Lopez Bill Fits Extra Hotel Tax To One Small City

The text as introduced · 683 words

89R15675 CJD-D

By: Lopez of Cameron
H.B. No. 4755

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the authority of certain municipalities to authorize

and finance certain venue projects and to use municipal hotel

occupancy tax revenue for certain of those projects; authorizing

the imposition of a tax.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 334.0082(a), Local Government Code, is

amended to read as follows:

(a) This section applies only to a municipality that:

(1) has a population of at least 250,000 that borders

the Rio Grande, and that approved a sports and community venue

project before January 1, 2009; [ or ]

(2) is located in a county adjacent to the

Texas-Mexico border if:

(A) the county has a population of at least

500,000;

(B) the county does not have a city located

within it that has a population of at least 500,000; and

(C) the municipality is the largest municipality

in the county described by this subdivision ; or

(3) has a population of not more than 25,000, that

contains a cultural heritage museum, and that is located in a county

that borders the United Mexican States and the Gulf of Mexico .

SECTION 2. Section 351.001(7), Tax Code, is amended to read

as follows:

(7) "Eligible central municipality" means:

(A) a municipality with a population of more than

140,000 but less than 1.5 million that is located in a county with a

population of one million or more and that has adopted a capital

improvement plan for the construction or expansion of a convention

center facility;

(B) a municipality with a population of 250,000

or more that:

(i) is located wholly or partly on a barrier

island that borders the Gulf of Mexico;

(ii) is located in a county with a

population of 300,000 or more; and

(iii) has adopted a capital improvement

plan to expand an existing convention center facility;

(C) a municipality with a population of 200,000

or more that:

(i) is located in two counties both of which

have a population of 900,000 or more; and

(ii) has adopted a capital improvement plan

for the construction or expansion of a convention center facility;

(D) a municipality with a population of less than

50,000 that contains a general academic teaching institution that

is not a component institution of a university system, as those

terms are defined by Section 61.003, Education Code; [ or ]

(E) a municipality with a population of 640,000

or more that:

(i) is located on an international border;

and

(ii) has adopted a capital improvement plan

for the construction or expansion of a convention center facility ;

or

(F) a municipality that has a population of not

more than 25,000, that contains a cultural heritage museum, and

that is located in a county that borders the United Mexican States

and the Gulf of Mexico .

SECTION 3. Section 351.003, Tax Code, is amended by adding

Subsection (g) to read as follows:

(g) The rate in a municipality described by Section

351.001(7)(F) may not exceed nine percent of the price paid for a

room. The municipality shall allocate for the construction,

expansion, maintenance, financing, operation, or debt service of a

convention center or multiuse facility all revenue received by the

municipality that is derived from the application of the tax at a

rate of more than seven percent of the price paid for a room in a

hotel.

SECTION 4. Section 351.101, Tax Code, is amended by adding

Subsection (u) to read as follows:

(u) In addition to other authorized uses, a municipality

described by Section 351.001(7)(F) may use revenue from the

municipal hotel occupancy tax to pay costs associated with the

construction, expansion, maintenance, financing, operation, or

debt service of a convention center or multiuse facility.

SECTION 5. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives

a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as

provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this

Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this

Act takes effect September 1, 2025.