PRINTER'S NO. 122

 INTRODUCED BY CORMAN AND JUBELIRER, JANUARY 21, 1997 

 REFERRED TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT, JANUARY 21, 1997 

                                 AN ACT

 1  Amending the act of August 9, 1955 (P.L.323, No.130), entitled
 2     "An act relating to counties of the third, fourth, fifth,
 3     sixth, seventh and eighth classes; amending, revising,
 4     consolidating and changing the laws relating thereto,"
 5     providing for an excise tax in certain counties.
 6     The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
 7  hereby enacts as follows:
 8     Section 1.  The act of August 9, 1955 (P.L.323, No.130),
 9  known as The County Code, is amended by adding a section to
10  read:
11     Section 1770.2.  Authorization of Excise Tax.--(a)  The
12  county commissioners of any county which has a recognized
13  tourist promotion agency designated to act within the county may
14  impose an excise tax not to exceed two per centum of the
15  consideration received by each operator of a hotel within the
16  county from each transaction of renting a room or rooms to
17  transients. The tax shall be collected by the operator from the
18  patron of the room or rooms and paid over to the county as
19  herein provided.

 1     (b)  The county commissioners may by ordinance impose
 2  requirements for keeping of records, the filing of tax returns
 3  and the time and manner of collection and payment of tax. The
 4  county commissioners may also impose, by ordinance, penalties
 5  and interest for failure to comply with recordkeeping, filing,
 6  collection and payment requirements.
 7     (c)  The treasurer of each county electing to impose the tax
 8  authorized under this section shall collect the tax and deposit
 9  the revenues received from the tax in a special fund established
10  for that purpose. After deducting from the fund any direct or
11  indirect costs attributable to collection of the tax, the county
12  shall distribute to the recognized tourist promotion agency
13  designated to act within the county all revenues received from
14  the tax not later than sixty days after receipt of the tax
15  revenues. The revenues from the special fund shall be used by
16  the recognized tourist promotion agency to directly fund county-
17  wide tourist promotion.
18     (d)  In any county electing to impose the tax authorized
19  under this act, the recognized tourist promotion agency may,
20  after receiving any revenues from the special fund established
21  under subsection (c), apply to the Department of Community and
22  Economic Development for, and be awarded, a matching grant under
23  the act of April 28, 1961 (P.L.111, No.50), known as the
24  "Tourist Promotion Law." A copy of the application to the
25  Department of Community and Economic Development and any
26  amendment shall be given to the county commissioners.
27     (e)  The tax year for a tax imposed under this section shall
28  run concurrently with the calendar year.
29     (f)  An audited report on the income and expenditures
30  incurred by a recognized tourist promotion agency receiving any
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 1  revenues from the tax authorized under this section shall be
 2  submitted annually by the recognized tourist promotion agency to
 3  the county commissioners.
 4     (g)  As used in this section, the following words and phrases
 5  shall have the meanings given to them in this subsection:
 6     "Consideration."  Receipts, fees, charges, rentals, leases,
 7  cash, credits, property of any kind or nature, or other payment
 8  received by operators in exchange for or in consideration of the
 9  use or occupancy by a transient of a room or rooms in a hotel
10  for any temporary period.
11     "County."  Any county which is on the effective date of this
12  act a county of the fifth class having a population under the
13  1990 Federal Decennial Census in excess of one hundred twenty-
14  three thousand residents.
15     "Hotel."  A hotel, motel, inn, guest house or other structure
16  which holds itself out by any means, including advertising,
17  license, registration with an innkeepers' group, convention
18  listing association, travel publication or similar association
19  or with a government agency, as being available to provide
20  overnight lodging or use of facility space for consideration to
21  persons seeking temporary accommodation; any place which
22  advertises to the public at large or any segment thereof that it
23  will provide beds, sanitary facilities or other space for a
24  temporary period to members of the public at large; or any place
25  recognized as a hostelry. The term does not include any portion
26  of a facility that is devoted to persons who have an established
27  permanent residence or a college or university student residence
28  hall.
29     "Occupancy."  The use or possession or the right to the use
30  or possession by any person other than a permanent resident of
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 1  any room in a hotel for any purpose, or the right to the use or
 2  possession of the furnishings or to the services accompanying
 3  the use and possession of the room.
 4     "Operator."  An individual, partnership, nonprofit or profit-
 5  making association or corporation or other person or group of
 6  persons who maintain, operate, manage, own, have custody of or
 7  otherwise possess the right to rent or lease overnight
 8  accommodations in a hotel to the public for consideration.
 9     "Patron."  A person who pays the consideration for the
10  occupancy of a room or rooms in a hotel.
11     "Permanent resident."  A person who has occupied or has the
12  right to occupancy of a room or rooms in a hotel as a patron or
13  otherwise for a period exceeding sixty consecutive days.
14     "Recognized tourist promotion agency."  The nonprofit
15  corporation, organization, association or agency which is
16  engaged in planning and promoting programs designed to stimulate
17  and increase the volume of tourist, visitor and vacation
18  business within counties served by the agency as that term is
19  defined in the act of April 28, 1961 (P.L.111, No.50), known as
20  the "Tourist Promotion Law."
21     "Room."  A space in a hotel set aside for use and occupancy
22  by patrons, or otherwise, for consideration, having at least one
23  bed or other sleeping accommodation in a room or group of rooms.
24     "Transaction."  The activity involving the obtaining by a
25  transient or patron of the use or occupancy of a hotel room from
26  which consideration is payable to the operator under an express
27  or an implied contract.
28     "Transient."  An individual who obtains accommodation in a
29  hotel by means of registering at the facility for the temporary
30  occupancy of a room for the personal use of the individual by
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 1  paying a fee to the operator.
 2     Section 2.  This act shall take effect immediately.          
 L5L16RZ/19970S0125B0122          

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