governing body of the municipality.
  During the period an agreement described by Subsection (c) is in
  effect, the short-term rental marketplace shall report and remit
  all taxes collected by the short-term rental marketplace under
  Subsection (b):
               (1)  to the comptroller on a schedule determined by the
  comptroller, if the agreement in effect is with the comptroller; or
               (2)  to the third-party vendor on a schedule determined
  by the vendor, if the agreement in effect is with a vendor.
         (e)  The comptroller or third-party vendor, as applicable,
  shall promulgate a form a short-term rental marketplace must use to
  report the taxes collected by the short-term rental marketplace
  under this section if an agreement under Subsection (c) is in
  effect. The form must include the following information:
               (1)  the total receipts from the rental during the
  reporting period of all short-term rentals located in any
  municipality that has approved an agreement under this section and
  offered for rent through the short-term rental marketplace,
  categorized by municipality in which those short-term rentals are
  located;
               (2)  the total amount of booking charges from the
  rental during the reporting period of all short-term rentals
  located in any municipality that has approved an agreement under
  this section and offered for rent through the short-term rental
  marketplace, categorized by municipality in which those short-term
  rentals are located;
               (3)  the rate of the tax imposed under this chapter in
  each municipality identified under Subdivision (2); and
               (4)  the total receipts and the total amount of booking
  charges from the rental during the reporting period of all
  short-term rentals located in a project financing zone as defined
  by Section 351.1015 and offered for rent through the short-term
  rental marketplace, categorized by project financing zone.
         (f)  The form described by Subsection (e) may not require the
  identification of a specific guest or the host of a short-term
  rental.
         (g)  If the short-term rental marketplace collects and
  remits to the comptroller the taxes imposed by the municipality
  under this chapter in accordance with an agreement under Subsection
  (c)(1), the comptroller shall:
               (1)  deposit the taxes remitted to the comptroller
  under this section in trust in the separate suspense account of the
  municipality in which short-term rentals with respect to which the
  taxes were collected are located; and
               (2)  send to the municipal treasurer or to the person
  who performs the office of the municipal treasurer payable to the
  municipality the municipality's share of the taxes remitted to the
  comptroller under this chapter at least 12 times during each state
  fiscal year.
         (h)  A suspense account described by Subsection (g)(1) is
  outside the treasury and the comptroller may make a payment from the
  account without the necessity of an appropriation.
         (i)  Before sending any money to a municipality under
  Subsection (g) and subject to the limitation provided by this
  subsection, the comptroller shall deduct and deposit to the credit
  of the general revenue fund an amount equal to one-half of one
  percent of the amount of the taxes collected from rentals of
  short-term rentals located in the municipality under this section
  during the period for which a distribution is made as the state's
  charge for services provided by the state under this section. The
  comptroller may not deduct from the distributions to a municipality
  more than $50,000 in each state fiscal year under this subsection.
         (j)  If the short-term rental marketplace enters into an
  agreement with a third-party vendor under Subsection (c)(2), the
  vendor shall report and remit to a municipality that approved the
  agreement all taxes imposed by the municipality under this chapter
  and collected by the short-term rental marketplace on rentals of
  short-term rentals located in that municipality at the times and in
  the manner provided by the agreement.
         (k)  Notwithstanding any other law, this section applies to
  the collection, remittance, and distribution of taxes imposed by a
  political subdivision that is authorized to impose a hotel
  occupancy tax under a provision of the Special District Local Laws
  Code or Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes in the same manner the section
  applies to a municipality authorized to impose a hotel occupancy
  tax under this chapter.
         (l)  The comptroller may adopt rules to implement and
  administer this section.
