Transient Room Tax Amendments

Added new definitions for 'Board' (Outdoor Recreation Mitigation Board), 'Visitor-related emergency costs', and 'Visitor-related safety costs' to clarify what expenses the new grant program covers.

Created a new five-member Outdoor Recreation Mitigation Board to oversee the grant program, including representatives from tourism, counties, and law enforcement.

Expanded eligibility for the Outdoor Recreation Mitigation Grant Program to include third-class counties, whereas it previously only applied to fourth, fifth, and sixth-class counties.

Added new reporting requirements for counties, including data on visitor demographics (in-state vs. out-of-state) for search and rescue and emergency medical services incidents.

Modified the revenue distribution for the secondary short-term rental tax rate to explicitly include deposits into the Long-term Capital Projects Fund alongside the Outdoor Recreation Mitigation Grant Fund and counties.

Established specific effective dates: July 1, 2025 for most provisions, and January 1, 2026 for changes to short-term rental tax definitions and revenue distribution.

Corrected a threshold in Section 79-9-201 from '$2 million' to '$1 million' for counties that must spend a minimum percentage of tax revenue on promotion purposes.

Increased maximum county transient room tax rate from 4.25% to 4.5% for second through sixth class counties, effective July 1, 2025.

Created new Outdoor Recreation Mitigation Grant Fund to provide financial assistance to eligible counties for visitor-related emergency costs and safety costs.

Imposed additional 0.25% state tax on short-term rentals within first class counties, with revenue directed to the Transient Room Tax Fund.

Enhanced county reporting requirements to include detailed breakdowns of transient room tax expenditures, search and rescue efforts, and emergency medical service costs related to tourism.

Required state auditor to review county reports and determine compliance with expenditure authorizations, with authority to notify relevant committees of non-compliance.

Established eligibility criteria for counties to receive mitigation grants, requiring counties to be third through sixth class, impose maximum tax rates, and generate less than $10 million in annual tax revenue.

Created new definitions for 'visitor-related emergency costs' and 'visitor-related safety costs' to clarify what expenses qualify for grant funding.

Extended sunset date for Volunteer Emergency Medical Service Personnel Health Insurance Program and modified several other sunset dates throughout the bill.

Authorized counties to enter interlocal agreements with municipalities to share transient room tax revenue, expanding how counties can distribute tax funds.

Increased the maximum county transient room tax rate from 4.25% to 4.5% for counties of the second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth class beginning July 1, 2025.

Created a new Outdoor Recreation Mitigation Grant Fund to provide financial assistance to eligible counties for visitor-related emergency costs and safety costs.

Added new reporting requirements for counties, including detailed breakdowns of transient room tax expenditures and search and rescue/emergency medical service data.

Established eligibility criteria for the new grant program, requiring counties to be of the third, fourth, fifth, or sixth class, impose the maximum allowable tax rate, and generate less than $10 million in transient room tax revenue.

Added new definitions for 'Visitor-related emergency costs' and 'Visitor-related safety costs' to clarify what expenses the grant program can fund.

Extended the sunset date for the Volunteer Emergency Medical Service Personnel Health Insurance Program and modified several other sunset dates throughout the bill.

Required the State Auditor to review county reports on transient room tax compliance and determine if reports are sufficient and compliant.

Increased the maximum county transient room tax rate from 4.25% to 4.5% for short-term rentals of tourist accommodations.

Created a new Outdoor Recreation Mitigation Grant Fund to provide financial assistance to counties for visitor-related emergency costs and safety issues caused by tourism, recreation, or conventions.

Established a new Outdoor Recreation Mitigation Board with five members to oversee the grant program and advise on mitigation strategies.

Enhanced reporting requirements for counties, requiring detailed breakdowns of transient room tax expenditures and search and rescue/emergency medical service data related to tourism.

Extended the sunset date on the Volunteer Emergency Medical Service Personnel Health Insurance Program from July 1, 2027 to July 1, 2030.

