TITLE: Relating to the authority of certain municipalities to authorize and finance certain venue projects and to use municipal hotel occupancy tax revenue for certain of those projects; authorizing the imposition of a tax.

SUMMARY: Relating to the authority of certain municipalities to authorize and finance certain venue projects and to use municipal hotel occupancy tax revenue for certain of those projects; authorizing the imposition of a tax.

FULL TEXT:
AN ACT relating to the authority of certain municipalities to authorize and finance certain venue projects and to use municipal hotel occupancy tax revenue for certain of those projects; authorizing the imposition of a tax. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: SECTION 1. Section 334.0082(a), Local Government Code, is amended to read as follows: (a) This section applies only to a municipality that: (1) has a population of at least 176,000 that borders the Rio Grande, and that approved a sports and community venue project before January 1, 2009; [or] (2) is located in a county adjacent to the Texas-Mexico border if: (A) the county has a population of at least 500,000; (B) the county does not have a city located within it that has a population of at least 500,000; and (C) the municipality is the largest municipality in the county described by this subdivision;or (3) has a population of not more than 25,000, that contains a cultural heritage museum, and that is located in a county that borders the United Mexican States and the Gulf of Mexico.SECTION 2. Section 351.001(7), Tax Code, is amended to read as follows: (7) "Eligible central municipality" means: (A) a municipality with a population of more than 140,000 but less than 1.5 million that is located in a county with a population of one million or more and that has adopted a capital improvement plan for the construction or expansion of a convention center facility; (B) a municipality with a population of 250,000 or more that: (i) is located wholly or partly on a barrier island that borders the Gulf of Mexico; (ii) is located in a county with a population of 300,000 or more; and (iii) has adopted a capital improvement plan to expand an existing convention center facility; (C) a municipality with a population of 116,000 or more that: (i) is located in two counties both of which have a population of 660,000 or more; and (ii) has adopted a capital improvement plan for the construction or expansion of a convention center facility; (D) a municipality with a population of less than 50,000 that contains a general academic teaching institution that is not a component institution of a university system, as those terms are defined by Section 61.003, Education Code; [or] (E) a municipality with a population of 640,000 or more that: (i) is located on an international border; and (ii) has adopted a capital improvement plan for the construction or expansion of a convention center facility;or (F) a municipality that has a population of not more than 25,000, that contains a cultural heritage museum, and that is located in a county that borders the United Mexican States and the Gulf of Mexico.SECTION 3. Section 351.003, Tax Code, is amended by adding Subsection (g) to read as follows: (g) The rate in a municipality described by Section 351.001(7)(F) may not exceed nine percent of the price paid for a room. The municipality shall allocate for the construction, expansion, maintenance, financing, operation, or debt service of a convention center or multiuse facility all revenue received by the municipality that is derived from the application of the tax at a rate of more than seven percent of the price paid for a room in a hotel. SECTION 4. Section 351.101, Tax Code, is amended by adding Subsection (t) to read as follows: (t) In addition to other authorized uses, a municipality described by Section 351.001(7)(F) may use revenue from the municipal hotel occupancy tax to pay costs associated with the construction, expansion, maintenance, financing, operation, or debt service of a convention center or multiuse facility. SECTION 5. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.