Authorize the creation of tourism promotion districts

As Introduced

136th
General Assembly

Regular
Session
H. B. No. 138

2025-2026

Representatives Dovilla, Santucci

Cosponsors: Representatives Brennan,
Daniels, Dean, Fischer, Jarrells, Ray, Williams

A
BILL

To
enact sections 1787.01, 1787.02, 1787.03, 1787.04, 1787.05, 1787.06,
1787.07, 1787.08, 1787.09, 1787.10, 1787.11, 1787.12
,
and 1787.13

of the Revised Code
to
authorize the creation of tourism promotion districts and the levying
of assessments therein.

BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:

Section
1.
That
sections 1787.01, 1787.02, 1787.03, 1787.04, 1787.05, 1787.06,
1787.07, 1787.08, 1787.09, 1787.10, 1787.11, 1787.12
,
and 1787.13

of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:

Sec.
1787.01.
As
used in this chapter:

(A)
"Authorizing legislative authority" means a legislative
authority that adopts either an authorizing resolution or an
ordinance or resolution stating its intent to establish or renew a
tourism promotion district pursuant to section 1787.03 of the Revised
Code or modify a district plan pursuant to section 1787.04 of the
Revised Code.

(B)
"Authorizing resolution" means an ordinance or resolution
adopted by the legislative authority under section 1787.06 of the
Revised Code.

(C)
"Benefit assessment" means an assessment levied under
section 1787.07 of the Revised Code.

(D)
"District management association" means the nonprofit
corporation a municipal corporation, township, or county contracts
with to administer or implement supplemental services and
improvements pursuant to section 1787.10 of the Revised Code.

(E)
"District plan" means the plan described in division (B) of
section 1787.03 of the Revised Code.

(F)
"Improvement" means the acquisition, construction, or
installation of, or maintenance relating to, tangible property with
an estimated useful life of five years or more that is designed to
provide benefits to lodging businesses.

(G)
"Legislative authority" means the legislative authority of
a municipal corporation, the board of trustees of a township, or the
board of commissioners of a county.

(H)
"Lodging business" means a "hotel" as defined in
section 5739.01 of the Revised Code.

(I)
"Lodging business owner" means the record owner of a
lodging business.

(J)
"Services" means the promotion of lodging business
activities or tourism and any other activity provided for the benefit
of lodging businesses for the purpose of increasing overnight lodging
stays.

(K)
"Supplemental services and improvements" means services and
improvements provided through funding that is in excess of the amount
determined under division (C)(12) of section 1787.06 of the Revised
Code for the benefit of lodging businesses subject to a benefit
assessment.

Sec.
1787.02.
(A)
A municipal corporation, township, or county may establish a tourism
promotion district to fund supplemental services and improvements
that benefit lodging businesses pursuant to this chapter by assessing
a benefit assessment on lodging businesses located within the
district.

(B)
A municipal corporation may create a district within the territory of
a municipal corporation. A township may create a district within the
unincorporated territory of the township. A county may create a
district within the unincorporated area of the county. A municipal
corporation, township, or county may extend the boundaries of the
district outside such territory, but only if the township or county,
in the case of boundaries extended to unincorporated territory, or
the municipal corporation, in the case of boundaries extended to the
territory of the municipal corporation, consents, by ordinance or
resolution, to the creation of that district. The boundaries of a
proposed tourism promotion district shall not overlap with the
boundaries of another tourism promotion district, and a district's
territory shall be contiguous.

(C)
A tourism promotion district shall be established for a specific term
of years. The term of a newly established district shall be not less
than three and not more than five years, unless the district plan
proposes that revenue bonds are to be issued under section 1787.08 of
the Revised Code, in which case the term shall run until the revenue
bonds' maximum maturity. The term of a renewed district shall be not
more than ten years, unless the plan proposes that revenue bonds are
to be issued under section 1787.08 of the Revised Code, in which case
the term shall run until the revenue bonds' maximum maturity.

Sec.
1787.03.
(A)
A legislative authority may, by ordinance or resolution, and subject
to the notice, hearing, and protest provisions contained in section
1787.05 of the Revised Code, initiate proceedings to establish or
renew a tourism promotion district. Such ordinance or resolution may
only be adopted following the valid request of one or more lodging
business owners that would be located within the proposed district.

