Budget Amendment ID: FY2016-S3-454

ECO 454

Tourism Trust Fund

Ms. O'Connor Ives, Mr. Tarr and Ms. Lovely moved that the proposed new text be amended by inserting, after section XX, the following new section:-

"SECTION XX. Chapter 23A of the Massachusetts General Laws, as appearing in the 2014 Official Edition, is hereby further amended by inserting after section 13S the following section:-

Section 13T. (a) There shall be a Massachusetts Tourism Trust Fund which shall be administered by the Massachusetts marketing partnership established in section 13A and held by the partnership separate and apart from its other funds. The fund shall be credited in the following phased-in scale:

(i) for fiscal year 2016, 1.25 cents of the 5.7 per cent of the room occupancy excise imposed by section 3 of chapter 64G and section 22 of chapter 546 of the acts of 1969;

(ii) for fiscal year 2017, 1.5 cents of the 5.7 per cent of the room occupancy excise imposed by said section 3 of said chapter 64G and said section 22 of said chapter 546;

(iii) for fiscal year 2018, 1.75 cents of the 5.7 per cent of the room occupancy excise imposed by said section 3 of said chapter 64G and said section 22 of said chapter 546; and

(iv) for fiscal year 2019, 2 cents of the 5.7 per cent of the room occupancy excise imposed by said section 3 of said chapter 64G and said section 22 of said chapter 546.

(b) In addition, the fund shall be credited all revenue as designated under the Gaming Licensing Fund required under clause (6) of subsection (a) of section 93 of chapter 194 of the acts of 2011 and the Gaming Revenue Fund as required by subclause (b) of clause (2) of section 59 of chapter 23K.

(c) All available monies in the fund that are unexpended at the end of each fiscal year shall not revert to the General Fund and shall be available for expenditure by the fund in the subsequent fiscal year.

(d) Monies in the fund shall be applied as follows:

(i) 70 per cent to the Massachusetts marketing partnership; and

(ii) 30 per cent to regional tourism councils.

(e) The partnership shall submit a report annually not later than December 31 on the cost-effectiveness of the fund to the clerks of the senate and house of representatives and the joint committee on tourism, arts and cultural development. All reports shall be made available on the office of travel and tourism’s website. The report shall include: (i) expenditures made by the partnership from monies out of the fund to promote tourism; (ii) expenditures made by the partnership on administrative costs in administering the fund; (iii) expenditures made by the regional tourism councils to promote tourism; and (iv) expenditures made by the regional tourism councils on administrative costs."