         SECTION 5.  Section 351.005, Tax Code, is amended to read as
  follows:
         Sec. 351.005.  REIMBURSEMENT FOR EXPENSES OF TAX COLLECTION
  AND USE OF ELECTRONIC TAX ADMINISTRATION SYSTEM. (a)  A
  municipality may permit a person who is required to collect and pay
  over to the municipality the tax authorized by this chapter to
  withhold not more than one percent of the amount of the tax
  collected and required to be reported as reimbursement to the
  person for the cost of [costs in] collecting the tax [and, if
  applicable, the use of an electronic tax administration system
  described by Section 351.1012].
         (b)  If a municipality uses revenue derived from the tax
  authorized by this chapter to create, maintain, operate, or
  administer an electronic tax administration system as authorized by
  Section 351.1012, the municipality shall permit a person who is
  required to collect and pay over to the municipality the tax
  authorized by this chapter to withhold not more than one percent of
  the amount of the tax collected and required to be reported as
  reimbursement to the person for the cost of collecting the tax.
         (c)  The municipality may provide that the reimbursement
  provided or required by this section be forfeited because of a
  failure to pay the tax or to file a report as required by the
  municipality.
         SECTION 6.  (a) Section 351.101(a), Tax Code, as amended by
  Chapters 666 (H.B. 3772) and 979 (H.B. 3615), Acts of the 84th
  Legislature, Regular Session, 2015, is reenacted and amended to
  read as follows:
         (a)  Revenue from the municipal hotel occupancy tax may be
  used only to promote tourism and the convention and hotel industry,
  and that use is limited to the following:
               (1)  the acquisition of sites for and the construction,
  improvement, enlarging, equipping, repairing, operation, and
  maintenance of convention center facilities or visitor information
  centers, or both;
               (2)  the furnishing of facilities, personnel, and
  materials for the registration of convention delegates or
  registrants;
               (3)  advertising and conducting solicitations and
  promotional programs to attract tourists and convention delegates
  or registrants to the municipality or its vicinity;
               (4)  the encouragement, promotion, improvement, and
  application of the arts, including instrumental and vocal music,
  dance, drama, folk art, creative writing, architecture, design and
  allied fields, painting, sculpture, photography, graphic and craft
  arts, motion pictures, radio, television, tape and sound recording,
  and other arts related to the presentation, performance, execution,
  and exhibition of these major art forms;
               (5)  historical restoration and preservation projects
  or activities or advertising and conducting solicitations and
  promotional programs to encourage tourists and convention
  delegates to visit preserved historic sites or museums:
                     (A)  at or in the immediate vicinity of convention
  center facilities or visitor information centers; or
                     (B)  located elsewhere in the municipality or its
  vicinity that would be frequented by tourists and convention
  delegates;
               (6)  for a municipality located in a county with a
  population of one million or less, expenses, including promotion
  expenses, directly related to a sporting event in which the
  majority of participants are tourists who substantially increase
  economic activity at hotels and motels within the municipality or
  its vicinity;
               (7)  subject to Section 351.1076, the promotion of
  tourism by the enhancement and upgrading of existing sports
  facilities or fields, including facilities or fields for baseball,
  softball, soccer, flag football, and rodeos, if:
                     (A)  the municipality owns the facilities or
  fields;
                     (B)  the municipality:
                           (i)  has a population of 80,000 or more and
  is located in a county that has a population of 350,000 or less;
                           (ii)  has a population of at least 75,000 but
  not more than 95,000 and is located in a county that has a
  population of less than 200,000 but more than 160,000;
                           (iii)  has a population of at least 36,000
  but not more than 39,000 and is located in a county that has a
  population of 100,000 or less that is not adjacent to a county with
  a population of more than two million;
                           (iv)  has a population of at least 13,000 but
  less than 39,000 and is located in a county that has a population of
  at least 200,000;
                           (v)  has a population of at least 70,000 but
  less than 90,000 and no part of which is located in a county with a
  population greater than 150,000;
                           (vi)  is located in a county that:
                                 (a)  is adjacent to the Texas-Mexico
  border;
                                 (b)  has a population of at least
  500,000; and
                                 (c)  does not have a municipality with
  a population greater than 500,000;
                           (vii)  has a population of at least 25,000
  but not more than 26,000 and is located in a county that has a
  population of 90,000 or less;
                           (viii) [(ix)]  is located in a county that
  has a population of not more than 300,000 and in which a component
  university of the University of Houston System is located; [or]
                           (ix) [(x)]  has a population of at least
  40,000 and the San Marcos River flows through the municipality; or
                           (x)  contains an intersection of Interstates
  35E and 35W and at least two public universities; and
                     (C)  the sports facilities and fields have been
  used, in the preceding calendar year, a combined total of more than
  10 times for district, state, regional, or national sports
  tournaments;
               (8)  for a municipality with a population of at least
  70,000 but less than 90,000, no part of which is located in a county
  with a population greater than 150,000, the construction,
  improvement, enlarging, equipping, repairing, operation, and
  maintenance of a coliseum or multiuse facility;
               (9)  signage directing the public to sights and
  attractions that are visited frequently by hotel guests in the
  municipality;
               (10)  the construction, improvement, enlarging,
  equipping, repairing, operation, and maintenance of a coliseum or
  multiuse facility, if the municipality:
                     (A)  has a population of at least 90,000 but less
  than 120,000; and
                     (B)  is located in two counties, at least one of
  which contains the headwaters of the San Gabriel River; and
               (11)  for a municipality with a population of more than
  175,000 but less than 225,000 that is located in two counties, each
  of which has a population of less than 200,000, the construction,
  improvement, enlarging, equipping, repairing, operation, and
  maintenance of a coliseum or multiuse facility and related
  infrastructure or a venue, as defined by Section 334.001(4), Local
  Government Code, that is related to the promotion of tourism.
         (b)  To the extent of any conflict, this section controls
  over another Act of the 85th Legislature, Regular Session, 2017,
  relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted
  codes.
         (c)  This section takes effect immediately if this Act
  receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each
  house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.
  If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for this section to
  have immediate effect, this section takes effect September 1, 2017.
         SECTION 7.  Section 351.101, Tax Code, is amended by adding
  Subsection (o) to read as follows:
         (o)  In addition to the purposes provided by Subsection (a),
  a municipality that has a population of not more than 10,000, that
  contains an outdoor gear and sporting goods retailer with retail
  space larger than 175,000 square feet, and that hosts an annual
  wiener dog race may use revenue from the municipal hotel occupancy
  tax to promote tourism and the convention and hotel industry by
  constructing, operating, or expanding a sporting related facility
  or sports field owned by the municipality, if the majority of the
  events at the facility or field are directly related to a sporting
  event in which the majority of participants are tourists who
  substantially increase economic activity at hotels in the
  municipality. If a municipality to which this subsection applies
  uses revenue derived from the municipal hotel occupancy tax for a
  purpose described by this subsection, the municipality may not
  reduce the percentage of revenue from that tax allocated for a
  purpose described by Subsection (a)(3) to a percentage that is less
  than the average percentage of that revenue allocated by the
  municipality for that purpose during the 36-month period preceding
  the date the municipality begins using the revenue for a purpose
  described by this subsection.
         SECTION 8.  Section 351.1012(a), Tax Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (a)  Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, a
  municipality may spend each year not more than the lesser of one
  percent or $75,000 of the revenue derived from the tax authorized by
  this chapter during that year for the creation, maintenance,
  operation, and administration of an electronic tax administration
  system. A municipality may not use revenue the municipality is
  authorized to spend under this subsection to conduct an audit.