A
valid request to establish or renew a district shall include a
district plan that complies with division (B) of this section and a
plan summary that complies with division (C) of this section. An
ordinance or resolution to initiate proceedings to establish or renew
a district shall comply with division (D) of this section.

(B)
A district plan shall include all of the following:

(1)
A map that identifies the proposed tourism promotion district's
boundaries in sufficient detail to allow a person to reasonably
determine whether a lodging business is located within those
boundaries;

(2)
The name of the district and the day it will begin operating;

(3)
Whether revenue bonds will be issued under section 1787.08 of the
Revised Code for the benefit of the district;

(4)
The term of years the district will be in operation;

(5)
The name of the district management association;

(6)
The supplemental services and improvements proposed for each year of
operation of the district and the estimated cost thereof. If the
supplemental services and improvements proposed for each year of
operation are the same, a description of the first year's proposed
supplemental services and improvements and a statement that the same
supplemental services and improvements are proposed for subsequent
years satisfies this requirement.

(7)
The estimated amount proposed to be expended for supplemental
services and improvements during each year of the district's
operation. This amount may be estimated based on the benefit
assessment amount or rate. An estimate of the amount proposed to be
expended in the initial year of the district's operation and a
statement that a similar amount applies to subsequent years satisfies
this requirement.

(8)
The proposed source or sources of financing, including the proposed
method and basis of levying the benefit assessment in sufficient
detail to allow a person to estimate the rate or amount of the
benefit assessment to be levied against a lodging business. The plan
may propose increases in the benefit assessment for any year of the
district's operation.

(9)
The estimated annual collections from the proposed benefit
assessment;

(10)
If the district is to provide supplemental improvements, whether
revenue bonds will be issued under section 1787.08 of the Revised
Code to finance those improvements and, if so, the revenue bonds'
maximum maturity;

(11)
The time and manner of collecting the benefit assessment and any
interest or penalties for nonpayment;

(12)
The specific number of years during which a benefit assessment will
be levied, which shall equal the term of the district;

(13)
Any proposed rules that will apply to the district;

(14)
A description of the types or classes of lodging businesses to be
included in the district and subject to the district benefit
assessment;

(15)
A list of the existing lodging businesses in the proposed district
that are of the types of classes described under division (B)(14) of
this section;

(16)
An estimate of the benefit assessment that will be remitted on the
basis of each lodging business subject to the assessment over the
term of the district's operation;

(17)
If the proposed district will be a renewed district, this disposition
of any remaining revenues derived from benefit assessments levied for
the benefit of the expiring district, which shall be consistent with
division (E) of this section.

(C)
A plan summary shall include all of the following:

(1)
A map showing the boundaries of the tourism promotion district;

(2)
A description of the types or classes of lodging businesses to be
included in the district and subject to the district benefit
assessment;

(3)
The benefit assessment rate or amount for each type or class of
lodging business that will be subject to the benefit assessment;

(4)
A description of the proposed supplemental services and improvements;

(5)
The location where the public may review the district plan;

(6)
A statement that the district plan will be provided upon request.

(D)
An ordinance or resolution adopted pursuant to division (A) of this
section shall state or include all of the following:

(1)
That the legislative authority intends to establish or renew a
tourism promotion district;

(2)
A description of the exterior boundaries of the district, which may
be made by reference to the map that is required to be included with
the plan or plan summary;

(3)
A description of the types or classes of lodging businesses to be
included in the district and subject to the benefit assessment;

(4)
The estimated annual collections of the benefit assessment;

(5)
The benefit assessment rate or amount for each type or class of
lodging business that will be subject to the benefit assessment;

(6)
An estimate of the benefit assessment revenue that will be remitted;

(7)
A description of the proposed supplemental services and improvements;

(8)
The location at which the public may review the tourism district
plan;

(9)
That the tourism district plan will be furnished upon request;

(10)
The time and place for a public hearing on the establishment or
renewal of the district and the levy of the benefit assessment, which
shall be consistent with the requirements of section 1787.05 of the
Revised Code.

The
descriptions required under divisions (D)(2) and (7) of this section
do not need to be detailed and need only enable a person to generally
identify the location and extent of the territory of the proposed
district and the nature and extent of the proposed supplemental
services and improvements.

If
the boundaries of the proposed district overlap with another county,
township, or municipal corporation for which consent is required
under section 1787.02 of the Revised Code, the ordinance or
resolution shall be accompanied by the ordinance or resolution of
consent adopted by that other county, township, or municipal
corporation.

