A legislative package comprising three bills was introduced in the Florida Senate on Tuesday, seeking to recalibrate the allocation of the state’s Tourist Development Tax (TDT) and reducing mandatory expenditures on tourism advertising while broadening its applicability to public infrastructure.
Sponsored by Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith, the measures would grant local governments greater discretion over TDT revenues, allowing them to address infrastructure needs in high-tourism areas. Under existing law, counties must allocate at least 40% of their TDT revenue to destination marketing before utilizing the tax for public transit projects. Senate Bill 1114 (SB 1114) proposes capping this requirement at the lesser of 40% or $50 million, thereby easing restrictions on how counties deploy these funds.
“It’s time to modernize the way we think about Tourist Development Taxes,” Smith said in a statement. “Tourism is a cornerstone of Florida’s economy, and we must ensure that taxpayer-funded TDT dollars are working efficiently to address tourism-related community needs like workforce housing and public safety. This bill gives local governments the flexibility to address those community needs while continuing to support our tourism industry.”
Senate Bill 1116 (SB 1116) would authorize TDT funds to be used for public safety improvements and workforce housing by directing revenue toward law enforcement, emergency services, and crime prevention in tourism-heavy areas.
Another proposal, Senate Bill 1110 (SB 1110), introduces greater oversight of publicly funded destination marketing organizations, such as Visit Orlando, by mandating a one-to-one match between public contributions and private sector funding. The legislation aligns these organizations with the financial accountability standards already applied to Visit Florida, the state’s official tourism marketing entity, with the intent of ensuring efficiency and fiscal responsibility in taxpayer-supported tourism promotion.
Provisions of the Legislative Package
- SB 1110: Introduces stricter oversight for publicly funded destination marketing organizations by requiring a one-to-one public-private funding match, ensuring fiscal accountability and efficiency. This measure seeks to reduce reliance on taxpayer funds for tourism promotion by encouraging greater private sector investment in marketing efforts, aligning financial responsibility between public and private stakeholders.
- SB 1114: Caps mandatory tourism advertising expenditures at the lesser of 40% or $50 million, granting counties more flexibility in allocating TDT revenues to public infrastructure and transit projects. This change allows funds to be redirected toward improvements such as expanding public transportation networks, repairing roads, and enhancing tourism-related infrastructure without increasing tax burdens.
- SB 1116: Expands permissible uses of TDT funds to include public safety improvements and the development of workforce and affordable housing. The bill enables funding for law enforcement, emergency services, and crime prevention initiatives in high-tourism areas, while also supporting housing projects aimed at accommodating hospitality and service industry workers near their places of employment.
Florida law currently permits TDT revenue to be used for tourism-centered transit projects, though criticism levied by Smith contends that advertising expenditure requirements inhibit counties from making substantive investments in infrastructure.
“In my home county of Orange, this 6% bed tax on overnight hotel stays generates upwards of $350 million dollars annually. Florida law currently authorizes the use of hotel taxes for tourism-related public transit, but with one major caveat— mandatory government spending of no less than 40% of annual TDT collections on tourism advertising. In Orange County, that equates to approximately $140 million in annual taxpayer spending via Visit Orlando for corporate ads,” Smith stated.
“SB 1114 amends this Florida law to limit mandatory TDT spending on tourism advertising to $50 million, providing counties, like Orange, with the immediate flexibility to invest TDT dollars in public transit. This simple change to state statute creates an additional funding source to connect the Sunrail train to the Orlando International Airport and can help Central Florida realize its full tourism potential… all without raising taxes a single penny.”
If ratified, the trio of bills would be enacted on July 1.
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