GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 2017

S                                                                                                                                                    D

SENATE BILL DRS35348-SVxf-16

Short Title:      Polk, Saluda, Tryon Occupancy Tax.		(Local)
Sponsors:	Senator Hise (Primary Sponsor).
Referred to:

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT to make modifications to the room occupancy tax authority for polk county and the towns of saluda and tryon.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

repeal of saluda district d occupancy tax

SECTION 1.  S.L. 2017‑202 is repealed.

repeal of tryon occupancy tax

SECTION 2.(a)  S.L. 2006‑148 is repealed.

SECTION 2.(b)  Any unencumbered occupancy tax funds at the time of repeal must be expended in accordance with Section 1.1(c) of S.L. 2006‑148 for the benefit of the Town of Tryon. Once all funds have been expended, the Town of Tryon is directed to dissolve the Tryon Tourism Development Authority.

repeal of polk county occupancy tax

SECTION 3.(a)  Section 3 of Chapter 969 of the 1985 Session Laws, as amended by Section 11 of S.L. 2001‑480, Section 2.4 of S.L. 2011‑170, and Section 4 of S.L. 2015‑128,  reads as rewritten:

"Sec. 3.  This act applies only to the following counties: Clay, Macon, Polk, and Transylvania."

SECTION 3.(b)  Any unencumbered occupancy tax funds at the time of repeal must be expended in accordance with Section 1 of Chapter 969 of the 1985 Session Laws for the benefit of Polk County.

creation of polk county district p occupancy tax

SECTION 4.(a)  Polk County District P Created. – Polk County District P is created as a taxing district. Its jurisdiction consists of the unincorporated areas of Polk County, the part of Saluda located in Polk County, and the municipal limits of the Town of Tryon. Polk County District P is a body politic and corporate and has the power to carry out the provisions of this act. The Polk County Board of Commissioners shall serve ex officio as the governing body of the district, and the officers of the county shall serve as the officers of the governing body of the district. A simple majority of the governing body constitutes a quorum, and approval by a majority of those present is sufficient to determine any matter before the governing body, if a quorum is present.

SECTION 4.(b)  Authorization and Scope. – The governing body of Polk County District P may levy a room occupancy tax of up to six percent (6%) of the gross receipts derived from the rental of any room, lodging, or accommodation furnished by a hotel, motel, inn, tourist camp, or similar place within the district that is subject to sales tax imposed by the State under G.S. 105‑164.4(a)(3). This tax is in addition to any State or local sales tax.

SECTION 4.(c)  Administration. – A tax levied under this act shall be levied, administered, collected, and repealed as provided in G.S. 153A‑155 as if Polk County District P were a county. The penalties provided in G.S. 153A‑155 apply to a tax levied under this act.

SECTION 4.(d)  Distribution and Use of Tax Revenue. – Polk County District P shall, on a quarterly basis, remit the net proceeds of the occupancy tax to the Polk County District P Tourism Development Authority. The Authority shall use at least two‑thirds of the funds remitted to it under this subsection to promote travel and tourism in Polk County and shall use the remainder for tourism‑related expenditures.

The following definitions apply in this subsection:

(1)        Net proceeds. – Gross proceeds less the cost to the county of administering and collecting the tax, as determined by the finance officer, not to exceed three percent (3%) of the first five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) of gross proceeds collected each year and one percent (1%) of the remaining gross receipts collected each year.

(2)        Promote travel and tourism. – To advertise or market an area or activity, publish and distribute pamphlets and other materials, conduct market research, or engage in similar promotional activities that attract tourists or business travelers to the area. The term includes administrative expenses incurred in engaging in the listed activities.

(3)        Tourism‑related expenditures. – Expenditures that, in the judgment of the Tourism Development Authority, are designed to increase the use of lodging facilities, meeting facilities, or convention facilities in the district or to attract tourists or business travelers to the district. The term includes tourism‑related capital expenditures.

SECTION 5.  Polk County District P Tourism Development Authority. – (a) Appointment. – The Polk County Board of Commissioners shall adopt a resolution creating the Polk County District P Tourism Development Authority, which shall be a public authority under the Local Government Budget and Fiscal Control Act. The resolution shall provide for the membership of the Authority as set out in this section and for the filling of vacancies on the Authority. The board of commissioners shall designate one member of the Authority as chair and shall determine the compensation, if any, to be paid to members of the Authority. The Authority shall meet at the call of the chair and shall adopt rules of procedure to govern its meetings. The Finance Officer for Polk County shall be the ex officio finance officer of the Authority.

SECTION 5.(b)  Membership. – The Authority shall consist of six members as provided in this subsection. At least one‑third of the members must be individuals who are affiliated with businesses that collect the tax in the district, and at least one‑half of the members must be individuals who are currently active in the promotion of travel and tourism in the district. Three members shall be appointed by the Polk County Board of Commissioners; one member shall be appointed by the Tryon Town Board of Commissioners; one member shall be appointed by the Saluda City Board of Commissioners; and one member, who shall be the Executive Director of the Authority, shall be an ex officio, nonvoting member. Members shall serve three‑year terms, except for the initial terms, which are as follows:

(1)        For two of the members appointed by the Polk County Board of Commissioners, the initial term shall be three years. For the remaining member appointed by the Polk County Board of Commissioners, the initial term shall be one year.

(2)        For the member appointed by the Tryon Town Board of Commissioners, the initial term shall be two years.

(3)        For the member appointed by the Saluda City Board of Commissioners, the initial term shall be two years.

SECTION 5.(c)  Duties. – The Authority shall expend the net proceeds of the tax levied under this act for the purposes provided in this act. The Authority shall promote travel, tourism, and conventions in the district, sponsor tourist‑related events and activities in the district, and finance tourist‑related capital projects in the district.

SECTION 5.(d)  Reports. – The Authority shall report quarterly and at the close of the fiscal year to the Polk County Board of Commissioners on its receipts and expenditures for the preceding quarter and for the year in such detail as the board may require.

SECTION 6.  G.S. 153A‑155(g) reads as rewritten:

"(g)      Applicability. – Subsection (c) of this section applies to all counties and county districts that levy an occupancy tax. To the extent subsection (c) conflicts with any provision of a local act, subsection (c) supersedes that provision. The remainder of this section applies only to Alleghany, Anson, Brunswick, Buncombe, Burke, Cabarrus, Camden, Carteret, Caswell, Chatham, Cherokee, Chowan, Clay, Craven, Cumberland, Currituck, Dare, Davie, Duplin, Durham, Edgecombe, Forsyth, Franklin, Graham, Granville, Halifax, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Madison, Martin, McDowell, Montgomery, Moore, Nash, New Hanover, Northampton, Pasquotank, Pender, Perquimans, Person, Randolph, Richmond, Rockingham, Rowan, Rutherford, Sampson, Scotland, Stanly, Swain, Transylvania, Tyrrell, Vance, Washington, Wayne, and Wilson Counties, to Harnett County District H, New Hanover County District U, Polk County District P, Surry County District S, Watauga County District U, Wilkes County District K, Yadkin County District Y, and the Township of Averasboro in Harnett County and the Ocracoke Township Taxing District."

effective date

SECTION 7.  Sections 2 and 3 of this act become effective on the date that a room occupancy tax is levied under Section 4 of this act, which must be the first day of a calendar month and may not be earlier than the first day of the second month after the date the resolution is adopted. The remainder of this act is effective when it becomes law.