(E)
The boundaries, benefit assessments, or supplemental services and
improvements of a renewed tourism promotion district may be different
than those of the former tourism promotion district.

Upon
renewal, any remaining revenues derived from benefit assessments, or
any revenues derived from the sale of assets acquired with the
revenues, shall be transferred to the renewed tourism promotion
district. If the renewed district does not include lodging businesses
previously included in the prior district, the remaining revenues
attributable to these lodging businesses shall either be spent
consistent with the district plan or be refunded to the owners of
these lodging businesses.

Sec.
1787.04.
Upon
the written request of an existing tourism promotion district's
district management association, the authorizing legislative
authority may, by ordinance or resolution, state its intent to modify
the district's district plan.

An
ordinance or resolution adopted pursuant to this section shall state
the modifications to be considered and the date and location of a
public hearing to consider the modifications. The hearing date shall
be not more than ninety days after the adoption of the ordinance or
resolution pursuant to this section.

Sec.
1787.05.
(A)
If an authorizing legislative authority, pursuant to section 1787.03
of the Revised Code, adopts an ordinance or resolution stating its
intent to establish a new tourism promotion district or renew an
existing district or, pursuant to section 1787.04 of the Revised
Code, adopts an ordinance or resolution stating its intent to modify
an existing district plan, the legislative authority shall hold a
public hearing on the applicable question on or before the date the
legislative authority adopts an ordinance or resolution authorizing
that question pursuant to section 1787.06 of the Revised Code.

At
least thirty days before the hearing date, the clerk of the
legislative authority shall send notice

of
the hearing, by ordinary mail, to the owner of each lodging business
identified under division (D)(6) of section 1787.03 of the Revised
Code or, in the case of a hearing on modification requested under
section 1787.04 of the Revised Code, the owner of each lodging
business subject to the benefit assessment under the plan in effect
at the time the notice is sent. The notice shall include either a
copy of the written protest form described in division (B) of this
section or the address of a web site at which that form may be
obtained.

(B)
Any lodging business owner that is entitled to notice pursuant to
division (A) of this section, or the owner's agent, may file a
written protest against the proposed question, on or before the
hearing date, on a form prescribed by the legislative authority, with
the legislative authority. The legislative authority may waive any
irregularity in the form or content of any written protest. A written
protest may be withdrawn in writing at any time before the conclusion
of the hearing.

Each
written protest shall contain a description of the owner's lodging
business and, if the person filing the protest is not the lodging
business owner, the protest shall be accompanied by written evidence
that the person submitting the protest is the owner's agent.

If
written protests that comply with division (B) of this section, or
for which the legislative authority waives irregularity, are received
and, excluding withdrawn protests, represent forty per cent or more
of the proposed benefit assessment, the legislative authority shall
not adopt an ordinance or resolution to create or renew the tourism
promotion district, or modify the tourism promotion district plan,
pursuant to section 1787.06 of the Revised Code. The percentage of
benefit assessment represented by the protesting owners shall be
determined by dividing the benefit assessment estimated to be
remitted on the basis of the protesting owners' lodging businesses
over the term of the district divided by the benefit assessment
estimated to be remitted on the basis of all lodging businesses over
the term of the district.

Sec.
1787.06.
(A)
After the hearing described in section 1787.05 of the Revised Code,
the authorizing legislative authority may, by ordinance or
resolution, establish or renew a tourism promotion district or modify
a district plan, in accordance with division (C) of this section and
provided the legislative authority is not prohibited from doing so by
division (B) of that section.

(B)
An ordinance or resolution establishing or renewing a tourism
promotion district may not reflect a benefit assessment rate or
amount that is higher, district boundaries that increase the
district's area, or types or classes of lodging businesses subject to
benefit assessment that are broader, than those stated in the
ordinance or resolution adopted under section 1787.03 of the Revised
Code.

If
the benefit assessment rate or amount is lower, the reduction shall
be made in either a uniform manner or specific to each lodging
business.

