Tourism promotion

AN ACT Relating to sustainable state tourism promotion; amending 1
RCW 43.384.030; creating new sections; and providing an expiration 2
date. 3
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:4
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that the tourism 5
industry is the fourth largest economic sector in the state, 6
generating approximately $23.9 billion in annual revenue and 7
employing more than 230,000 direct and induced jobs. Industry data 8
estimates that every dollar a tourist spends generates $1.36 in 9
additional economic impact. In 2018, the legislature created a state-10
funded tourism marketing program. During the 2023-2025 fiscal 11
biennium, the Washington tourism marketing authority was funded with 12
$4,500,000 per fiscal year. This is significantly less than 13
competitive states. The Washington tourism marketing authority 14
contracts with state of Washington tourism to implement the state 15
tourism program, the results of which have been documented to draw 16
$29 in visitor expenditures for every $1 invested and $3 in state and 17
local tax revenue for every $1 invested.18
Therefore, the legislature intends to solicit recommendations to 19
evaluate an industry self-supported assessment to ensure a dedicated 20
S-0775.1
SENATE BILL 5492
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Senators Riccelli, Chapman, Cleveland, Dozier, Goehner, Harris,
Krishnadasan, and C. Wilson
Read first time 01/24/25. Referred to Committee on Business,
Financial Services & Trade.
p. 1 SB 5492
and sustainable funding mechanism for statewide tourism promotion and 1
management. 2
Sec. 2. RCW 43.384.030 and 2018 c 275 s 4 are each amended to 3
read as follows: 4
(1) The authority must be governed by a board of directors. The 5
board of directors must consist of: 6
(a) Two members and two alternates from the house of 7
representatives, with one member and one alternate appointed from 8
each of the two major caucuses of the house of representatives by the 9
speaker of the house of representatives; 10
(b) Two members and two alternates from the senate, with one 11
member and one alternate appointed from each of the two major 12
caucuses of the senate by the president of the senate; and13
(c) Nine representatives with expertise in the tourism industry 14
and related businesses including, but not limited to, hotel, 15
restaurant, outdoor recreation, attractions, retail, and rental car 16
businesses appointed by the governor. 17
(((2) The initial membership of the authority must be appointed 18
as follows:19
(a) By May 1, 2018, the speaker of the house of representatives 20
and the president of the senate must each submit to the governor a 21
list of ten nominees who are not legislators or employees of the 22
state or its political subdivisions, with no caucus submitting the 23
same nominee;24
(b) The nominations from the speaker of the house of 25
representatives must include at least one representative from the 26
restaurant industry; one representative from the rental car industry; 27
and one representative from the retail industry;28
(c) The nominations from the president of the senate must include 29
at least one representative from the hotel industry; one 30
representative from the attractions industry; and one representative 31
from the outdoor recreation industry; and32
(d) The remaining member appointed by the governor must have a 33
demonstrated expertise in the tourism industry.34
(3) By July 1, 2018, the governor must appoint four members from 35
each list submitted by the speaker of the house of representatives 36
and the president of the senate under subsection (2)(a) through (c) 37
of this section and one member under subsection (2)(d) of this 38
section.)) Appointments by the governor must reflect diversity in 39
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geography, size of business, gender, and ethnicity. No county may 1
have more than two appointments and no city may have more than one 2
appointment. 3
(((4))) (2) There must be a nonvoting advisory committee to the 4
board. The advisory committee must consist of: 5
(a) One ex officio representative from the department, state 6
parks and recreation commission, department of transportation, and 7
other state agencies as the authority deems appropriate; and8
(b) One member from a federally recognized Indian tribe appointed 9
by the director of the department. 10
(((5) The initial appointments under subsections (1) and (2) of 11
this section must be appointed by the governor to terms as follows: 12
Four members for two-year terms; four members for three-year terms; 13
and five members for four-year terms, which must include the chair. 14
After the initial appointments, all )) (3) All appointments must be 15
for four years. 16
(((6))) (4) The board must select from its membership the chair 17
of the board and such other officers as it deems appropriate. The 18
chair of the board must be a member from the tourism industry or 19
related businesses. 20
(((7))) (5) A majority of the board constitutes a quorum.21
(((8))) (6) The board must create its own bylaws in accordance 22
with the laws of the state of Washington. 23
(((9))) (7) Any member of the board may be removed for 24
misfeasance, malfeasance, or willful neglect of duty after notice and 25
a public hearing, unless the notice and hearing are expressly waived 26
in writing by the affected member. 27
(((10))) (8) If a vacancy occurs on the board, a replacement must 28
be appointed for the unexpired term. 29
(((11))) (9) The members of the board serve without compensation 30
but are entitled to reimbursement, solely from the funds of the 31
authority, for expenses incurred in the discharge of their duties.32
(((12))) (10) The board must meet at least quarterly.33
(((13))) (11) No board member of the authority may serve on the 34
board of an organization that could be considered for a contract 35
authorized under RCW 43.384.050. 36
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. (1) The board of directors of the tourism 37
marketing authority must appoint a tourism self-supported assessment 38
advisory group. The advisory group must evaluate the viability of an 39
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industry self-supported assessment to fund statewide tourism 1
promotion and recommend procedures to establish the self-supported 2
assessment. 3
(2) The tourism self-supported assessment advisory group must 4
consist of at least eight members that represent sectors of the 5
tourism industry that may be considered for the self-supported 6
assessment, including: 7
(a) Two members representing the lodging sector;8
(b) One member representing the beverage sector;9
(c) One member representing the arts and culture sector;10
(d) One member representing the tour operators sector;11
(e) One member representing the attractions sector;12
(f) One member representing the transportation sector; and13
(g) One member representing a statewide Washington tourism 14
promotion nonprofit. 15
(3) The tourism self-supported assessment advisory group must 16
make recommendations for the following: 17
(a) The classification of businesses proposed to be included in 18
the self-supported assessment; 19
(b) The self-supported assessment methodology including the 20
petition process for businesses to approve the self-supported 21
assessment; 22
(c) The rate of self-supported assessment for each business 23
classification; 24
(d) The characteristics of a business within a classification 25
that will benefit from the self-supported assessment;26
(e) The time period or duration of the self-supported assessment; 27
and 28
(f) The establishment of an oversight board for ratepayers 29
representing businesses by self-supported assessments.30
(4) The tourism self-supported assessment advisory group must 31
submit its recommendations in writing to the legislature by November 32
1, 2025. 33
(5) This section expires June 1, 2026. 34
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