Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Tourism Funding topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Senate amends and passes tourism marketing performance fund bill tied to CPI
Summary
The Utah Senate amended and passed first substitute H.B. 22 to adjust tourism funding metrics, changing the benchmark to the Consumer Price Index or 3%, whichever is greater, and to refine NAICS-based measurement and cooperative matching provisions; vote was 26–0 with three absent.
The Utah Senate on Feb. 18 amended and passed first substitute H.B. 22, a bill that modifies how the Tourism Marketing Performance Fund measures and distributes incentive payments to the tourism industry.
Senator Vickers, sponsor of the bill, said the fund "has been very successful over the years" and outlined three changes: updating the NAICS-code weighting used to measure tourism-generated sales tax, creating a state cooperative match for counties, and replacing the prior 3 percent performance benchmark with a Consumer Price Index (CPI)-based metric. The adopted amendment sets the floor as "greater than 3%" so funding remains tied to a performance floor.
The change to a CPI-linked benchmark follows a study by the Bureau of Economic and Business Research at the University of Utah, which recommended adjustments to the codes and weighting used to estimate tourism-related activity, the sponsor said. Senator Jenkins emphasized that the amendment restores an element of performance integrity "that they don't just get that $3,000,000 every year" and that recipients will still be measured on performance.
Senator Vickers also clarified that a separate RURism initiative discussed previously is not part of the bill; he said that program may use a small portion of cooperative funds but is not codified in H.B. 22.
After amendment, the Senate conducted a roll call. First substitute H.B. 22 passed 26–0 with 3 senators absent and was transmitted back to the House for further consideration.
The bill sponsor and staff said the changes aim to keep funding tied to measurable tourism-related receipts while providing options for local matching and better targeting through NAICS-code adjustments. The House will receive the amended bill for its subsequent action.
