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Committee restores tourism funding formula; tourism bill moved out on consent
Summary
Senate Bill 63 would change how the rooms and meals (meals and rentals) tax is calculated to restore a 3.15% allocation to the Division of Travel and Tourism Development before other transfers; the committee voted the bill out and placed it on consent.
Senate Bill 63 returned the Division of Travel and Tourism Development’s funding calculation to its prior treatment by allocating the division’s 3.15% share before transfers to the municipal revenue fund, a change supporters said is necessary to preserve tourism marketing budgets.
Sen. Tim Lang, prime sponsor, told the Ways and Means Committee the earlier statutory change that created the municipal revenue fund altered the base used to calculate the tourism allocation and significantly reduced marketing funds. “When we created that municipal revenue fund, we adjusted the formula… we took the municipal piece out and then we calculated 3.15%… which is relatively drastic, decrease in revenue to the tourism department,” Lang said.
Why it matters: Testimony emphasized the economic impact of tourism in New Hampshire. Cheryl Reardon, president of the White Mountain Attractions Association, said the tourism sector employs more than 70,000 people and warned the current statutory formula would cut available marketing funds by more than 40% for fiscal years 2026 and 2027. “Every dollar spent on tourism marketing yields a double digit return on investment, as much as $17 in recent years,” Reardon told the committee.
Support from business groups: Nate Graeze of the Business and Industry Association also testified in favor, saying stronger tourism marketing increases overall state economic activity and subsequent tax revenue. The committee record shows other regional tourism organizations and trade associations signed in to support the bill.
Committee action: The committee heard testimony, then went into executive session where members moved that SB 63 “ought to pass.” The committee voted to place the bill on the consent calendar; the chair said he would remove it to carry it out of committee but that it would go forward on consent. The transcript records the ayes prevailed; no roll-call tally appears in the record provided.
Next steps and context: Supporters asked lawmakers to restore the earlier calculation so the tourism office can continue joint-promotion programs and regional marketing efforts. The bill’s supporters cited state research indicating a strong return on marketing investment and warned that reduced marketing funds could depress future meals-and-rentals receipts and related tax revenues.
