SB 254: "An Act relating to the levy and collection of an assessment on certain tourism-related and recreation-related goods and services, and repealing the levy of excise taxes of certain passenger and recreation vehicles; and providing for an effective date."
00 SENATE BILL NO. 254 01 "An Act relating to the levy and collection of an assessment on certain tourism-related 02 and recreation-related goods and services, and repealing the levy of excise taxes of 03 certain passenger and recreation vehicles; and providing for an effective date." 04 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 05 * Section 1. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section 06 to read: 07 SHORT TITLE. This Act may be known as the Sustainable Tourism and Recreation 08 Assessment Act. 09 * Sec. 2. AS 44.33 is amended by adding new sections to read: 10 Sec. 44.33.126. Sustainable tourism and recreation assessment. (a) A 11 sustainable tourism and recreation assessment is levied on 12 (1) the sale of scenic and sightseeing transportation services, including 13 land, water, and aerial transportation, involving same-day return to the place of origin; 14 (2) the lease or rental of a passenger vehicle in this state if the lease or
01 rental does not exceed a period of 90 consecutive days; for purposes of this paragraph, 02 "passenger vehicle" means a motor vehicle as defined in AS 28.40.100 that is driven 03 or moved on a highway or other public right-of-way in the state, but does not include 04 (A) a commercial motor vehicle as that term is defined in 05 AS 28.40.100; 06 (B) emergency or fire equipment that is necessary to the 07 preservation of life or property; 08 (C) a farm vehicle that is controlled and operated by a farmer, 09 used to transport agricultural products, farm machinery, or farm supplies to or 10 from that farmer's farm, not used in the operations of a common or contract 11 motor carrier, and used within 150 miles of the farmer's farm; or 12 (D) a recreational vehicle; 13 (3) the lease or rental of a recreational vehicle in this state if the lease 14 or rental does not exceed a period of 90 consecutive days; in this paragraph, 15 "recreational vehicle" means 16 (A) a motor vehicle or trailer for recreational dwelling 17 purposes; 18 (B) a motor home or other vehicle with a motor home body 19 style; 20 (C) a one-piece camper vehicle; and 21 (D) any other self-propelled vehicle with living quarters; 22 (4) rental of accommodations in a hotel, motel, bed and breakfast, 23 recreational or vacation camp, recreational vehicle park, campground, or other 24 commercial establishment providing short-term lodging if the rental does not exceed a 25 period of 30 consecutive days; 26 (5) Alaska marine highway system passenger fares; 27 (6) Alaska railroad corporation passenger fares; 28 (7) Alaska railroad corporation passenger tour car towing charges; 29 (8) meals sold at salmon bakes; for purposes of this paragraph, a 30 salmon bake is an establishment offering exclusively fixed-price meals featuring 31 salmon or other seafood;
01 (9) goods sold by seasonal retail shops; for purposes of this paragraph, 02 "seasonal retail shop" means a retail store that makes more than 75 percent of its sales 03 on or after May 1 but before October 1 in each calendar year; 04 (10) commissions paid to a third party for arranging a sale, lease, or 05 rental included in (1) - (9) of this subsection. 06 (b) The assessment in (a) of this section shall be levied if an election is held 07 under AS 44.33.129 at which the assessment is approved by eligible visitor industry 08 businesses that together account for at least 51 percent of the value of sales, leases, 09 and rentals described in (a) of this section and not exempt under AS 44.33.127. An 10 election shall be held if a majority of the board of a qualified trade association votes to 11 hold an election. 12 (c) The rate of the assessment shall be proposed by the majority of the board 13 of a qualified trade association and approved by eligible visitor industry businesses 14 that together account for at least 51 percent of the value of sales, leases, and rentals 15 described in (a) of this section and not exempt under AS 44.33.127. The board may 16 propose an assessment rate of two percent, three percent, or four percent. 17 (d) The provisions of AS 43.05 and AS 43.10 apply to the enforcement and 18 collection of the sustainable tourism and recreation assessment. 19 Sec. 44.33.127. Exemptions. The assessment levied under AS 44.33.126 20 does not apply to 21 (1) sales, leases, and rentals that are 22 (A) explicitly exempted from taxation under another provision 23 of state law; or 24 (B) exempt from taxation under federal law and purchases 25 made with 26 (i) food coupons, food stamps, or other types of 27 certificates issued under 7 U.S.C. 2011 - 2036 (Food Stamp Act); and 28 (ii) food instruments, food vouchers, or other types of 29 certificates issued under 42 U.S.C. 1786 (special supplemental nutrition 30 program for women, infants, and children); 31 (2) sales and purchases by federal, state, or local government entities;
