Present law authorizes a municipality to levy, modify, or repeal a hotel occupancy privilege tax by ordinance or resolution subject to certain restrictions. Except as otherwise provided for municipalities that had a hotel occupancy tax in effect before July 1, 2021, the hotel occupancy privilege tax levied must not exceed 4% of the consideration charged to a transient by the hotel operator. For purposes of this bill, a "transient" is a person who exercises occupancy or is entitled to occupancy of any rooms, lodgings, or accommodations in a hotel for a period of less than 30 continuous days. When a person has maintained occupancy for 30 continuous days, present law requires that person to receive from the operator a refund or credit for the tax previously collected from or charged to that person, and the operator must receive credit for the amount of such tax if previously paid or reported to the municipality. This bill revises this provision to, instead, provide that in such a situation, the operator must remit the tax for such period to the municipality and cease collecting the tax from the person for the remainder of their stay in the operator's hotel. For purposes of this bill, a "hotel" includes privately, publicly, or government-owned hotels, inns, tourist camps, tourist courts, tourist cabins, motels, short-term rental units, primitive and recreational vehicle campsites and campgrounds, or any place in which rooms, lodgings, or accommodations are furnished to transients for consideration. Also, for purposes of this bill, a "municipality" does not include a county with a metropolitan form of government. ON MARCH 17, 2025, THE SENATE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED SENATE BILL 384, AS AMENDED. AMENDMENT #1 limits the application of the bill to rental agreements entered into, renewed, or amended on or after July 1, 2025.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 67-4-1404(b), 67-4-1404