Joint House committees advance HB 19-47 with amendments, keeping destination stewardship in Office of Tourism

The House Committee on Tourism and the House Committee on Water & Land advanced House Bill 19-47 on a chair-led recommendation to pass with amendments, after brief testimony and questioning from both agencies and county representatives.

The chair announced a package of changes that would remove Part 3 of the bill (the provision transferring destination management to the Department of Land and Natural Resources), add destination stewardship to the Office of Tourism's mission and define the term, accept the Attorney General's request to remove language allowing the Office of Tourism or its advisory board to hire private attorneys, designate the DBEDT director as the tourism liaison, restore destination-management activities (DMAPs) to the Office of Tourism, permit state and county agencies to assist the office, require annual reports, add technical conforming amendments and a savings clause, and defer the bill's effective date as needed. "I would like to have this discussion move on forward, but we're gonna pass this with a lot of amendments and changes," the Chair said announcing the changes.

Members questioned agency witnesses on how the amendments would affect coordination between state and county agencies and whether moving destination management responsibilities would fragment existing efforts. Several members thanked the chair for the amendments; one said they would vote "with reservations," but the chair's recommendation to pass with amendments was adopted following the roll call.

The committee vote was recorded on the floor and the recommendation to pass with amendments was adopted; the hearing was then adjourned. The bill, as amended by the committee, will proceed to the next legislative step under the normal calendar.