HBA-AMW H.B. 297 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 297 By: Seaman Ways & Means 2/15/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Currently, communities such as Galveston and South Padre Island are allocated a portion of the state hotel occupancy tax revenue for cleaning and maintaining public beaches. However, certain other small coastal municipalities are not allocated a portion of this revenue. Cleaning and maintaining beaches is costly and these municipalities employ other methods, such as local taxes, for funding. There is a concern that tourism along the Texas coast may diminish if the beaches are not properly maintained. House Bill 297 allocates one percent of the revenue derived from the state hotel occupancy tax imposed on hotels located in an eligible small coastal general-law or home-rule municipality to be used for cleaning and maintaining public beaches in that municipality. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS House Bill 297 amends the Tax Code to require the comptroller to issue to an eligible small coastal municipality one percent of the tax revenue derived from the state hotel occupancy tax and received from hotels located in the eligible municipality to clean and maintain the municipality's public beaches. The bill changes the definition of an "eligible general-law coastal municipality" to an "eligible small coastal municipality." The bill defines an eligible small coastal municipality as a general-law or home-rule municipality that has a population of less than 5,000, borders the Gulf of Mexico, and is located on a barrier island or has boundaries within 30 miles of Mexico. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.