Tourism Taxes Amendments

5
17-78-704
51-2a-401
0
Tourism Taxes Amendments
2026 GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Bridger Bolinder
Senate Sponsor: Brady Brammer
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill addresses reporting requirements for tourism-related taxes.
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
includes the the state auditor in the analysis conducted by the Office of the Legislative
Fiscal Analyst to determine by consensus whether county expenditure reports
sufficiently demonstrate compliance with the expenditure requirements for revenue
generated by a transient room tax (TRT) or a tourism, recreation, cultural, convention,
and airport facilities tax (TRCC);
authorizes the state auditor to audit expenditures reported by counties as part of the
analysis for county expenditure reports;
clarifies the state auditor's authority to prohibit counties from accessing revenue
generated by a TRT or TRCC if the state auditor and the Office of the Legislative Fiscal
Analyst determine a county's expenditure report does not sufficiently demonstrate
compliance with the expenditure requirements; and
makes technical and conforming changes.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
None
Utah Code Sections Affected:
AMENDS:
17-78-704
, as renumbered and amended by Laws of Utah 2025, First Special Session,
Chapter 14
51-2a-401
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2025, First Special Session, Chapter 16
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section
17-78-704
is amended to read:
17-78-704
. Report by county legislative body -- Content -- Analysis,
determination, and summary by state auditor and Office of the Legislative Fiscal Analyst.
(1)
The legislative body of each county that imposes a transient room tax under Section
59-12-301
or a tourism, recreation, cultural, convention, and airport facilities tax under
Section
59-12-603
shall:
(a)
ensure that the annual financial report required by Section
17-63-603
includes a
breakdown of expenditures:
(i)
for revenue generated by the transient room tax, according to the allowable
expenditure categories described in Subsection
17-78-702(2)
; and
(ii)
for revenue generated by the tourism, recreation, cultural, convention, and airport
facilities tax, according to the allowable expenditure categories described in
Sections
59-12-602
and
59-12-603
; and
(b)
prepare annually a written report in accordance with Subsection
(2)
.
(2)
(a)
For the transient room tax, the written report described in Subsection
(1)(b)
shall
include:
(i)
a breakdown of promotion expenditures;
(ii)
if the county caused revenue generated by the transient room tax to be expended
by a municipality within the county, as described in Subsection
17-78-702(8)
, a
description:
(A)
of each interlocal agreement the county entered into with a municipality; and
(B)
the amount of revenue the county shared with a municipality in accordance
with an interlocal agreement;
(iii)
the number of search and rescue efforts conducted by the county in the previous
fiscal year;
(iv)
the total cost of search and rescue efforts and emergency medical services that
were related to tourism or recreation within the eligible county in the previous
fiscal year;
(v)
a description of any factors that made a search and rescue effort or emergency
medical service more expensive or difficult, including the condition of roads
within the county;
(vi)
what money, if any, the county was able to recover in the previous fiscal year
from an individual on whose behalf the county incurred the cost of search and
rescue or emergency medical services; and
(vii)
(A)
data on the percentages of individuals on whose behalf the county
incurred the cost of search and rescue or emergency medical services who were
in-state visitors to the county, out-of-state visitors to the county, or residents of
the county; and
(B)
if data described in Subsection
(2)(a)(vii)(A)
is unavailable regarding an
individual on whose behalf the county incurred the cost of search and rescue or
emergency medical services, the number of individuals whose data described
in Subsection
(2)(a)(vii)(A)
is unavailable.
(b)
A county legislative body preparing a report required under this section shall utilize
the form created by the state auditor under Section
17E-2-406
.
(3)
On or before October 1, the county legislative body shall provide a copy of the annual
written report described in Subsection
(1)(b)
for the previous fiscal year to the state
auditor and the Office of the Legislative Fiscal Analyst.
(4)
(a)
On or before December 1 of each year, the
state auditor and the
Office of the
Legislative Fiscal Analyst shall:
(i)
analyze each written report received under Subsection
(3)
to determine
, by
consensus,
if the information in the report sufficiently demonstrates that the
county is expending revenue in accordance with the requirements of Sections
17-78-702
,
59-12-301
, and
59-12-603
; and
(ii)
provide a summary of the analysis and determination described in Subsection
(4)(a)(i)
to:
(A)
the Revenue and Taxation Interim Committee;
and
(B)
the Political Subdivisions Interim Committee
; and
.
