SB 350: "An Act relating to tourism; relating to grants for tourism marketing; eliminating the division of tourism and the Alaska Tourism Marketing Council; and providing for an effective date."
00SENATE BILL NO. 350 01 "An Act relating to tourism; relating to grants for tourism marketing; eliminating 02 the division of tourism and the Alaska Tourism Marketing Council; and providing 03 for an effective date." 04 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 05 * Section 1. AS 39.25.120(c)(15) is amended to read: 06 (15) [THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF THE DIVISION OF TOURISM 07 AND] the deputy director of the division of insurance in the Department of Commerce 08 and Economic Development; 09 * Sec. 2. AS 39.50.200(a)(8) is amended to read: 10 (8) "public official" means a judicial officer, the governor, the 11 lieutenant governor, a person hired or appointed as the head or deputy head of, or 12 director of a division, a department in the executive branch, an assistant to the 13 governor, chair or member of a state commission or board, state investment officers 14 and the state comptroller in the Department of Revenue, [THE EXECUTIVE
01 DIRECTOR OF THE ALASKA TOURISM MARKETING COUNCIL,] and each 02 appointed or elected municipal officer; 03 * Sec. 3. AS 44.33.119 is amended to read: 04 Sec. 44.33.119. Tourism promotion [PURPOSES]. The Department of 05 Commerce and Economic Development shall [THE PURPOSES OF AS 44.33.119 - 06 44.33.135 AND AS 44.33.700 - 44.33.735 ARE TO] 07 (1) encourage the expansion and growth of the state's visitor industry 08 for the benefit of the citizens of the state; 09 (2) ensure that the economic benefits to be derived from tourism in the 10 state are retained in the state, to the greatest extent possible; 11 (3) ensure that a maximum number of residents of the state are 12 employed in the tourism industry; 13 (4) promote cooperation between the state and private sector in the 14 planning and execution of a generic visitor marketing campaign in the public interest; 15 (5) promote the development of visitor industry facilities, both in the 16 public sector and the private sector, through the use of state resources, as appropriate; 17 (6) ensure that the visitors' experience in the state is and continues to 18 be satisfactory and leads to word-of-mouth advertising and return visits to the state; 19 (7) ensure that consideration is given in the development and 20 implementation of the tourism program to local community goals and objectives, to 21 impacts on existing private enterprises, and to impacts on recreational and subsistence 22 opportunities for the residents of the state; 23 (8) promote the development of tourism opportunities along the 24 highway system of the state, including the marine highway, and in rural areas of the 25 state. 26 * Sec. 4. AS 44.33 is amended by adding a new section to read: 27 Sec. 44.33.125. Grants for tourism marketing. (a) Subject to appropriations 28 for the purpose, the Department of Commerce and Economic Development shall, on 29 or before July 15 of each year, make a grant to a single qualified trade association for 30 the purpose of planning and executing a generic visitor marketing campaign. The 31 campaign may include media advertising, establishing and operating a system for
01 responding to visitor inquiries, publishing and distributing information regarding 02 vacation planning, establishing and maintaining Internet sites that provide tourist 03 information, and other activities related to tourism that the department may designate 04 in the grant. 05 (b) Materials produced and marketing information and tourism related data 06 generated under a grant are the sole property of the qualified trade association. 07 (c) A qualified trade association shall provide, on request, to the Department 08 of Commerce and Economic Development materials produced and marketing 09 information and tourism related data generated by the qualified trade association under 10 a grant, but the materials, information, and data provided to the department are not 11 public records under AS 09.25.110 or 09.25.120. 12 (d) A qualified trade association may not use money granted under this section 13 to lobby a municipality or an agency of a municipality or to lobby the state or an 14 agency of the state as defined in AS 44.99.030(b). 15 (e) In this section, "qualified trade association" means a private, nonprofit 16 organization whose primary purposes are the promotion of tourism within the state and 17 encouraging tourists to visit the state and that has a statewide membership consisting 18 of representatives of all major sectors of the visitor industry, including hotels, airlines, 19 cruise lines, wholesale and retail travel agencies, visitor attractions, and convention and 20 visitors bureaus. 21 * Sec. 5. AS 39.25.110(27); AS 39.50.200(b)(49); AS 44.33.120, 44.33.135, 44.33.700, 22 44.33.705, 44.33.710, 44.33.715, 44.33.720, 44.33.723, 44.33.725, 44.33.727, 44.33.730, 23 44.33.733, 44.33.735; AS 44.66.010(a)(15); AS 44.99.030(a)(14); and AS 45.90.020(b) are 24 repealed. 25 * Sec. 6. This Act takes effect July 1, 1999.