(C)
An ordinance or resolution establishing or renewing a tourism
promotion district, or modifying a tourism promotion district plan,
shall include all of the following:

(1)
The name of the district and the day it will begin operating;

(2)
Whether revenue bonds will be issued under section 1787.08 of the
Revised Code for the benefit of the district;

(3)
The term of years the district shall be in operation;

(4)
A statement that the approved district plan is incorporated into the
ordinance or resolution by reference;

(5)
A description of the proposed supplemental services and improvements,
the amount or rate of the proposed benefit assessment, a description
of the types or classes of lodging businesses that will be subject to
the assessment, and a description of the boundaries of the tourism
promotion district, which may be made by reference to any plan or map
that is on file with the legislative authority.

The
descriptions in division (C)(5) of this section do not need to be
detailed and need only enable a person to generally identify the
nature and extent of the proposed supplemental services and
improvements and the location and extent of the territory of the
proposed tourism promotion district.

(6)
The number, date of adoption, and title of the ordinance or
resolution adopted under section 1787.03 or section 1787.04 of the
Revised Code;

(7)
The time and place where the public hearing required under section
1787.05 of the Revised Code was held;

(8)
A determination regarding any protests received in accordance with
division (B) of section 1787.05 of the Revised Code, or for which the
legislative authority waived irregularity;

(9)
The following statement: "The lodging businesses in the tourism
promotion district shall be subject to any amendments to Chapter
1787. of the Revised Code";

(10)
A statement that the supplemental services and improvements to be
provided to lodging businesses in the tourism promotion district will
be funded by the proceeds of the benefit assessment;

(11)
A finding that the lodging businesses within the tourism promotion
district will benefit from the supplemental services and improvements
funded by the benefit assessment;

(12)
The amount of services and improvements funded by the county,
township, or municipal corporation in the area encompassed by the
district for the fiscal year preceding the fiscal year in which the
ordinance or resolution is adopted;

(13)
A statement that, for any fiscal year in which the district is in
operation, the legislative authority shall not reduce funding for
services and improvements for the area encompassed by the district
below the amount described in division (C)(12) of this section.

Sec.
1787.07.
After
adopting the authorizing resolution, the authorizing legislative
authority shall levy the benefit assessment at the amount or rate
authorized in that resolution on lodging businesses of the type or
class that are subject to the benefit assessment for the term of the
tourism promotion district, as described in the district plan and
beginning on the date the district begins operating.

Benefit
assessments may be levied based on a per cent of gross lodging
business revenue, a fixed dollar amount per transaction, or any other
reasonable method based upon benefit. A benefit assessment may vary
by types or classes of lodging businesses as described in the tourism
promotion district plan. The rate or amount of a benefit assessment
shall be levied on a basis that provides a rational relationship
between the amount of the assessment against each lodging business
subject to the assessment and the benefit rendered to that business.

Any
lodging business of the types or classes that are subject to the
benefit assessment located within the boundaries of the tourism
promotion district that begins operations during the district's term
shall be subject to the benefit assessment.

The
collection of the benefit assessments levied pursuant to this chapter
shall be made at the time and in the manner described in the district
plan. All proceeds shall be remitted by the lodging business owner to
the county, township, or municipal corporation and deposited in a
special fund created in the county, township, or municipal treasury.
Money in that fund shall be paid to a district management
association, at the request of that association, and used solely for
the supplemental services and improvements authorized in the district
plan, including to support the issuance of revenue bonds under
section 1787.08 of the Revised Code.

All
delinquent payments for benefit assessments levied pursuant to this
chapter may be charged interest and penalties. A percentage of the
benefit assessments, not to exceed two per cent, may be retained by
the county, township, or municipal corporation to offset the cost of
collection as described in the district plan.

All
other revenue from the benefit assessment shall be used solely for
the purposes specified in the district plan.

Any
delinquent payments for benefit assessments, along with any interest
or penalties, shall constitute a debt owed to the authorizing
legislative authority and may be collected by the authorizing
legislative authority as a debt under law.

Any
delinquent payments for benefit assessments, interest, or penalties
recovered under this section shall be expended in the same manner as
provided in the district plan for proceeds of the benefit assessment.

Sec.
1787.08.
(A)
Pursuant to Ohio Constitution, Article VIII, Section 13, the
authorizing legislative authority for a tourism promotion district,
the district management association of a tourism promotion district,
or a port authority created under Chapter 4582. of the Revised Code
that encompasses the entire territory of a tourism promotion district
may issue revenue bonds to fund improvements benefiting the district.

