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House substitutes Fifth Substitute Senate Bill 60 to create county-option tourism fund, restructure travel board
Summary
Fifth Substitute Senate Bill 60 was substituted on the House floor to convert an advisory travel council into a policy board, create a Tourism Economic Stimulus Fund funded by county-option increases to restaurant and hotel taxes, and direct a portion of collections to statewide branding and local projects; the travel board reportedly voted 6–1 to support the bill.
The Utah House approved a substitution of Fifth Substitute Senate Bill 60, a measure that would reshape the state's tourism governance and create a county-option funding mechanism to promote travel and related facilities.
Under the version explained on the floor, the bill converts the existing advisory travel council into a policy board with rule-making authority and modifies board membership distribution. It also establishes a statewide Utah tourism industry coalition and a Tourism Economic Stimulus Fund. The presenter described the fund as a local county option — "This is not statewide taxation. This is a local county option," the presenter said — under which counties could, if they choose, raise the local restaurant tax by 0.125 (one-eighth of a percentage point) and the local hotel tax by 1.5 percentage points.
The proposed distribution, as explained on the floor, would channel one-third of the collected dollars to the state for nationwide branding; the presenter said $500,000 of that state portion would go to the Sports Commission. The remaining two-thirds would stay in the county for projects such as recreational facilities, convention centers or athletic events and for advertising, under county discretion. The presenter also said the bill rolls an appropriation discussed earlier — $1,500,000 to the travel council — into the bill.
The presenter, who ran through the bill's provisions on the floor, said stakeholder positions had recently shifted: Salt Lake Valley Lodging and the Marriott Hotel were now in favor, the Utah Lodging Association was neutral, and the Restaurant Association had mixed views. Representative Vier noted the travel board "voted 6 to 1 to support this bill," and the Davis County Commission was singled out as adding its support.
The presenter cautioned that adoption would remain a county-by-county decision: "This is only county option," the presenter said, and county commissions would need reason to adopt the levy because one-third of funds go to the state for statewide branding. The House approved the substitution on a voice vote after debate and summation were waived.
The transcript records the substitution and the floor descriptions of tax rates, distribution formulas and stakeholder positions. The bill as discussed gives counties a choice to participate and delegates rule-making authority to the newly constituted policy board; final enactment would depend on county actions and any subsequent Senate or conference committee steps.