Created eligibility criteria for counties to receive outdoor recreation mitigation grants, including requirements for counties of the third, fourth, fifth, or sixth class that impose maximum tax rates and generate less than $10 million in transient room tax revenue.

Made technical corrections to section numbering and formatting throughout the bill.

Increased the maximum county transient room tax rate from 4.25% to 4.5%, effective July 1, 2025

Created a new Outdoor Recreation Mitigation Grant Fund to provide financial assistance to counties for visitor-related emergency costs and safety issues

Requires the state auditor to review county reports on transient room tax to ensure compliance with expenditure requirements

Extended the sunset date on the Volunteer Emergency Medical Service Personnel Health Insurance Program from January 1, 2027 to January 1, 2030

Added new reporting requirements for counties, including detailed breakdowns of how transient room tax revenue is spent and data on search and rescue efforts

Created an Outdoor Recreation Mitigation Board with representatives from counties, sheriffs, emergency medical services, and tourism industry

Established eligibility criteria for counties to receive outdoor recreation mitigation grants, including population size and revenue thresholds

Updated definitions of 'establishing and promoting' and 'mitigation' to include broader activities related to tourism and recreation impacts

Increased the maximum county transient room tax rate from 4.25% to 4.5%, with the new rate effective July 1, 2025.

Created a new Outdoor Recreation Mitigation Grant Fund and program to provide financial assistance to counties for visitor-related emergency costs and safety costs.

Requires the State Auditor to review county reports on transient room tax and determine if they are sufficient and compliant with expenditure requirements.

Enhanced reporting requirements for counties, including detailed breakdowns of expenditures and data on search and rescue efforts and emergency medical services related to tourism.

Established criteria for counties to receive outdoor recreation mitigation grants, prioritizing counties with smaller populations and those with greater need for emergency services support.

Added new definitions for 'visitor-related emergency costs' and 'visitor-related safety costs' to clarify what expenses qualify for grant funding.

Authorized counties to enter into interlocal agreements with municipalities within the county to share transient room tax revenue.

Extended the sunset date on the Volunteer Emergency Medical Service Personnel Health Insurance Program and modified sunset dates for various advisory boards.

Increased the maximum county transient room tax rate from 4.25% to 4.5% effective July 1, 2025.

Created the Outdoor Recreation Mitigation Grant Fund to provide financial assistance to counties struggling with visitor-related emergency costs and safety issues.

Directed the State Tax Commission to deposit secondary rate tax revenue into both the Outdoor Recreation Mitigation Grant Fund and the Long-term Capital Projects Fund.

Added 'film production' as an eligible purpose for transient room tax revenue expenditures.

Created eligibility criteria for counties to receive grants, including population size and revenue thresholds.

Required counties to provide detailed annual reports on transient room tax expenditures, including breakdowns of promotion efforts and search and rescue costs.

Established an Outdoor Recreation Mitigation Board with representatives from counties, sheriffs, rural EMS, and the tourism industry.

Required the state auditor to review county reports and determine compliance with expenditure authorizations.

Extended the sunset date on the Volunteer Emergency Medical Service Personnel Health Insurance Program.

Added new definitions for 'visitor-related emergency costs' and 'visitor-related safety costs' to clarify grant eligibility.

Increased the maximum county transient room tax rate from 4% to 4.25%

Created a new Outdoor Recreation Mitigation Grant Fund to receive state tax revenue and provide grants to eligible counties

Modified state tax rate distribution to direct secondary rate revenue to the new Outdoor Recreation Mitigation Grant Fund and Long-term Capital Projects Fund

Requires counties to share revenue with municipalities through interlocal agreements under certain conditions

Enhanced reporting requirements for counties, including detailed breakdowns of expenditures and visitor-related emergency cost data

Requires state auditor to review county reports and determine compliance with expenditure authorizations

Establishes new criteria for counties to receive mitigation grants based on visitor-related emergency costs and safety issues

Updated definitions of tourism, mitigation, and eligible towns to clarify how counties can use tax revenue

Set special effective dates with some provisions taking effect July 1, 2025 and others January 1, 2026