01 (3) sales, leases, or rentals made to an entity described in 26 U.S.C. 02 501(c)(3) (Internal Revenue Code) and exempt from federal income tax under 26 03 U.S.C. 501(a); 04 (4) sales, leases, or rentals made by an entity described in 26 U.S.C. 05 501(c)(3) (Internal Revenue Code) and exempt from federal income tax under 26 06 U.S.C. 501(a) if the income from the sale or rental is exempt from federal income 07 taxation; 08 (5) casual and isolated sales, leases, or rentals by a seller who does not 09 regularly engage in the business of selling goods or services or making rentals, but 10 only if the total sales or rentals do not exceed $1,000 a year and the sales or rentals do 11 not occur for more than 14 days in a calendar year. 12 Sec. 44.33.128. Termination of the sustainable tourism and recreation 13 assessment. (a) A sustainable tourism and recreation assessment levied under 14 AS 44.33.126 shall be terminated by the commissioner of revenue if 15 (1) an election is held under AS 44.33.129 in which the termination is 16 approved by eligible visitor industry businesses that together account for at least 51 17 percent of the value of sales, leases, and rentals described in AS 44.33.126(a) and not 18 exempt under AS 44.33.127; or 19 (2) two-thirds of the board of a qualified trade association at a regular 20 meeting adopts a resolution requesting the commissioner of revenue to terminate the 21 assessment. 22 (b) An election under (a)(1) of this section shall be held if 23 (1) the proposed election for the termination of the assessment is 24 approved by a majority of the board of the qualified trade organization at a regularly 25 scheduled meeting; or 26 (2) a petition is presented to the director of elections requesting 27 termination of the assessment by eligible visitor industry businesses that together 28 account for at least 25 percent of the value of sales, leases, and rentals described in 29 AS 44.33.126(a) and not exempt under AS 44.33.127 during the calendar year. 30 (c) The qualified trade association shall provide notice of an election in 31 accordance with AS 44.33.129 within 60 days after receiving notice from the director
01 of elections that a valid petition under (b)(2) of this section has been received. 02 (d) The sustainable tourism and recreation assessment is terminated on the 03 effective date stated on the ballot. 04 Sec. 44.33.129. Procedures for an election to approve or terminate a 05 sustainable tourism and recreation assessment. (a) A qualified trade association 06 may conduct an election under this section after the director of elections approves the 07 (1) notice to be published by the qualified trade association; 08 (2) ballot to be used in the election; and 09 (3) registration and voting procedures for the approval or termination 10 of the sustainable tourism and recreation assessment. 11 (b) In conducting an election under this section, a qualified trade association 12 shall adopt the following procedures: 13 (1) the proposed levy or termination of the assessment shall be adopted 14 at a regularly scheduled meeting of the board held not less than 60 days before the 15 date on which the ballots must be postmarked to be counted unless the election is for 16 termination of the assessment and has been initiated by a petition under 17 AS 44.33.128(b)(2); 18 (2) the qualified trade association shall hold at least one meeting, not 19 less than 30 days before the date on which ballots must be postmarked to be counted, 20 to explain the reason for the proposed sustainable tourism and recreation assessment 21 or termination of the assessment and to explain the voting procedure to be used in the 22 election; the qualified trade association shall provide notice of the meeting by 23 (A) mailing the notice to each eligible visitor industry business; 24 and 25 (B) publishing the notice in at least one newspaper of general 26 circulation in each region of the state at least two weeks before the meeting; 27 (3) the qualified trade association shall mail ballots to each eligible 28 visitor industry business not more than 45 days before the date specified as the date 29 ballots must be postmarked; 30 (4) the ballot must 31 (A) state the rate at which the assessment is to be levied;
01 (B) indicate the effective date of the levy of the assessment or 02 termination of the assessment; 03 (C) ask whether the assessment shall be levied or, if the 04 election is to terminate the assessment, whether the assessment shall be 05 terminated; 06 (5) the ballots shall be returned by mail and shall be counted by the 07 director of elections or a representative. 08 (c) The director of elections shall certify the results of an election under this 09 section if the director determines that the requirements of (a) and (b) of this section 10 have been satisfied. 