The Committee on Natural Resources & Economic Development laid out multiple local hotel-occupancy tax bills and a related city cleanup and heard brief resource testimony and support from the Texas Hotel and Lodging Association.

Senate Bill 15-53, introduced by Senator Flores, would authorize Kerr County to impose a 7% hotel occupancy tax in unincorporated areas to raise revenue dedicated by statute to promote tourism and support repairs at county-owned tourism facilities; the bill would not apply inside the city of Kerrville, where a city hotel tax already exists. Justin Bridal, general counsel for the Texas Hotel and Lodging Association, testified in support and explained that counties must be enabled by statute (Chapter 352 of the Texas Tax Code) to levy a hotel tax, unlike cities, which use ordinance authority.

Senate Bill 10-86 would enable Childress County to impose a local hotel-occupancy tax; Senator Perry described local economic development prospects, including planned golf courses. Senate Bill 10-87 would allow Mason County to impose a hotel tax; Mason County Judge Sherry Harden testified in support.

Senate Bill 9-13, brought by Senator Blanco, would repeal a local statutory requirement that the City of Alpine spend at least 50% of its hotel-tax revenue on advertising and promotion; the sponsor and Justin Bragle of the Hotel and Lodging Association described the measure as a cleanup to align Alpine with other Texas cities' allowable uses of hotel-tax revenue.

Testimony was uniformly supportive from the hotel-and-lodging industry and local officials. The committee left the bills pending subject to the call of the chair.