Senate Bill 5492, Sustainable State Tourism Promotion (Washington, 2025)

Summary

Senate Bill 5492, State of Washington, 69th Legislature, 2025 Regular Session, by Senators Riccelli, Chapman, Cleveland, Dozier, Goehner, Harris, Krishnadasan, and C. Wilson, read first time 01/24/25 and referred to Committee on Business, Financial Services & Trade. The act relates to sustainable state tourism promotion and amends RCW 43.384.030. Its findings say the tourism industry generates approximately $23.9 billion in annual revenue, and the Washington tourism marketing authority was funded with $4,500,000 per fiscal year during the 2023-2025 fiscal biennium. Section 3 requires the authority board to appoint a tourism self-supported assessment advisory group, and says the section expires June 1, 2026.

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Full text

     S-0775.1

                               SENATE BILL 5492


     State of Washington       69th Legislature        2025 Regular Session

     By Senators Riccelli, Chapman, Cleveland, Dozier, Goehner, Harris,
     Krishnadasan, and C. Wilson

     Read first time 01/24/25.      Referred   to   Committee   on   Business,
     Financial Services & Trade.




 1       AN ACT Relating to sustainable state tourism promotion; amending
 2   RCW 43.384.030; creating new sections; and providing an expiration
 3   date.


 4   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:


 5       NEW SECTION.   Sec. 1.    The legislature finds that the tourism
 6   industry is the fourth largest economic sector in the state,
 7   generating approximately $23.9 billion in annual revenue and
 8   employing more than 230,000 direct and induced jobs. Industry data
 9   estimates that every dollar a tourist spends generates $1.36 in
10   additional economic impact. In 2018, the legislature created a state-
11   funded tourism marketing program. During the 2023-2025 fiscal
12   biennium, the Washington tourism marketing authority was funded with
13   $4,500,000 per fiscal year. This is significantly less than
14   competitive states. The Washington tourism marketing authority
15   contracts with state of Washington tourism to implement the state
16   tourism program, the results of which have been documented to draw
17   $29 in visitor expenditures for every $1 invested and $3 in state and
18   local tax revenue for every $1 invested.
19       Therefore, the legislature intends to solicit recommendations to
20   evaluate an industry self-supported assessment to ensure a dedicated


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 1   and sustainable funding mechanism for statewide tourism promotion and
 2   management.


 3       Sec. 2.   RCW 43.384.030 and 2018 c 275 s 4 are each amended to
 4   read as follows:
 5       (1) The authority must be governed by a board of directors. The
 6   board of directors must consist of:
 7       (a)   Two  members   and  two   alternates  from   the  house  of
 8   representatives, with one member and one alternate appointed from
 9   each of the two major caucuses of the house of representatives by the
10   speaker of the house of representatives;
11       (b) Two members and two alternates from the senate, with one
12   member and one alternate appointed from each of the two major
13   caucuses of the senate by the president of the senate; and
14       (c) Nine representatives with expertise in the tourism industry
15   and related businesses including, but not limited to, hotel,
16   restaurant, outdoor recreation, attractions, retail, and rental car
17   businesses appointed by the governor.
18       (((2) The initial membership of the authority must be appointed
19   as follows:
20       (a) By May 1, 2018, the speaker of the house of representatives
21   and the president of the senate must each submit to the governor a
22   list of ten nominees who are not legislators or employees of the
23   state or its political subdivisions, with no caucus submitting the
24   same nominee;
25       (b)   The   nominations  from  the   speaker   of the   house  of
26   representatives must include at least one representative from the
27   restaurant industry; one representative from the rental car industry;
28   and one representative from the retail industry;
29       (c) The nominations from the president of the senate must include
30   at   least   one   representative  from   the   hotel industry;   one
31   representative from the attractions industry; and one representative
32   from the outdoor recreation industry; and
33       (d) The remaining member appointed by the governor must have a
34   demonstrated expertise in the tourism industry.
35       (3) By July 1, 2018, the governor must appoint four members from
36   each list submitted by the speaker of the house of representatives
37   and the president of the senate under subsection (2)(a) through (c)
38   of this section and one member under subsection (2)(d) of this
39   section.)) Appointments by the governor must reflect diversity in
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 1   geography, size of business, gender, and ethnicity. No county may
 2   have more than two appointments and no city may have more than one
 3   appointment.
 4       (((4))) (2) There must be a nonvoting advisory committee to the
 5   board. The advisory committee must consist of:
 6       (a) One ex officio representative from the department, state
 7   parks and recreation commission, department of transportation, and
 8   other state agencies as the authority deems appropriate; and
 9       (b) One member from a federally recognized Indian tribe appointed
10   by the director of the department.
11       (((5) The initial appointments under subsections (1) and (2) of
12   this section must be appointed by the governor to terms as follows:
13   Four members for two-year terms; four members for three-year terms;
14   and five members for four-year terms, which must include the chair.
15   After the initial appointments, all)) (3) All appointments must be
16   for four years.
17       (((6))) (4) The board must select from its membership the chair
18   of the board and such other officers as it deems appropriate. The
19   chair of the board must be a member from the tourism industry or
20   related businesses.
21       (((7))) (5) A majority of the board constitutes a quorum.
22       (((8))) (6) The board must create its own bylaws in accordance
23   with the laws of the state of Washington.
24       (((9))) (7) Any member of the board may be removed for
25   misfeasance, malfeasance, or willful neglect of duty after notice and
26   a public hearing, unless the notice and hearing are expressly waived
27   in writing by the affected member.
28       (((10))) (8) If a vacancy occurs on the board, a replacement must
29   be appointed for the unexpired term.
30       (((11))) (9) The members of the board serve without compensation
31   but are entitled to reimbursement, solely from the funds of the
32   authority, for expenses incurred in the discharge of their duties.
33       (((12))) (10) The board must meet at least quarterly.
34       (((13))) (11) No board member of the authority may serve on the
35   board of an organization that could be considered for a contract
36   authorized under RCW 43.384.050.


37       NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. (1) The board of directors of the tourism
38   marketing authority must appoint a tourism self-supported assessment
39   advisory group. The advisory group must evaluate the viability of an
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 1   industry   self-supported  assessment   to   fund  statewide   tourism
 2   promotion and recommend procedures to establish the self-supported
 3   assessment.
 4       (2) The tourism self-supported assessment advisory group must
 5   consist of at least eight members that represent sectors of the
 6   tourism industry that may be considered for the self-supported
 7   assessment, including:
 8       (a) Two members representing the lodging sector;
 9       (b) One member representing the beverage sector;
10       (c) One member representing the arts and culture sector;
11       (d) One member representing the tour operators sector;
12       (e) One member representing the attractions sector;
13       (f) One member representing the transportation sector; and
14       (g) One member representing a statewide Washington tourism
15   promotion nonprofit.
16       (3) The tourism self-supported assessment advisory group must
17   make recommendations for the following:
18       (a) The classification of businesses proposed to be included in
19   the self-supported assessment;
20       (b) The self-supported assessment methodology including the
21   petition process for businesses to approve the self-supported
22   assessment;
23       (c) The rate of self-supported assessment for each business
24   classification;
25       (d) The characteristics of a business within a classification
26   that will benefit from the self-supported assessment;
27       (e) The time period or duration of the self-supported assessment;
28   and
29       (f) The establishment of an oversight board for ratepayers
30   representing businesses by self-supported assessments.
31       (4) The tourism self-supported assessment advisory group must
32   submit its recommendations in writing to the legislature by November
33   1, 2025.
34       (5) This section expires June 1, 2026.

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