13995.65. (a) Each industry category shall establish a committee to
determine the following within its industry category: industry
segments, assessment formula for each industry segment, and any types
of business exempt from assessment. The initial segment committees
shall consist of the subcommittee for that category as described in
subdivision (d) of Section 13995.30. Following approval of the
assessment by referendum, the committees shall be selected by the
commission, based upon recommendations from the tourism industry.
Committee members need not be commission members.
(b) The committee recommendations shall be presented to the
commission or selection committee, as applicable. The selection
committee may adopt a resolution specifying some or all of the items
listed in subdivision (a), plus an allocation of the overall
assessment among industry categories. The commission may adopt a
resolution specifying one or more of the items listed in subdivision
(a), plus an allocation of the proposed assessment. The selection
committee and commission are not required to adopt the findings of
any committee.
(c) The initial industry category and industry segment allocations
shall be included in the selection committee report required by
subdivision (b) of Section 13995.30. Changes to the industry segment
allocation formula may be recommended to the commission by a segment
committee at the biennial commission meeting scheduled to approve the
referendum resolution pursuant to Section 13995.60. At the same
meeting, the commission may amend the percentage allocations among
industry categories. Any item discussed in this section that is
approved by resolution of the commission, except amendments to the
percentage allocations among industry categories, shall be placed on
the next referendum, and adopted if approved by the majority of
weighted votes cast.
(d) Upon approval by referendum, the office shall mail an
assessment bill to each assessed business. The secretary shall
determine how often assessments are collected, based upon available
staffing resources. The secretary may stagger the assessment
collection throughout the year, and charge businesses a prorated
amount of assessment because of the staggered assessment period. The
secretary and office shall not divulge the amount of assessment or
weighted votes of any assessed businesses, except as part of an
assessment action.
(e) An assessed business may appeal an assessment to the secretary
based upon the fact that the business does not meet the definition
established for an assessed business within its industry segment or
that the level of assessment is incorrect. An appeal brought under
this subdivision shall be supported by substantial evidence submitted
under penalty of perjury by affidavit or declaration as provided in
Section 2015.5 of the Code of Civil Procedure. If the error is based
upon failure of the business to provide the required information in a
timely manner, the secretary may impose a fee for reasonable costs
incurred by the secretary in correcting the assessment against the
business as a condition of correcting the assessment.
(f) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an assessed
business may pass on some or all of the assessment to customers. An
assessed business that is passing on the assessment may, but shall
not be required to, separately identify or itemize the assessment on
any document provided to a customer. Assessments levied pursuant to
this chapter and passed on to customers are not part of gross
receipts or gross revenue for any purpose, including the calculation
of sales or use tax and income pursuant to any lease. However,
assessments that are passed on to customers shall be included in
gross receipts for purposes of income and franchise taxes.
(g) For purposes of calculating the assessment for a business with
revenue in more than one industry category or industry segment, that
business may elect to be assessed based on either of the following:
(1) The assessment methodology and rate of assessment applicable
to each category or segment, respectively, as it relates to the
revenue that it derives from that category or segment.
(2) With respect to its total revenue from all industry categories
or segments, the assessment methodology and rate of assessment
applicable to the revenue in the category and segment in which it
earns the most gross revenue.
(h) (1) A person sharing common ownership, management, or control
of more than one assessed business may elect to calculate,
administer, and pay the assessment owed by each business by any of
the following methods:
(A) Calculated on the basis of each individual business location.
(B) Calculated on the basis of each business, or each group of
businesses, possessing a single federal employer identification
number, regardless of the number of locations involved.
(C) Calculated on the basis of the average aggregate percentage of
tourism-related gross revenue received by all of the person's
businesses in a particular industry segment or industry category
during the period in question, multiplied by the total aggregate
tourism-related gross revenue received by all of the businesses, and
then multiplied by the appropriate assessment formula. For example,
if a person sharing common ownership, management, or control of more
than one assessed business in the retail industry segment calculates
that the average percentage of tourism-related gross revenue received
by all of its locations equals 6 percent during the period in
question, that person may multiply all of the gross revenue received
from all of those locations by 6 percent, and then multiply that
product by the applicable assessment formula.
(D) Calculated on any other basis authorized by the secretary.
(2) Except as the secretary may otherwise authorize, the methods
in subparagraphs (B), (C), or (D) shall not be used if the aggregate
assessments paid would be less than the total assessment revenues
that would be paid if the method in subparagraph (A) were used.
13995.65.5. (a) Notwithstanding Section 13995.65 or any other
provision of this chapter, for purposes of calculating the assessment
for a business within the passenger car rental category, the
assessment shall be collected only on each rental transaction that
commences at either an airport or at a hotel or other overnight
lodging with respect to which a city, city and county, or county is
authorized to levy a tax as described in Section 7280 of the Revenue
and Taxation Code. A transaction commencing at an airport or hotel or
other overnight lodging subject to a transient occupancy tax as
described in Section 7280 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, including
those that commence at a location that might otherwise by regulation
be exempt from assessment, shall be subject to the assessment. The
assessment shall always be expressed as a fixed percentage of the
amount of the rental transaction.
(b) This section shall become operative only if the Secretary of
Business, Transportation and Housing provides notice to the
Legislature and the Secretary of State and posts notice on its
Internet Web site that the conditions described in Section 13995.92
have been satisfied.
13995.66. The initial assessment level shall be the amount that the
selection committee recommends in its report to the Governor
pursuant to Section 13995.30, which may be less than twenty-five
million dollars ($25,000,000). This assessment level is a target, and
shall serve as the basis for setting application of the assessment
formulae, but the actual amount of collected assessments may be more
or less than the assessment level.
