SB-0706, As Passed House, December 20, 2018
SB-0706, As Passed Senate, September 26, 2018
December 5, 2017, Introduced by Senators SCHMIDT and HORN and referred to the Committee on Commerce.
A bill to amend 1980 PA 383, entitled
"Convention and tourism marketing act,"
by amending the title and sections 2 and 7 (MCL 141.882 and
141.887) and by adding sections 1a, 7a, and 7b.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
TITLE
An act relating to the promotion of convention business and
tourism in this state and the major metropolitan areas of this
state; to provide for tourism and convention marketing programs in
major metropolitan areas through nonprofit convention and tourist
bureaus; to provide for imposition and collection of assessments on
the owners of transient facilities to support tourism and
convention marketing programs; to provide for the disbursement of
the assessments; to establish the oversight functions and duties of
the
department of commerce; certain
state departments, state
agencies, and state employees; and to prescribe remedies and
penalties.
Sec. 1a. (1) The legislature finds all of the following:
(a) Tourism is a major source of employment, income, and tax
revenues in this state, and the expansion of the tourism industry
is vital to the growth of the state's economy.
(b) The tourism industry is important to this state, not only
because of the number of people it serves and the vast human,
financial, and physical resources it employs, but because of the
benefits tourism and related activities confer on individuals and
on society as a whole.
(c) State oversight and resources are needed to implement a
coordinated and effective marketing program consistent with the
master plan developed by this state to promote travel to, and
within, this state under the Michigan tourism policy act, 1945 PA
106, MCL 2.101 to 2.103a, and to optimize the considerable
investment of time, energy, capital, and resources being made by
the tourism industry.
(d) This state can best undertake effective tourism marketing
through the coordinated efforts of existing state government
agencies in tourism promotion and private convention and tourism
promotional bureaus who are better able than state agencies to
market and promote their unique assessment districts, which will
maximize the economic and employment benefits of the tourism
industry to this state and its citizens.
(e) The coordinated efforts within this act to market and
promote tourism represent a broader regulator scheme that does not
impinge on an individual's First Amendment rights.
(2) Nothing in this act shall be construed to do 1 or more of
the following:
(a) Restrain an owner or participant from communicating its
own message or marketing plan.
(b) Require any owner or participant to adopt any actual or
symbolic speech.
(c) Endorse or finance any political speech or ideological
view.
Sec. 2. As used in this act:
(a) "Assessment district" means a county having a population
of more than 1,500,000 and, if so designated by the bureau in the
marketing program notice, any county or counties contiguous with
it.
(b) "Assessment revenues" means the money derived from the
assessment, including any interest and penalties on the assessment,
imposed by this act.
(c) "Board" means the board of directors of a bureau.
(d) "Bureau" means a nonprofit corporation incorporated under
the laws of this state existing solely to promote convention
business and tourism within this state or a portion of this state,
and which complies with all of the following:
(i) Has not less than 400 dues paying members, of which not
less than 50 are owners of transient facilities.
(ii) Has been actively engaged in promoting convention
business and tourism for not less than 10 years.
(iii) Has a board of directors elected by its members.
(iv) Has a full-time chief operating officer and not less than
10 full-time employees.
(v) Is a member of 1 or more nationally recognized
associations of travel and convention bureaus.
(e)
"Director" means the director president of the department
of
commerce.Michigan strategic
fund or his or her designee.
(f) "Marketing program" means a program established by a
bureau to develop, encourage, solicit, and promote convention
business and tourism within this state or a portion of this state
within which the bureau operates. The encouragement and promotion
of convention business and tourism shall include any service,
function, or activity, whether or not performed, sponsored, or
advertised by a bureau which intends to attract transient guests to
the assessment district.
(g) "Marketing program notice" means the notice described in
section 3.
(h) "Master plan" means the comprehensive, long-range master
plan developed by the Michigan travel commission and the travel
bureau under section 2c of the Michigan tourism policy act, 1945 PA
106, MCL 2.102c.
