Bill Text: NJ S488 | 2020-2021 | Regular Session | Amended

New Jersey Senate Bill 488 (Prior Session Legislation)

Bill Title: Establishes "County Tourism Incentive Grant Fund" within Department of Treasury to provide funding for grants to counties to support tourism advertising and promotion.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-02-10 - Referred to Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee [S488 Detail]

Download: New_Jersey-2020-S488-Amended.html

[First Reprint]

SENATE, No. 488

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

219th LEGISLATURE

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2020 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Senator CHRIS A. BROWN

District 2 (Atlantic)

Senator JAMES BEACH

District 6 (Burlington and Camden)

Co-Sponsored by:

Senator Turner

SYNOPSIS

Establishes "County Tourism Incentive Grant Fund" within Department of Treasury to provide funding for grants to counties to support tourism advertising and promotion.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

As reported by the Senate State Government, Wagering, Tourism & Historic Preservation Committee on February 10, 2020, with amendments.

An Act establishing the "County Tourism Incentive Grant Fund" within the Department of the Treasury to provide funding for grants to counties to support tourism advertising and promotion, supplementing Title 52 and Title 54 of the Revised Statutes.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. a. There is established in the Department of the Treasury a special, non-lapsing fund to be known as the "County Tourism Incentive Grant Fund."

b. The fund shall be administered by the State Treasurer, and shall be the repository for all excess State hotel and motel occupancy fee revenues appropriated and distributed to the Department of the Treasury for deposit to the fund pursuant to section 3 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill). ¹As used in this act, "excess State hotel and motel occupancy fee revenues" means revenues from hotel and motel occupancy fees collected during the preceding State fiscal year that are in excess of the revenue certified upon enactment of the annual appropriations act for that preceding State fiscal year as anticipated to be collected from such fee.¹

c. The State Treasurer shall use all revenue deposited to the fund to issue annually, commencing with State fiscal year ¹[2015] 2021¹, tourism incentive grants to counties pursuant to section 2 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).

2. a. The State Treasurer shall issue annually, commencing with State fiscal year ¹[2015] 2021¹, tourism incentive grants to counties from excess State hotel and motel occupancy fee revenues deposited to the "County Tourism Incentive Grant Fund" established pursuant to section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), for purposes of providing financial assistance to counties to support tourism advertising and promotion.

b. To effectuate those purposes, the State Treasurer shall approve, on or before January 1, ¹[2015] 2021¹ and on or before January 1 of each year thereafter, the issuance of a tourism incentive grant to each county that has, on or before October 1, ¹[2014] 2020¹ and on or before October 1 of each year thereafter:

(1) made and filed an application with the State Treasurer seeking financial assistance from the fund for tourism advertising and promotion;

(2) submitted a statement to the State Treasurer detailing how financial assistance from the fund will be used by the county to support tourism advertising and promotion; and

(3) entered into an agreement with the State Treasurer requiring the county to use financial assistance from the fund to support tourism advertising and promotion, to not use financial assistance from the fund to reduce or eliminate the total amount of other funds currently used by the county to support tourism advertising and promotion, and to repay, with interest, the total amount of financial assistance issued to the county from the fund if the financial assistance is not used to support tourism advertising and promotion or the financial assistance is used to reduce or eliminate the total amount of other funds currently used by the county to support tourism advertising and promotion.

c. The amount of each tourism incentive grant shall equal a county's share of the excess State hotel and motel occupancy fee revenues deposited to the fund, as shall be determined by the State Treasurer by dividing the revenues derived from hotel and motel occupancies occurring within the county by the sum of the revenues derived from hotel and motel occupancies occurring within the several counties that have been approved for the issuance of a grant and multiplying that amount by the excess State hotel and motel occupancy fee revenues deposited to the fund during the State fiscal year in which the tourism incentive grant is issued.

d. The State Treasurer shall make payment of each tourism incentive grant issued to a county at the times, and in the amounts, that the State Treasurer determines to be necessary and appropriate to effectuate the purposes of this section.

3. Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law to the contrary, the annual appropriations act for each State fiscal year, commencing with State fiscal year ¹[2015] 2021¹, that appropriates and distributes during that fiscal year amounts not less than the amounts otherwise specified for State fiscal year 2004 in paragraph (1) of subsection a. of section 2 of P.L.2003, c.114 (C.54:32D-2) for the purposes specified in paragraph (1) of subsection a. of section 2 of P.L.2003, c.114 (C.54:32D-2), shall, in addition, appropriate and distribute in any such State fiscal year, an amount equal to 100 percent of the revenue from fees collected for occupancies during the preceding State fiscal year that are in excess of the revenue certified upon enactment of the annual appropriations act for that preceding State fiscal year as anticipated to be collected from such fee, which amount shall be appropriated and distributed to the Department of the Treasury for deposit to the "County Tourism Incentive Grant Fund" established pursuant to section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).

4. Notwithstanding the provisions of the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), to the contrary, the State Treasurer ¹, in consultation with the New Jersey Division of Travel and Tourism in the Department of State,¹ may adopt immediately upon filing with the Office of Administrative Law such rules and regulations as the State Treasurer ¹[determines] and the division determine¹ to be necessary and appropriate to effectuate the purposes of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), which rules and regulations shall be effective for a period not exceeding 360 days following the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) and may thereafter be amended, adopted, or readopted by the State Treasurer ¹and the division¹ in accordance with the requirements of P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.).