(B)
Benefit assessments levied in two or more tourism promotion districts
may be pledged to secure a single revenue bond issue to fund
improvements benefiting those districts.

(C)
Revenue bonds issued pursuant to this section shall be backed
exclusively by the benefit assessments supporting the tourism
promotion district or districts they are issued to fund. The revenue
bonds shall not be regarded as indebtedness of any municipal
corporation, township, or county for the purpose of any limitation
imposed by any law.

Sec.
1787.09.
The
validity of a benefit assessment levied under this chapter shall not
be contested in any action or proceeding unless the action or
proceeding is commenced not more than thirty days after the date the
authorizing resolution is adopted. To challenge the validity of a
benefit assessment, a lodging business owner that is or will be
subject to the benefit assessment, or the agent thereof, must file a
claim in writing with the court of common pleas in the county where
the tourism promotion district is established and the clerk of the
legislative authority. The claim shall include a specific showing
that the tourism promotion district will not provide a benefit to the
claimant's lodging business. Any appeal from a final judgment in an
action or proceeding shall be perfected within thirty days after the
entry of judgment.

Sec.
1787.10.
The
municipal corporation, township, or county that forms a tourism
promotion district shall contract with a new or existing nonprofit
corporation that is compliant with division (A) or (B) of this
section, as applicable, to act as the district management association
and administer or implement the supplemental services and
improvements described in the district plan.

(A)
In the case of a newly formed nonprofit corporation designated as the
district management association, the certificate of incorporation or
bylaws shall provide that at least two-thirds of the total number of
board members must be lodging business owners whose lodging
businesses are subject to the tourism promotion district's benefit
assessment, or the agents of such owners.

(B)
Where an existing nonprofit corporation is designated as the district
management association, the nonprofit corporation's board of
directors shall create a committee of which at least two-thirds of
the total number of board members must be lodging business owners
whose lodging businesses are subject to the tourism promotion
district's benefit assessment, or the agents of such owners. The
committee shall be charged with managing benefit assessment funds and
fulfilling the obligations of the tourism promotion district plan.

(C)
A district management association shall have full discretion to
select the specific supplemental services and improvements within the
authorized parameters of the tourism promotion district plan that
will be funded with tourism promotion district benefit assessment
revenue.

Sec.
1787.11.
(A)
The district management association shall prepare a report for each
fiscal year of the association during which benefit assessments are
levied and collected, except the first such year.

The
district management association shall submit the report to the
auditor of state and the authorizing legislative authority not more
than ninety days after the conclusion of each fiscal year that the
report is required. The auditor of state may require an annual
financial audit of the district management association.

(B)
The report shall refer to the tourism promotion district by name,
specify the dates of the fiscal year to which the report applies,
and, with respect to that year, include all of the following
information:

(1)
A review of the supplemental services and improvements provided in
the preceding fiscal year;

(2)
The supplemental services and improvements to be provided for the
current fiscal year;

(3)
The association's budget for the current fiscal year, including an
estimate of the cost of providing the supplemental services and
improvements for that year;

(4)
The method and basis of levying the benefit assessments in sufficient
detail to allow each lodging business owner to estimate the amount of
the benefit assessment to be levied against the owner's lodging
business for that year;

(5)
The estimated amount of any surplus revenues to be carried over from
the preceding fiscal year.

(C)
The authorizing legislative authority may approve the annual report
as filed by the district management association or may recommend
modifications to the report within forty-five days after receiving
the report. The report shall be considered final and approved within
ninety days following its submission by the district management
association to the authorizing legislative authority.

Sec.
1787.12.
(A)
Subject to division (B) of this section, all of the following apply:

(1)
Tourism promotion districts created under this chapter and district
management associations are not political subdivisions, except for
the purpose of section 4905.34 of the Revised Code;

(2)
Tourism promotion districts created under this chapter and district
management associations shall be considered public agencies under
section 102.01 and public authorities under section 4115.03 of the
Revised Code;

(3)
Tourism promotion districts created under this chapter and district
management associations are not subject to sections 121.81 to 121.83
of the Revised Code;

(4)
Tourism promotion districts created under this chapter and district
management associations are subject to sections 121.22 and 121.23 of
the Revised Code;

(5)
All records of a tourism promotion district created under this
chapter and district management associations are public records under
section 149.43 of the Revised Code.