(i) (h)
"Owner" means the owner of
a transient facility
located within the assessment district or, if the transient
facility is operated or managed by a person other than the owner,
then the operator or manager of that transient facility.
(j) (i)
"Room" means a room or
other space provided for
sleeping, including the furnishings and other accessories in the
room.
(k) (j)
"Assessment" means the
amount levied against an owner
of a transient facility within an assessment district computed by
application of the applicable percentage against aggregate room
charges with respect to that transient facility during the
applicable assessment period.
(l) (k)
"Room charge" means the
charge imposed for the use or
occupancy of a room, excluding charges for food, beverages, state
use tax, telephone service or like services paid in connection with
the charge, and reimbursement of the assessment imposed by this
act.
(m) (l) "Transient
facility" means a building which contains
35 or more rooms used in the business of providing dwelling,
lodging, or sleeping to transient guests, whether or not membership
is required for the use of the rooms. A transient facility shall
not include a hospital or nursing home.
(n) (m)
"Transient guest" means a
natural person who occupies
a room in a transient facility for less than 30 consecutive days
regardless of who pays the room charge.
(o) "Travel bureau" means the Michigan travel bureau created
under section 2a of the Michigan tourism policy act, 1945 PA 106,
MCL 2.102a.
Sec. 7. (1) Upon the effective date of the establishment of an
assessment under this act, the bureau shall cause an advisory
committee to be elected consisting of representatives of the owners
of transient facilities located within the assessment district,
together with the director or the director's designated
representative.
(2) The advisory committee shall consist of not less than 9
nor more than 15 persons, at least 1 of whom shall not be
affiliated with a bureau member. The advisory committee shall
include at least 3 persons from each county within the assessment
district. ,
at least 1 of whom, from each county, is affiliated
with
a transient facility of 75 rooms or less. Procedures for the
election and terms of the office of the members of the advisory
committee shall be established by the bureau.
(3) The bureau at regular intervals, but not less than
quarterly, shall cause a formal meeting of the advisory committee
to be held at which the bureau shall present its current and
proposed marketing programs. At these formal meetings the advisory
committee shall review and either approve or reject any proposed
marketing
programs. An Subject to
sections 7a and 7b, an approved
marketing program shall be instituted by the bureau. A rejected
marketing program shall not be instituted by the bureau.
(4) The advisory committee may make recommendations to the
bureau and the board from time to time with respect to current or
proposed marketing programs.
(5) The bureau shall cause to be elected to its board of
directors, from the members of the advisory committee, 1 person
from each of the counties within the assessment district.
Sec. 7a. The board at regular intervals, but not less than
twice per year, shall convene a formal meeting at which the board
shall review its current annual marketing plan and its proposed
annual marketing plan for the succeeding 1-year period. Once a year
at these formal meetings, the board shall review and either approve
or reject the proposed annual marketing plan. Subject to section
7b, an approved annual marketing plan shall be instituted by the
bureau. A rejected marketing plan shall not be instituted by the
bureau.
Sec. 7b. (1) The vice-president of the travel bureau and the
president or chief administrative officer of the bureau shall meet
periodically, but at least once each year, to discuss the master
plan and the annual marketing plan approved by the board.
(2) The bureau and the travel bureau shall coordinate their
marketing program activities and annual marketing plan activities
with the master plan with a goal of maximizing the impact of
tourism and convention business on the economy of this state.
(3) The director shall disapprove of the bureau's annual
marketing plan within 30 days of the meeting provided for in
subsection (1) upon finding that it is detrimental to the master
plan or the travel bureau's promotional programs. The bureau shall
not implement an annual marketing plan that is disapproved by the
travel bureau. If the director does not disapprove of an annual
marketing plan within the 30-day period, the annual marketing plan
shall be considered approved and may be implemented by the bureau.