Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Lodging Fee Disclosure topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee adopts amendment reducing penalties for small short-term rental operators in lodging fee-disclosure bill
Summary
The committee adopted an amendment that lowers the civil penalty for owners of three or fewer short-term rentals from up to $10,000 per violation to up to $1,000, and then voted to send the substitute House Bill 1080 to the rules committee with the amendment rolled into a striking amendment.
The Washington State Senate Business, Financial Services & Trade Committee on March 26 adopted an amendment to Substitute House Bill 1080 that reduces the maximum civil penalty for small operators of short-term rentals and then recommended the bill to the rules committee.
Committee staff summarized SHB 1080 as requiring hotels and short-term rental operators to disclose all fees and charges in advertised, displayed, or offered rates except for taxes and government-imposed assessment fees. The staff summary said the bill subjects hotels and short-term rentals that fail to comply to a civil penalty not exceeding $10,000 per violation and that the bill as introduced had no fiscal impact.
Senator Wilson offered Amendment A1 to reduce the penalty for owners of three or fewer short-term rentals so the civil penalty would not exceed $1,000 for that class of small operators. Speaking to the amendment, Senator Wilson said the change is intended to avoid disproportionate financial harm to small owners and to avoid disincentivizing market participation.
A committee member voiced support and asked members to adopt the amendment. The committee adopted Amendment A1 by voice vote. Following adoption, a member moved that the amendment be rolled into a striking amendment and the committee voted to send the bill, with the amendment incorporated, to the rules committee. The chair announced the bill passed the committee “subject to signature.”
The staff summary provided that taxes and government assessment fees are excluded from the required disclosures; the adopted amendment limits the maximum civil penalty for very small owners to $1,000 per violation while larger operators remain subject to the higher penalty specified in the bill as introduced.