         SECTION 9.  Section 351.1078, Tax Code, is amended to read as
  follows:
         Sec. 351.1078.  ALLOCATION OF REVENUE: CERTAIN
  MUNICIPALITIES. (a) A municipality that spends municipal hotel
  occupancy tax revenue as authorized by Section 351.101(i) or (o):
               (1)  may not use municipal hotel occupancy tax revenue
  for the acquisition of land for the sporting related facility or
  sports field described by that subsection;
               (2)  shall annually determine and prepare and publish
  on the municipality's Internet website a report on the events held
  at the facility or field, the number of hotel room nights
  attributable to events held at the facility or field, and the amount
  of hotel revenue and municipal tax revenue attributable to the
  sports events and tournaments held at the facility or field for five
  years after the date the construction expenditures are completed;
  and
               (3)  may only spend hotel occupancy tax revenue for
  operational expenses of the facility or field if the costs are
  directly related to a sporting event in which the majority of
  participants are tourists who substantially increase economic
  activity at hotels in or near the municipality.
         (b)  The municipality shall reimburse to the municipality's
  hotel occupancy tax revenue fund from the municipality's general
  fund any expenditure in excess of the amount of area hotel revenue
  attributable to sporting events held at the sporting related
  facility or sports field described by Section 351.101(i) or (o) for
  five years after the date the construction or expansion of the
  facility or field described by that subsection is completed.
         SECTION 10.  Subchapter A, Chapter 352, Tax Code, is amended
  by adding Section 352.0042 to read as follows:
         Sec. 352.0042.  TAX COLLECTION BY SHORT-TERM RENTAL
  MARKETPLACE. (a) For purposes of this section:
               (1)  "Booking charge," "host," and "short-term rental
  marketplace" have the meanings assigned by Section 351.0043.
               (2)  "Short-term rental" has the meaning assigned by
  Section 156.001.
         (b)  Notwithstanding Section 352.004 or any other law:
               (1)  a short-term rental marketplace:
                     (A)  shall collect the appropriate amount of the
  tax imposed under this chapter by a county in which a short-term
  rental is located on each booking charge with respect to that
  short-term rental;
                     (B)  shall report and remit all taxes collected by
  the short-term rental marketplace under Paragraph (A) in the manner
  required:
                           (i)  of a person owning, operating,
  managing, or controlling a hotel under this chapter and in
  accordance with the order adopted by the county imposing the tax; or
                           (ii)  if applicable, by an agreement under
  this section; and
                     (C)  is considered to be the person owning,
  operating, managing, or controlling the short-term rental for
  purposes of the collection and enforcement of the tax imposed under
  this chapter; and 
               (2)  the host may not collect and is not liable for a
  tax imposed by this chapter on a booking charge for a rental made
  through the short-term rental marketplace.
         (c)  A short-term rental marketplace may:
               (1)  enter into an agreement with the comptroller to
  collect and remit to the comptroller the taxes imposed by a county
  under this chapter on each booking charge for a rental made through
  the short-term rental marketplace; or
               (2)  enter into an agreement with a third-party vendor
  to remit to the county the taxes described by Subdivision (1) that
  the short-term rental marketplace collects.
         (d)  To be effective, an agreement described by Subsection
  (c)(2) must be approved by the commissioners court of the county.
  During the period an agreement described by Subsection (c) is in
  effect, the short-term rental marketplace shall report and remit
  all taxes collected by the short-term rental marketplace under
  Subsection (b):
               (1)  to the comptroller on a schedule determined by the
  comptroller, if the agreement in effect is with the comptroller; or
               (2)  to the third-party vendor on a schedule determined
  by the vendor, if the agreement in effect is with a vendor.
         (e)  The comptroller or third-party vendor, as applicable,
  shall promulgate a form a short-term rental marketplace must use to
  report the taxes collected by the short-term rental marketplace
  under this section if an agreement under Subsection (c) is in
  effect. The form must include the following information:
               (1)  the total receipts from the rental during the
  reporting period of all short-term rentals located in any county
  that has approved an agreement under this section and offered for
  rent through the short-term rental marketplace, categorized by
  county in which those short-term rentals are located;
               (2)  the total amount of booking charges from the
  rental during the reporting period of all short-term rentals
  located in any county that has approved an agreement under this
  section and offered for rent through the short-term rental
  marketplace, categorized by county in which those short-term
  rentals are located; and
               (3)  the rate of the tax imposed under this chapter in
  each county identified under Subdivision (2).
