Tourism board directs excess revenue to events and local needs

The joint capital tourism board directs certain excess revenues to tourism events and other listed purposes. The board directs the comptroller's use of excess revenue from an authority in a metropolitan government, after the authority's authorized obligations are paid or funded. After authorized obligations are paid or funded, the first allocation supports major tourism events; the amount is the greater of $30 million, rising 3% each year, or 40% of that year's excess revenue. The board directs the allocations, and must consult the metropolitan government's convention and visitors bureau about event costs. The board has nine voting members, including state appointees and representatives of a metropolitan government with more than 500,000 people, its qualified convention center, and its convention and visitors bureau or approved successor. It uses the comptroller's existing staff and resources. The board is dissolved when excess revenue reaches zero, unless an apportionment under § 7-88-106 is occurring.

The law allows specified accumulated excess revenues to fund certain costs before remaining funds return to the regular tourism purposes. Accumulated excess revenues include specified authority funds not restricted by law or contract as of July 1, 2026, and certain tax revenue for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026. These uses cannot begin until debt outstanding at the end of the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026, is retired or refinanced, and the balance cannot fall below the amount needed for authorized obligations. Funds may support expansion costs only after state building commission approval, except for land acquisition, design, and other early planning costs. Up to $300 million may go to a specified metropolitan government instrumentality, solely for public infrastructure costs such as roads, bridges, and utilities. These uses end when an expansion costing more than $750 million begins operating or at the end of the fiscal year ending June 30, 2042, whichever comes first. Remaining accumulated excess revenue then goes to the regular tourism purposes.

The law sets priorities for certain metropolitan tax revenue and sets time limits for some tax allocations. These rules cover specified tax revenue received by or allocated to a metropolitan government for a qualifying public convention center and related tourism purposes. Specified metropolitan privilege taxes and surcharges go first to a publicly owned convention center in the metropolitan government's territory that costs more than $400 million, then to authorized obligations, and then to other listed tourism costs. For the specified state and local sales tax allocation, revenue may also support authorized obligations and other purposes allowed by § 7-89-112. The specified state and local sales tax allocation begins when the convention center opens and continues through 2058 or until its financing debt is paid, whichever comes first. In the covered tourism development zones, another apportionment continues for 30 years from when the facility began operating.