Deschutes County leaders back state bill to allow local flexibility for tourism taxes, with caveats

Deschutes County commissioners, city leaders, tourism managers and local business representatives met March 17 for a roundtable on House Bill 3556, legislation that would let local governments use transient lodging (hotel) tax revenue for “tourism-impacted services,” including public safety and community infrastructure.

The discussion matters because Deschutes County and the City of Bend rely heavily on transient room tax (TRT) revenue to fund police, fire and other services and because local officials said they want clarity that any change would apply to future tax increments rather than retroactively reassign existing revenue streams.

Doug Riggs, who described himself as working on the issue for several years, introduced the bill as a discussion starter and noted a legislative hearing was scheduled for Thursday. “There is a bill that has been introduced, which I think all of you have seen — House Bill 3556,” he said, summarizing the League of Oregon Cities’ effort to create flexibility in how tourism-related revenue may be used.

Deschutes County District Attorney Steve Gunnels told the group roughly 10% of referrals to the DA’s office involve visitors,…