Committee substitute would make short‑term rental platforms responsible for hotel tax collection

Senate Bill 2805, as amended by a committee substitute, would update the statutory definition of “hotel” to cover third‑party facilitators of short‑term rentals and make those platforms responsible for collecting hotel taxes rather than individual homeowners, Senator Johnson told the committee.

The change is aimed at clarifying collection responsibility for listings on services such as Airbnb, VRBO and Expedia, Johnson said. “This clarifies that it is the intent that, all short term rentals would fall under, that the tax purposes for the same as a hotel and that, it would not be of the burden of the homeowner to collect it, but the burden of the third party facilitator or app, that would be the 1 that collects it. And that's what the bill or the committee substitute does,” Johnson said.

Committee members offered no substantive amendments on the floor. Senator Johnson moved the committee substitute with the motion titled “sufficient due pass committee substitute.” The measure passed on a voice vote; the committee chair said, “The ayes have it,” and the bill was reported out of committee. The record does not show a roll‑call tally for the vote.

The substitute does not change tax rates; it changes who must collect and remit existing hotel tax for short‑term rental transactions. The transcript did not include the bill text or cross‑references to existing tax code sections, and no further implementation language (such as reporting or enforcement details) was discussed on the record.

The committee’s action moves the substitute forward for consideration outside committee; further floor action, committee reports or implementing language could clarify enforcement, penalties, or registration requirements for online platforms.

Provenance: Senator Johnson explained the substitute and the committee adopted the motion to report it out; the transcript shows the committee discussion and the voice vote.