Hancock County; provide that the Hancock County Tourism Development Bureau shall be held inactive with its activities held in abeyance.

This bill places the Hancock County Tourism Development Bureau on hold due to financial constraints, suspending all its activities until the county board of supervisors decides to reactivate it. The legislation amends existing state law to allow the county to potentially impose a new tourism tax on hotels, motels, and similar lodging establishments that rent rooms to transient guests for 90 days or less. If the county board chooses to implement the tax, it would be capped at 2% of gross room rental proceeds, excluding complimentary services and non-taxable rooms. The bill includes a public notice requirement and a protest mechanism where 20% of qualified voters or 1,500 signatures can trigger a vote on whether to proceed with the tax.