Senate Bill Report — SB 6202, As of January 25, 2024
Summary
Senate Bill Report on SB 6202, as of January 25, 2024, covers an act relating to technical changes to allowable exemptions from charges for tourism promotion area assessments. Senators Kauffman and Lovelett are the listed sponsors. The summary of the bill states a legislative authority may designate an exemption to the tourism promotion area lodging charge to any lodging business, lodging unit, or lodging guest, and that the act applies prospectively and retroactively. Testimony in favor (PRO) states a local area had a campground and a medical facility wanting exemptions but current statute does not allow them. The report lists Appropriation: None and a fiscal note marked Available.
Summary drafted by a model from the document's text below and checked by script against that text before publication. It is a navigation aid, not a reading of what the document proves. Where AI is used
- Issuer
- Congressional materials
- Document type
- Report
- Date
- 2024-01-30
- Case
- 2024 01 30 A31844 D267419 Bill Report 6202 Sbr Bfgt Ta 24
Cite this document
“Senate Bill Report — SB 6202, As of January 25, 2024.”
Original at app.leg.wa.gov, dated 2024-01-30. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/2024-01-30-2024-01-30-a31844-d267419-bill-report-6202-sbr-bfgt-ta-24/
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SENATE BILL REPORT
SB 6202
As of January 25, 2024
Title: An act relating to technical changes to allowable exemptions from charges for tourism
promotion area assessments.
Brief Description: Concerning technical changes to allowable exemptions for tourism
promotion area assessments.
Sponsors: Senators Kauffman and Lovelett.
Brief History:
Committee Activity: Business, Financial Services, Gaming & Trade: 1/25/24.
Brief Summary of Bill
• Allows a Tourism Promotion Area's (TPA) legislative authority to
designate exemptions to the TPA lodging charge.
SENATE COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS, FINANCIAL SERVICES, GAMING & TRADE
Staff: Kellee Gunn (786-7429)
Background: Tourism Promotion Areas. The legislative authority of any city or county
may form a tourism promotion area (TPA) to generate revenue for tourism promotion. As of
June 11, 2020, any county, city, or town may create a TPA. A TPA may include the entire
jurisdiction or only a portion, and multiple jurisdictions may establish a joint TPA through
interlocal agreement. A county TPA may only include unincorporated areas unless the
county has signed an interlocal agreement with one or more cities to form a joint TPA. In a
county with a population of 1 million or more, the legislative body must be comprised of
two or more jurisdictions acting under an interlocal agreement.
Lodging Charge. A legislative authority may assess up to a $2 lodging charge on certain
lodging businesses within the TPA. The charge is limited to lodging businesses that have 40
This analysis was prepared by non-partisan legislative staff for the use of legislative
members in their deliberations. This analysis is not part of the legislation nor does it
constitute a statement of legislative intent.
Senate Bill Report -1- SB 6202
or more rooms or lodging units. Up to six kinds of classifications can be imposed based on
the number of rooms, room revenue, and location.
In 2020, the Legislature enacted legislation allowing for an addition $3 charge to be
imposed on those lodging businesses with 40 or more units in a TPA. Certain information
must be collected by the TPA's legislative authority or its advisory board on the use of the
additional funds and those affected by it along with a program review that must be
submitted to the Legislature.
The Department of Revenue collects TPA revenues and distributes them to the appropriate
legislative authorities.
Exemptions. The TPA lodging charge does not apply to temporary medical housing.
Summary of Bill: A legislative authority may designate an exemption to the TPA lodging
charge to any lodging business, lodging unit, or lodging guest.
This act applies prospectively and retroactively.
Appropriation: None.
Fiscal Note: Available.
Creates Committee/Commission/Task Force that includes Legislative members: No.
Effective Date: Ninety days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.
Staff Summary of Public Testimony: PRO: TPAs levy assessments on certain hotels and
lodgings on specific areas. A local TPA had a campground in the area who would like to be
exempted, along with a medical facility, and they reached out to the legislative authority.
The local legislative authority tried to implement the exemption but was unable to because
current statute does not allow for it. This bill would allow for local authorities to provide
these exemptions now, and it would apply retroactively.
This law has been around since 2003 and is implemented by local government
ordinances. This is a technical fix bill. Cities had adopted exemptions to the TPA in those
areas, not knowing it was not permissible in state law. This bill will allow them to maintain
these exemptions. Stakeholders have worked with DOR on finding a path forward for this.
This will allow existing statutes to remain in place and will not negatively affect local
governments going forward.
Persons Testifying: PRO: Senator Claudia Kauffman, Prime Sponsor; Candice Bock,
Association of Washington Cities; Becky Bogard, Washington State Destination Marketing
Organizations; Montana Miranda, WA Hospitality Association; Steve Ewing, Dept. of
Senate Bill Report -2- SB 6202
Revenue.
Persons Signed In To Testify But Not Testifying: No one.
Senate Bill Report -3- SB 6202
File and source
- File
- 2024-01-30_a31844_d267419_bill-report-6202-sbr-bfgt-ta-24.pdf
- Size
- 8,647 bytes
- SHA-256
- d1b1f60da5843393afdd21160236cfccf190c2faf400f090f8f40363397f5eb4
- Original
- app.leg.wa.gov