Act No. 235

Public Acts of 2024

Approved by the Governor

January 17, 2025

Filed with the Secretary of State

January 17, 2025

EFFECTIVE DATE:  April 2, 2025

state of michigan

102nd Legislature

Regular session of 2024

Introduced by Rep. Tyrone Carter

ENROLLED HOUSE BILL No. 6166

AN ACT to amend 1980 PA 383, entitled “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 certain state departments, state agencies, and state employees; and to prescribe remedies and penalties,” by amending section 3 (MCL 141.883).

The People of the State of Michigan enact:

Sec. 3. (1) A bureau that has its principal place of business in a county with a population of more than 1,500,000 may file a marketing program notice with the director. The notice must state that the bureau proposes to create a marketing program under this act and cause an assessment to be collected from owners of transient facilities within the assessment district to pay the costs of the program.

(2) The marketing program notice must describe the structure, history, membership, and activities of the bureau in sufficient detail to enable the director to determine if the bureau satisfies all of the requirements of section 2(d).

(3) The marketing program notice must do all of the following:

(a) Describe the marketing program to be implemented by the bureau with the assessment revenues.

(b) Specify the amount of the assessment proposed to be levied, which assessment may increase over time and must meet all of the following requirements:

(i) Through December 31, 2024, must not exceed 3% of the room charges in the applicable payment period.

(ii) Beginning January 1, 2025 through December 31, 2030, must not exceed 3.5% of the room charges in the applicable payment period.

(iii) Beginning January 1, 2031, must not exceed 4% of the room charges in the applicable payment period.

(c) Specify the county or counties comprising the assessment district. A county must not be included in the marketing program notice and the assessment district specified in the notice if on the date the notice is mailed the county is collecting a tax under 1974 PA 263, MCL 141.861 to 141.867.

(4) Simultaneously with the filing of the marketing program notice with the director, the bureau shall cause a copy of the notice to be mailed by registered or certified mail to each owner of a transient facility located in the assessment district specified in the notice in care of the respective transient facility. In assembling the list of owners to whom the notices must be mailed, the bureau shall use any data which is reasonably available to the bureau.

(5) The form of the marketing program notice, in addition to the information required by subsections (1), (2), and (3), must set forth the right of referendum prescribed in subsection (6).

(6) The assessment set forth in the notice becomes effective on the first day of the month following the expiration of 40 days after the date the notice is mailed, unless the director, within the 40-day period, receives written requests for a referendum by owners of transient facilities located within the assessment district representing not less than 40% of the total number of owners or not less than 40% of the total number of rooms in all the transient facilities.

(7) If the director receives referendum requests in the time and number set forth in subsection (6), the director shall cause a written referendum to be held by mail or in person, as the director chooses, among all owners of transient facilities in the assessment district within 20 days after the expiration of the 40-day period. For the purposes of the referendum, each owner of a transient facility has 1 vote for each room in each of the owner’s transient facilities within the assessment district. If a majority of votes actually cast at the referendum approve the assessment, as proposed by the bureau in its marketing program notice, the assessment becomes effective as to all owners of transient facilities located in the assessment district on the first day of the month following expiration of 30 days after certification of the results of the referendum by the director. If a majority of votes actually cast at the referendum are opposed to the assessment, the assessment shall not become effective. If the assessment is defeated by the referendum, the bureau may file and serve a new notice of intention if at least 60 days have elapsed from the date of certification of the results of the earlier referendum. Not more than 2 referenda or notices may be held or filed under this subsection in any 1 calendar year. Only 1 assessment may be in existence in an assessment district, or any part of an assessment district, at any 1 time.

A close-up of a signature

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Clerk of the House of Representatives

 

Secretary of the Senate

Approved___________________________________________

____________________________________________________

Governor