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House amends tourism tax to guarantee Salt Lake County ski promotion; bill passes
Summary
The Utah House passed first substitute Senate Bill 137 with amendments to channel transient room tax funds toward Salt Lake County ski marketing and to clarify taxable items; proponents cited an estimated $16 million return to the local economy; the measure passed 53–16.
Representative Tim Kaiser, sponsor of first substitute Senate Bill 137, told the House the measure would codify a successful marketing program for Salt Lake County ski resorts and ensure a portion of the transient room tax (TRT) collected at county ski-area hotels supports tourism promotion ("This is a consensus bill between Salt Lake County and [the] ski and travel industry," said Kaiser). The bill includes amendments (pink-sheet amendments 3 and 4) that make a technical change to list ski lift tickets and accommodations together and reduce a line-item figure from $500,000 to $450,000.
Debate focused on two linked themes: whether the proposal fairly earmarks public tourism dollars for ski-resort promotion rather than competitive cultural grants, and whether the bill should resolve conflicting tax-code language for a single dinner-theater operator. Representative Eurer introduced amendment 2 to remove a separate definition of "dinner theater" from the bill so the definition would live in one place in the tax code and avoid conflicting tax-letter guidance to a Salt Lake County operator. Eurer told the chamber the change was intended "to stop opposing letters as to what they should do or what they shouldn't do" from different tax-commission offices.
Opponents raised concerns about creating a special exemption or earmark. Representative Becker asked why dinner theaters would receive different tax treatment from ordinary restaurants and whether the change created an unfair carve-out. Representative Goodfellow cautioned that the ski resorts would receive a direct appropriation while other cultural institutions must compete for tourism dollars, and urged the House to consider a competitive approach rather than line-item funding. Kaiser and supporters said Salt Lake County has committed funds and that the ski-marketing program (Ski Salt Lake) has shown a strong return on investment; Kaiser cited program growth from roughly 6,300 passes in 2001 to more than 65,000 and said the program returns roughly $16,000,000 in economic benefit.
Amendments 3 and 4 (technical language and the $500,000→$450,000 adjustment) were adopted without recorded opposition. The body then approved amendment 2 to clarify the dinner-theater definition after extended colloquy. The bill, as amended, passed on a recorded vote, 53 yes and 16 no, and was referred to the Senate as passed by the House.
What happens next: as the House recorded, the bill will be transmitted to the Senate. The sponsor said the measure targets Salt Lake County (counties of the first class) and is meant to support local lodging and ski-industry promotion; opponents said earmarking undermines competition for tourism funding.