         (f)  The form described by Subsection (e) may not require the
  identification of a specific guest or the host of a short-term
  rental.
         (g)  If the short-term rental marketplace collects and
  remits to the comptroller the taxes imposed by the county under this
  chapter in accordance with an agreement under Subsection (c)(1),
  the comptroller shall:
               (1)  deposit the taxes remitted to the comptroller
  under this section in trust in the separate suspense account of the
  county in which short-term rentals with respect to which the taxes
  were collected are located; and
               (2)  send to the county treasurer payable to the county
  the county's share of the taxes remitted to the comptroller under
  this chapter at least 12 times during each state fiscal year.
         (h)  A suspense account described by Subsection (g)(1) is
  outside the treasury and the comptroller may make a payment from the
  account without the necessity of an appropriation.
         (i)  Before sending any money to a county under Subsection
  (g) and subject to the limitation provided by this subsection, the
  comptroller shall deduct and deposit to the credit of the general
  revenue fund an amount equal to one-half of one percent of the
  amount of the taxes collected from rentals of short-term rentals
  located in the county under this section during the period for which
  a distribution is made as the state's charge for services provided
  by the state under this section. The comptroller may not deduct
  from the distributions to a county more than $50,000 in each state
  fiscal year under this subsection.
         (j)  If the short-term rental marketplace enters into an
  agreement with a third-party vendor under Subsection (c)(2), the
  vendor shall report and remit to a county that approved the
  agreement all taxes imposed by the county under this chapter and
  collected by the short-term rental marketplace on rentals of
  short-term rentals located in that county at the times and in the
  manner provided by the agreement.
         (k)  Notwithstanding any other law, this section applies to
  the collection, remittance, and distribution of taxes imposed by a
  political subdivision that is authorized to impose a hotel
  occupancy tax under a provision of the Special District Local Laws
  Code or Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes in the same manner the section
  applies to a county authorized to impose a hotel occupancy tax under
  this chapter.
         (l)  The comptroller may adopt rules to implement and
  administer this section.
         SECTION 11.  Section 352.103, Tax Code, is amended to read as
  follows:
         Sec. 352.103.  USE OF REVENUE: COUNTIES WITH NO
  MUNICIPALITY. (a)  Except as provided by Subsection (b), the [The]
  revenue from a tax imposed under this chapter by a county that has
  no municipality may be used only for:
               (1)  the purposes provided by Sections 351.101(a)(1),
  (2), and (4);
               (2)  advertising for general promotional and tourist
  advertising of the county and conducting a solicitation program to
  attract conventions and visitors either by the county or through
  contracts with persons or organizations selected by the
  commissioners court; and
               (3)  historical preservation and restoration.
         (b)  Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, a
  county described by Subsection (a) that owns an airport may use
  revenue from a tax imposed under this chapter for repairs and
  improvements to the county airport or reimbursement for repairs and
  improvements to the airport.
         (c)  A county to which Subsection (b) applies may not use
  revenue from a tax imposed under this chapter for a purpose
  described by Subsection (b) in a total amount that would exceed the
  amount of hotel revenue in the county that is likely to be
  reasonably attributable to guests traveling through the airport
  during the 15-year period beginning on the date the county first
  uses the tax revenue for that purpose.
         (d)  A county to which Subsection (b) applies may not use
  revenue from a tax imposed under this chapter for a purpose
  described by Subsection (b) after the 10th anniversary of the date
  the county first uses that revenue for that purpose.
         SECTION 12.  The change in law made by this Act does not
  affect tax liability accruing before the effective date of this
  Act. That liability continues in effect as if this Act had not been
  enacted, and the former law is continued in effect for the
  collection of taxes due and for civil and criminal enforcement of
  the liability for those taxes.
         SECTION 13.  Except as otherwise provided by this Act, this
  Act takes effect January 1, 2018.