Senate strikes enacting clause of tourism sales-tax measure, asks for interim study

Senators on March 1 debated a bill that would let qualifying rural counties impose up to an additional 1% sales tax tied to tourism-related costs, then voted to strike the measure’s enacting clause and send the issue to interim study.

Proponents described the measure as a targeted tool for small counties that shoulder heavy tourism burdens — naming Grand County and Moab as examples — allowing voters in those counties to impose an additional 1% county sales tax to pay for services driven by visitors, such as waste removal and search-and-rescue. Supporters emphasized that the tax was optional, voter-approved and capped: the bill’s supporters said the cap prevents the county total from exceeding 1% where hospital taxes already apply.

Opponents raised broader fiscal concerns. Senator Stevenson argued the measure risks eroding the state’s sales-tax base and was advanced without adequate public hearings. “This issue deserves the attention of the legislature, but it deserves the attention in an arena that can have public comment, which this has not had,” Stevenson said on the floor, and moved to strike the bill’s enacting clause and request interim study. Other senators noted the bill arose from a year-and-a-half governor’s task force and contains limits such as a $2,500 cap on purchases subject to the tax.

Leadership accepted the motion to strike the enacting clause and instructed that the topic be placed on the interim study list so lawmakers can solicit public input and examine alternatives.

Senators also appointed a conference committee for an unrelated domestic violence matter in the same span of the floor session.