GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 2013

SESSION LAW 2013-255

HOUSE BILL 529

AN ACT to authorize Edgecombe County to levy an occupancy tax.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  Occupancy Tax. - (a) Authorization and Scope. - The Edgecombe County Board of Commissioners 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 county 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. This tax does not apply to accommodations furnished by nonprofit charitable, educational, or religious organizations when furnished in furtherance of their nonprofit purpose.

SECTION 1.(b)  Administration. - A tax levied under this section shall be levied, administered, collected, and repealed as provided in G.S. 153A-155. The penalties provided in G.S. 153A-155 apply to a tax levied under this section.

SECTION 1.(c)  Distribution and Use of Tax Revenue. - Edgecombe County shall, on a quarterly basis, remit the net proceeds of the occupancy tax to the Edgecombe 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 Edgecombe 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 a county or to attract tourists or business travelers to the county. The term includes tourism-related capital expenditures.

SECTION 2.  Tourism Development Authority. - (a) Appointment and Membership. - When the Edgecombe County Board of Commissioners adopts a resolution levying a room occupancy tax under this Act, it shall also adopt a resolution creating a county 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, including the members' terms of office, and for the filling of vacancies on the Authority. At least one-third of the members shall be individuals who are affiliated with businesses that collect tax in the county, and at least one-half of the members shall be individuals who are currently active in the promotion of travel and tourism in the county. The resolution shall provide that the Authority shall be composed of the following nine members:

(1)        An Edgecombe County Commissioner appointed by the board of commissioners.

(2)        A member of the Tarboro Town Council appointed by the town council.

(3)        Three owners or operators of motels, hotels, or other taxable accommodations in Edgecombe County, one of whom shall be appointed by the Tarboro Town Council, one by the Edgecombe County Board of Commissioners, and one by the Edgecombe County Chamber of Commerce.

(4)        Two individuals involved in the tourist business who have demonstrated an interest in tourism development and do not own or operate hotels, motels, or other taxable tourist accommodations, appointed as follows: one by the Tarboro Town Council and one by the Edgecombe County Board of Commissioners.

(5)        An individual who is interested in the tourism business, has demonstrated an interest in tourism development, and is appointed by the Edgecombe County Board of Commissioners.

(6)        An individual who is interested in the tourism business, has demonstrated an interest in tourism development, and is appointed by the Tarboro Town Council.

The Edgecombe County 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 Edgecombe County shall be the ex officio finance officer of the Authority.

SECTION 2.(b)  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 county, sponsor tourist-related events and activities in the county, and finance tourist-related capital projects in the county.

SECTION 2.(c)  Reports. - The Authority shall report quarterly and at the close of the fiscal year to the Edgecombe Board of County Commissioners on its receipts and expenditures for the preceding quarter and for the year in such detail as the board may require.

SECTION 3.  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, 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, and Wilson Counties, to New Hanover County District U, to Surry County District S, to Watauga County District U, to Wilkes County District K, to Yadkin County District Y, and to the Township of Averasboro in Harnett County and the Ocracoke Township Taxing District."

SECTION 4.  This act is effective when it becomes law.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 9^th day of July, 2013.

                                                                    s/  Daniel J. Forest

                                                                         President of the Senate

                                                                    s/  Thom Tillis

                                                                         Speaker of the House of Representatives