11 (d) For purposes of this section, a ballot submitted by a corporation is 12 presumed valid if the ballot is signed by an individual who is indicated to be an officer 13 of the corporation and the ballot is imprinted with the corporate seal. 14 Sec. 44.33.131. Determination of sales. Upon request from the director of 15 elections, the commissioner of revenue shall determine 16 (1) the total value of sales, leases, and rentals subject to assessment 17 under AS 44.33.126(a) and not exempt under AS 44.33.127 during the calendar year; 18 (2) whether, for purposes of AS 44.33.126(b) or 44.33.128(a), the 19 eligible visitor industry businesses approving the levy or termination of a sustainable 20 tourism and recreation assessment together produced at least 51 percent of the total 21 value of sales, leases, and rentals subject to assessment under AS 44.33.126(a) during 22 the calendar year; or 23 (3) whether the eligible visitor industry businesses petitioning for an 24 election under AS 44.33.128(b)(2) together produced at least 25 percent of the total 25 value of sales, leases, and rentals subject to assessment under AS 44.33.126(a) during 26 the calendar year. 27 Sec. 44.33.132. Collection of assessment. (a) A seller shall add the amount 28 of the assessment levied under AS 44.33.126 to the total price of the sale, lease, or 29 rental subject to the assessment, and the assessment shall be stated separately on any 30 sales receipt, invoice, or other record of the sale, lease, or rental. 31 (b) The person making the sale, lease, or rental shall collect the assessment
01 from the purchaser and remit the assessment collected to the department not later than 02 30 days following the last day of the month in which the assessment was collected. 03 However, a person that collects less than $1,000 in assessments in a calendar quarter 04 may remit the assessments within 30 days following the last day of the calendar 05 quarter in which the assessment was collected. 06 (c) A person remitting the assessment collected under AS 44.33.126 to the 07 department as required under (b) of this section and filing a complete and timely 08 return on a form prescribed by the department may retain 09 (1) one percent of the amount collected to cover expenses associated 10 with collecting and remitting the assessment; and 11 (2) an amount equal to the total of assessments that were paid by the 12 person for the purchase at wholesale of goods or services for resale, but only if the 13 purchased goods or services have been resold and the assessment has been collected 14 on that resale. 15 (d) If a person selling for resale a good or service subject to the assessment 16 levied under AS 44.33.126 fails to collect the assessment, the purchaser purchasing the 17 item for resale shall remit the assessment to the department not later than 30 days 18 following the last day of the month in which the purchase was made. 19 Sec. 44.33.133. Exemption certificate. The department shall provide 20 exemption certificates to persons and entities exempt from the assessment under 21 AS 44.33.127. 22 Sec. 44.33.134. Disposition of proceeds. (a) The sustainable tourism and 23 marketing fund is created in the general fund. 24 (b) The proceeds of the assessment levied under AS 44.33.126 shall be 25 deposited into the sustainable tourism and marketing fund. 26 (c) The legislature may appropriate the funds in the sustainable tourism and 27 marketing fund to the Department of Community and Economic Development for the 28 purpose of entering into a contract with a qualified trade association for tourism 29 marketing under AS 44.33.125. 30 (d) The deposit required and appropriation authorized by this section are not 31 intended to create a dedication in violation of art. IX, sec. 7, Constitution of the State
01 of Alaska. 02 Sec. 44.33.139. Definitions. In AS 44.33.126 - 44.33.139, 03 (1) "board" means the board of directors of a qualified trade 04 organization; 05 (2) "eligible visitor industry business" means a business that would be 06 liable for payment of a sustainable tourism and recreation assessment under 07 AS 44.33.126; 08 (3) "qualified trade organization" means the trade organization 09 contracting with the Department of Community and Economic Development under 10 AS 44.33.125 for the fiscal year. 11 * Sec. 3. AS 43.52.010, 43.52.020, 43.52.030, 43.52.040, 43.52.050, 43.52.060, 43.52.070, 12 43.52.080, 43.52.090, and 43.52.099 are repealed. 13 * Sec. 4. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 14 read: 15 TRANSITION: REGULATIONS. The Department of Revenue may proceed to adopt 16 regulations necessary to implement the provisions of this Act. The regulations take effect 17 under AS 44.62 (Administrative Procedure Act), but not before the effective date of the 18 provision being implemented. In adopting regulations implementing AS 44.33.126, the 19 department shall strive for consistency with the 2002 North American Industrial Classification 20 System (NAICS) codes system used by the United States Bureau of the Census for classifying 21 business establishments. 22 * Sec. 5. Section 4 of this Act takes effect immediately under AS 01.10.070(c). 23 * Sec. 6. Except as provided in sec. 5 of this Act, this Act takes effect January 1, 2005.