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

Summary

Substitute Senate Bill 5492 of the State of Washington 69th Legislature, 2025 Regular Session, by Senate Business, Financial Services & Trade, read first time February 6, 2025. The bill is an act relating to sustainable state tourism promotion that amends RCW 43.384.030 and 43.384.050. Section 1 states legislative findings, including that the tourism industry generates approximately $23.9 billion in annual revenue. Section 3 requires the chair of the board of directors of the tourism marketing authority to appoint a tourism self-supported assessment advisory group, which must submit recommendations in writing to the legislature. That section expires June 1, 2026.

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Full text

     S-1231.1

                           SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5492


     State of Washington         69th Legislature        2025 Regular Session

     By Senate Business, Financial Services & Trade (originally sponsored
     by Senators Riccelli, Chapman, Cleveland, Dozier, Goehner, Harris,
     Krishnadasan, and C. Wilson)

     READ FIRST TIME 02/06/25.




1        AN ACT Relating to sustainable state tourism promotion; amending
2    RCW 43.384.030 and 43.384.050; creating new sections; and providing
3    an expiration 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


                                       p. 1                          SSB 5492
 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
                                     p. 2                         SSB 5492
 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 chair of the board of directors of
38   the tourism marketing authority must appoint a tourism self-supported
39   assessment advisory group no later than two weeks following the
                                     p. 3                         SSB 5492
 1   effective date of this section. The advisory group must evaluate the
 2   viability of an industry self-supported assessment to fund statewide
 3   tourism promotion and recommend procedures to establish the self-
 4   supported assessment.
 5       (2) The tourism self-supported assessment advisory group must
 6   consist of at least eight members that represent sectors of the
 7   tourism industry that may be considered for the self-supported
 8   assessment, including:
 9       (a) Two members representing the lodging sector;
10       (b) One member representing the beverage sector;
11       (c) One member representing the arts and culture sector;
12       (d) One member representing the tour operators sector;
13       (e) One member representing the attractions sector;
14       (f) One member representing the transportation sector; and
15       (g) One member representing a statewide Washington tourism
16   promotion nonprofit.
17       (3) The tourism self-supported assessment advisory group must
18   make recommendations for the following:
19       (a) The classification of businesses proposed to be included in
20   the self-supported assessment;
21       (b) The self-supported assessment methodology including the
22   petition process for businesses to approve the self-supported
23   assessment;
24       (c) The rate of self-supported assessment for each business
25   classification;
26       (d) The characteristics of a business within a classification
27   that will benefit from the self-supported assessment;
28       (e) The time period or duration of the self-supported assessment;
29   and
30       (f) The establishment of an oversight board for ratepayers
31   representing businesses by self-supported assessments.
32       (4) The board of directors of the tourism marketing authority
33   must comply with the requirements of RCW 43.18A.020 in making
34   appointments provided in this section. The department of commerce
35   must provide the report required in RCW 43.18A.020.
36       (5) The tourism self-supported assessment advisory group must
37   submit its recommendations in writing to the legislature by November
38   1, 2025.
39       (6) This section expires June 1, 2026.


                                     p. 4                         SSB 5492
 1       Sec. 4.   RCW 43.384.050 and 2019 c 291 s 5 are each amended to
 2   read as follows:
 3       (1) From amounts appropriated to the department for the authority
 4   and from other moneys available to it, the authority may incur
 5   expenditures for any purpose specifically authorized by this chapter
 6   including:
 7       (a) Entering into a contract for a multiple year statewide
 8   tourism marketing plan with a statewide nonprofit organization
 9   ((existing on June 7, 2018,)) whose sole purpose is marketing
10   Washington to tourists. The marketing plan must include, but is not
11   limited to, focuses on rural tourism-dependent counties, natural
12   wonders and outdoor recreation opportunities of the state, including
13   sustainable whale watching, attraction of international tourists,
14   identification of local offerings for tourists, and assistance for
15   tourism areas adversely impacted by natural disasters((. In the event
16   that no such organization exists on June 7, 2018, or the initial
17   contractor ceases to exist, the authority may determine criteria for
18   a contractor to carry out a statewide marketing program));
19       (b) Contracting for the evaluation of the impact of the statewide
20   tourism marketing program; and
21       (c) Paying for administrative expenses of the authority, which
22   may not exceed two percent of the state portion of funds collected in
23   any fiscal year.
24       (2) All nonstate moneys received by the authority under RCW
25   43.384.060 or otherwise provided to the authority for purposes of
26   matching funding must be deposited in the authority's private local
27   account created under RCW 43.384.020(4) and are held in trust for
28   uses authorized solely by this chapter.
29       (3) "Sustainable whale watching" means an experience that
30   includes whale watching from land or aboard a vessel that reduces the
31   impact on whales, provides a recreational and educational experience,
32   and motivates participants to care about marine mammals, the sea, and
33   marine conservation.
34       (4) The authority may incur expenditures for the purposes of
35   section 3 of this act until June 30, 2026.

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