H-1889.1  _______________________________________________

                          HOUSE BILL 2040

          _______________________________________________

State of Washington      54th Legislature     1995 Regular Session

By Representatives Hymes and Quall

Read first time 02/22/95.  Referred to Committee on Finance.

Clarifying the authorized uses of the special excise tax on lodging.

    AN ACT Relating to authorized uses for the proceeds of the special excise tax on lodging imposed by counties and cites; and amending RCW 67.28.270.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

    Sec. 1.  RCW 67.28.270 and 1991 c 357 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:

    In addition to the other uses authorized in this chapter, any city with a population of not less than one thousand people located on one of the San Juan islands or the county within which such city is located may impose the tax and use the tax proceeds provided herein for the acquisition, construction, or operation of publicly owned facilities that are used either for county fairs occurring no more than once a year and not extending over a period of more than seven days or to mitigate the impacts of tourism.  Mitigation may include paying all or any part of the cost of acquisition, construction, or operation of public information and educational facilities designed to inform visitors of the historical, cultural, ecological, and environmental resources of the county; of overnight or day use parks used by visitors; of kayak and canoe access to public tidelands; of rest, information, and assembly areas for bicycle visitors; of special signage to inform visitors of local points of interest; and of sport and recreational facilities that provide activities of interest to visitors.

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