Louderback Bill Writes A 7 Percent Hotel Tax For One County

The text as introduced · 1,214 words

90R423 CJD-D

By: Louderback
H.B. No. 781

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to authorizing certain counties to impose a hotel

occupancy tax, the applicability and rates of that tax in certain

counties, and the use of revenue from that tax; authorizing the

imposition of a tax.

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

SECTION 1. Section 352.002(a), Tax Code, is amended to read

as follows:

(a) The commissioners courts of the following counties by

the adoption of an order or resolution may impose a tax on a person

who, under a lease, concession, permit, right of access, license,

contract, or agreement, pays for the use or possession or for the

right to the use or possession of a room that is in a hotel, costs $2

or more each day, and is ordinarily used for sleeping:

(1) a county that has a population of more than 3.3

million;

(2) a county that has a population of 90,000 or more,

borders the United Mexican States, does not border the Gulf of

Mexico, and does not have four or more cities that each have a

population of more than 25,000;

(3) a county in which there is no municipality;

(4) a county in which there is located an Indian

reservation under the jurisdiction of the United States government;

(5) a county that has a population of 30,000 or less,

that has no more than one municipality with a population of less

than 2,500, and that borders two counties located wholly in the

Edwards Aquifer Authority established by Chapter 626, Acts of the

73rd Legislature, Regular Session, 1993;

(6) a county that borders the Gulf of Mexico , other

than a county authorized to impose the tax under Subdivision (30) ;

(7) a county that has a population of less than 5,000,

that borders the United Mexican States, and in which there is

located a major observatory;

(8) a county that has a population of 12,000 or less

and borders the Toledo Bend Reservoir;

(9) a county that has a population of less than 12,500

and an area of less than 275 square miles and does not border a

county that borders Arkansas and Louisiana;

(10) a county that has a population of 30,000 or less

and borders Possum Kingdom Lake;

(11) a county that borders a county with a population

of more than 300,000 and the United Mexican States and has a

population of more than 300,000 and less than 900,000;

(12) a county that has a population of 35,000 or more

and borders or contains a portion of Lake Fork Reservoir;

(13) a county that borders the United Mexican States

and in which there is located a national recreation area;

(14) a county that borders the United Mexican States

and in which there is located a national park of more than 400,000

acres;

(15) a county that has a population of 28,000 or less,

that has no more than four municipalities, and that is located

wholly in the Edwards Aquifer Authority established by Chapter 626,

Acts of the 73rd Legislature, Regular Session, 1993;

(16) a county that has a population of 25,000 or less,

whose territory is less than 750 square miles, and that has two

incorporated municipalities, each with a population of 800 or less,

at least one of which is located on the Frio River;

(17) a county that has a population of 34,000 or more

and borders Lake Buchanan;

(18) a county that has a population of more than 45,000

and less than 75,000, that borders the United Mexican States, and

that borders or contains a portion of Falcon Lake;

(19) a county with a population of 22,000 or less that

borders the Neches River and in which there is located a national

preserve;

(20) a county that has a population of 28,000 or less

and that borders or contains a portion of Lake Livingston;

(21) a county through which the Pedernales River flows

and in which the birthplace or the childhood home of a president of

the United States is located;

(22) a county that has a population of 35,000 or less

and borders Lake Buchanan;

(23) a county with a population of less than 11,000

that is bordered by the Sulphur River;

(24) a county that has a population of 16,000 or more

and borders the entire north shore of Lake Somerville;

(25) a county that has a population of 20,000 or less

and that is bordered by the Brazos and Navasota Rivers;

(26) a county that has a population of more than 15,000

and less than 25,000 and is located on the Trinity and Navasota

Rivers;

(27) a county that has a population of less than 15,000

and that is bordered by the Trinity and Navasota Rivers;

(28) a county that borders or contains a portion of the

Neches River, the Sabine River, and Sabine Lake; [ and ]

(29) a county that borders Whitney Lake ; and

(30) a county that has a population of more than

90,000, is located adjacent to a bay connected to the Gulf of

Mexico, and contains a portion of the Guadalupe River .

SECTION 2. Section 352.003, Tax Code, is amended by adding

Subsection (ff) to read as follows:

(ff) The tax rate in a county authorized to impose the tax

under Section 352.002(a)(30) may not exceed seven percent of the

price paid for a room in a hotel, except that the tax rate may not

exceed two percent of the price paid for a room in a hotel if the

hotel is located in:

(1) a municipality that imposes a tax under Chapter

351 applicable to the hotel; or

(2) the extraterritorial jurisdiction of a

municipality that imposes a tax under Section 351.0025 applicable

to the hotel.

SECTION 3. Subchapter B, Chapter 352, Tax Code, is amended

by adding Section 352.117 to read as follows:

Sec. 352.117. USE OF REVENUE: CERTAIN COUNTIES THROUGH

WHICH GUADALUPE RIVER FLOWS. (a) In addition to the purposes

authorized by this chapter, the revenue from a tax imposed under

this chapter by a county authorized to impose the tax under Section

352.002(a)(30) may be used to make repairs and improvements to the

county airport or to provide reimbursement for repairs and

improvements to the airport.

(b) A county to which this section applies may not use

revenue from a tax imposed under this chapter for a purpose

described by Subsection (a) in a total amount that would exceed the

amount of hotel revenue in the county that is likely to be

reasonably attributed to guests traveling through the airport

during the 20-year period beginning on the date the county first

uses the tax revenue for that purpose.

(c) A county to which this section applies may not use

revenue from a tax imposed under this chapter for a purpose

described by Subsection (a) after the 20th anniversary of the date

the county first uses the revenue for that purpose.

SECTION 4. 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, 2027.