(B)
An existing nonprofit corporation that enters a contract to act as a
district management association pursuant to section 1787.10 of the
Revised Code is only subject to division (A) of this section when
acting as a district management association. Records of such a
corporation are not public records under section 149.43 or 149.431 of
the Revised Code solely by reason of the corporation's contract to
act as a district management association, but all records of the
committee described in division (B) of section 1787.10 of the Revised
Code are public records under section 149.43 of the Revised Code.

(C)
Subject to division (D) of this section, both of the following apply:

(1)
Membership on the board of directors of a district management
association shall not be considered as holding a public office.
However, each member of the board of directors of a district
management association described in division (A) of section 1787.10
of the Revised Code and each member of a committee described in
division (B) of section 1787.10 of the Revised Code, each member's
designee or proxy, and each officer or employee of a district
management association is a public official or employee under section
102.01 and a public official under section 2921.42 of the Revised
Code. District management association officers, members of a board of
directors of a district management association described in division
(A) of section 1787.10 of the Revised Code, and members of a
committee described in division (B) of section 1787.10 of the Revised
Code, and their designees or proxies, are not required to file a
statement with the Ohio ethics commission under section 102.02 of the
Revised Code.

(2)
Members of the board of directors of a district management
association described in division (A) of section 1787.10 of the
Revised Code and members of a committee described in division (B) of
section 1787.10 of the Revised Code and their designees are entitled
to the same immunity as an employee under division (A)(6) of section
2744.03 of the Revised Code, except that directors and their
designees are not entitled to the indemnification provided in section
2744.07 of the Revised Code unless the director or designee is an
employee or official of the township, county, or municipal
corporation whose legislative authority formed the district and is
acting within the scope of the director's or designee's employment or
official responsibilities.

(D)
Employees of an existing nonprofit corporation designated as a
district management association, and members of a committee described
in division (B) of section 1787.10 of the Revised Code, are public
officials or employees under section 102.01 and public officials
under section 2921.42 of the Revised Code by virtue of their
positions with the association only when they act with respect to a
purpose for which the district is created and not when they act with
respect to any other purpose for which the corporation is organized.

Sec.
1787.13.
(A)
An authorizing legislative authority may, by ordinance or resolution
adopted on its own initiative, dissolve a tourism promotion district
established or renewed pursuant to this chapter if no revenue bonds
issued under section 1787.08 of the Revised Code for the benefit of
that district remain outstanding and either of the following are
true:

(1)
The legislative authority finds there has been misappropriation of
funds from, or other malfeasance relating to, the district;

(2)
The legislative authority finds there has been a violation of law in
connection with the management of the district.

(B)
During each of the district management association's fiscal years a
tourism promotion district operates, excluding the first two years, a
majority of lodging business owners subject to the benefit assessment
may request, in writing, that the authorizing legislative authority
dissolve the tourism promotion district pursuant to and subject to
the requirements of division (A) of this section. A request for
dissolution from lodging business owners shall be submitted during a
thirty-day period beginning on the first day of the district
management association's fiscal year.

Upon
receipt of a written request submitted pursuant to division (B) of
this section, the authorizing legislative authority shall adopt an
ordinance or resolution stating that it has received a valid request
to dissolve the tourism promotion district and it intends to consider
the dissolution at a public hearing. The ordinance or resolution
shall state the reason for the potential dissolution, the time and
place of the public hearing, and a proposal to dispose of any assets
acquired with the revenues of the benefit assessments levied within
the tourism promotion district.

The
notice of the hearing on dissolution required by this division shall
be sent by the clerk of the legislative authority to each lodging
business owner subject to benefit assessments in the tourism
promotion district by ordinary mail. The legislative authority shall
conduct the public hearing not less than thirty days after mailing
the notice to the lodging business owners but not more than sixty
days after the adoption of the ordinance or resolution stating that
it intends to consider dissolution. After the public hearing, the
authorizing legislative authority may adopt an ordinance or
resolution dissolving the district.

(C)
Upon the dissolution or expiration, without renewal, of a tourism
promotion district, any remaining revenues, after all outstanding
debts are paid, derived from the levy of benefit assessments or
derived from the sale of assets acquired with the revenues, shall be
spent in accordance with the tourism promotion district plan or shall
be refunded to the owners of the lodging businesses in proportion to
the district's benefit assessment remitted by each owner in the
fiscal year in which the district dissolves or expires.