(C)
the state auditor.
(b)
(i)
The state auditor may perform an audit of expenditures reported by counties
under this section to assist in the analysis and determination required by
Subsection
(4)(a)(i)
.
(ii)
If the state auditor performs an audit of county expenditures under this Subsection
(4)(b)
, the state auditor shall include a report on the state auditor's audit findings
with the summary described in Subsection
(4)(a)(ii)
.
(b)
(c)
If the
state auditor and the
Office of the Legislative Fiscal Analyst
determines
determine by consensus under Subsection
(4)(a)(i)
that
a county written report does
not sufficiently demonstrate that a county is expending revenue in accordance with
the requirements of Sections
17-78-702
,
59-12-301
, and
59-12-603
, the
state auditor
and the
Office of the Legislative Fiscal Analyst shall include a copy of the county's
written report with the summary described in Subsection
(4)(a)(ii)
to the entities
described in Subsections
(4)(a)(ii)(A)
through
(C)
.
Section 2. Section
51-2a-401
is amended to read:
51-2a-401
. Prohibiting access to and withholding funds from an entity that does
not comply with reporting requirements.
(1)
If a political subdivision, interlocal organization, or other local entity does not comply
with the accounting report requirements of Section
51-2a-201
, the state auditor may:
(a)
withhold allocated state funds to pay the cost of the accounting report, in accordance
with Subsection
(2)
; or
(b)
prohibit financial access, in accordance with Subsection
(3)
.
(2)
(a)
If the state auditor does not prohibit financial access in accordance with
Subsection
(3)
, the state auditor may withhold allocated state funds sufficient to pay
the cost of the accounting report from any local entity described in Subsection
(1)
.
(b)
If no allocated state funds are available for withholding, the local entity shall
reimburse the state auditor for any cost incurred in completing the accounting reports
required under Section
51-2a-402
.
(c)
The state auditor shall release the withheld funds if the local entity meets the
accounting report requirements either voluntarily or by action under Section
51-2a-402
.
(3)
(a)
If the state auditor does not withhold funds in accordance with Subsection
(2)
, the
state auditor may prohibit any local entity described in Subsection
(1)
from accessing:
(i)
money held by the state; and
(ii)
money held in an account of a financial institution by:
(A)
contacting the entity's financial institution and requesting that the institution
prohibit access to the account; or
(B)
filing an action in a court with jurisdiction under
Title 78A, Judiciary and
Judicial Administration
, requesting an order of the court to prohibit a financial
institution from providing the entity access to the account.
(b)
The state auditor shall remove the prohibition on accessing funds described in
Subsection
(3)(a)
if the local entity meets the accounting report requirements either
voluntarily or by action under Section
51-2a-402
.
(4)
The state auditor may take the action described in Subsection
(3)
in regard to revenue
generated by a county's imposition of a transient room tax under Section
59-12-301
or a
tourism, recreation, cultural, convention, and airport facilities tax under Section
59-12-603
if, after completing the analysis and determination required by Subsection
17-78-704(4)(a)(i)
, the state auditor and the Office of the Legislative Fiscal Analyst
determine by consensus that the county's written report does not sufficiently demonstrate
that the county is expending revenue in accordance with the requirements of Sections
17-78-702
,
59-12-301
, and
59-12-603
.
(4)
After receiving a report from the Office of Legislative Fiscal Analyst under Section
17-78-704
indicating that a county is not expending revenue in accordance with the
requirements of Sections
17-78-702
,
59-12-301
, and
59-12-603
, the state auditor:
(a)
shall make an independent finding about the county's written report described in
Section
17-78-704
; and
(b)
if the state auditor confirms the determination of the Office of Legislative Fiscal
Analyst, may take the action described in Subsection
(3)
in regard to revenue
generated by the county's imposition of a transient room tax under Section
59-12-301

or the imposition of a tourism, recreation, cultural, convention, and airport facilities
tax under Section
59-12-603
.
Section 3.
Effective Date.
This bill takes effect on
May 6, 2026
.
2-23-26 1:49 PM