13995.67. Assessments may be used in furtherance of the purposes
set forth in Section 13995.41, or to fund the costs pursuant to
Section 13995.57. Assessments may be used to fund these costs
regardless of whether the work was performed by the office or
commission.
13995.68. (a) The secretary shall establish a list of businesses to
be assessed and the amount of assessment owed by each. The secretary
shall collect the assessment from all assessed businesses, and in
collecting the assessment the secretary may exercise the police
powers and bring enforcement actions.
(b) Funds collected by the secretary shall be deposited into the
account of the commission. This account shall not be an account of
the state government.
(c) Any costs relating to the collection of assessments incurred
by the state shall be reimbursed by the commission.
13995.69. (a) The office shall develop a list of California
businesses within each segment included within the report required by
subdivision (b) of Section 13995.30, periodically updated. Other
state agencies shall assist the office in obtaining the names and
addresses of these businesses.
(b) The office shall mail to each business identified pursuant to
subdivision (a) a form requesting information necessary to determine
the assessment for that business. Any business failing to provide
this information in a timely manner shall be assessed an amount
determined by the secretary to represent the upper assessment level
for that segment.
(c) The office, in consultation with the commission, shall
establish by regulation the procedure for assessment collection.
13995.70. (a) Funding for the commission is a cooperative venture.
Because of the benefits that accrue to the state and to its residents
by virtue of having the travel and tourism industry participate
cooperatively with the state for the purpose of effectively marketing
travel and tourism to and within the state, it is the intent of the
Legislature that the state shall be responsible for appropriating a
minimum of seven million three hundred thousand dollars ($7,300,000)
each fiscal year for travel and tourism, and the industry shall be
responsible for targeting the level of assessments for each fiscal
year at the amount determined to be appropriate by the commission and
approved by referendum. However, that assessment level shall
ultimately reach at least twenty-five million dollars ($25,000,000).
The industry may terminate the commission by referendum at any time,
including during the initial four years, if the state fails to
appropriate seven million three hundred thousand dollars ($7,300,000)
in any fiscal year, and the state may decide not to appropriate
funding in the event that the commission fails in any fiscal year to
target its annual assessment level at or above the level set for the
initial referendum. Termination of the commission by the industry
shall require an adopted resolution of the commission to either
include this issue in a regularly scheduled referendum, or to call a
special referendum to decide the issue.
(b) The assessed funds shall be audited annually.
(c) The assessed funds shall be under the control of the
commission, which shall spend the funds consistent with commission
policies and the tourism marketing plan. The state shall have no
interest in the fund except the general state interest that the state
has in nonprofit corporations.
13995.71. Any assessment levied as provided in this chapter is a
personal debt of every person so assessed and shall be due and
payable to the secretary. If any assessed person fails to pay any
assessment, the secretary may file a complaint against the person in
a state court of competent jurisdiction for the collection of the
assessment.
13995.72. If any assessed business that is duly assessed pursuant
to this chapter fails to pay to the secretary the assessed amount by
the due date, the secretary may add to the unpaid assessment an
amount not to exceed 10 percent of the unpaid assessment to defray
the cost of enforcing the collection of the unpaid assessment. In
addition to payment for the cost of enforcing a collection, the
assessed business shall pay to the secretary a penalty equivalent to
the lesser of either the maximum amount authorized by Section 1 of
Article XV of the California Constitution or 5 percent for each 30
days the assessment is unpaid, prorated over the days unpaid,
commencing 30 days after the notice has been given to the assessed
business of his or her failure to pay the assessment on the date
required, unless the secretary determines, to his or her
satisfaction, that the failure to pay is due to reasonable cause
beyond the control of the assessed business.
13995.73. The secretary may require assessed businesses to deposit
with him or her in advance the following amounts:
(a) An amount for necessary expenses.
(b) An amount that shall not exceed 25 percent of the assessment
to cover costs that are incurred prior to the receipt of sufficient
funds from the assessment.
(c) The amount of any deposit that is required by the secretary
shall be based upon the estimated assessment for the assessed
business.
13995.74. In lieu of requiring advance deposits pursuant to Section
13995.73, or in order generally to provide funds for defraying
administrative expenses or the expenses of implementing the tourism
marketing plan until the time that sufficient moneys are collected
for this purpose from the payment of the assessments that are
established pursuant to this chapter, the secretary may receive and
disburse for the express purposes contributions that are made by
assessed businesses. If, however, collections from the payment of
established assessments are sufficient to so warrant, the secretary
shall authorize the repayment of contributions, or authorize the
application of the contributions to the assessment obligations of
persons that made the contributions.
13995.75. Upon termination of the commission, any remaining funds
that are not required by the secretary to defray commission expenses
shall be returned by the secretary upon a pro rata basis, to all
persons from whom the assessments were collected unless the secretary
finds that the amounts to be returned are so small as to make
impractical the computation and remitting of the pro rata refund to
the appropriate persons. If the secretary makes a finding that
returning the remaining funds would be impractical, he or she may use
the moneys in the fund to defray the costs of the office.
13995.76. Any check or warrant that is drawn against the funds of
the commission that remains unclaimed or uncashed for a period of six
months from the date of issuance shall be canceled and the money
retained for disbursement to the original payee or claimant upon
satisfactory identification for a period of one year from the time
the check or warrant is canceled. The money so retained, if not
claimed within the period of one year, shall be used for
administration of the commission, and in furtherance of the tourism
marketing plan.
13995.77. A business is exempt from the assessments provided for in
this chapter if any of the following apply:
(a) The business is a travel agency or tour operator that derives
less than 20 percent of its gross revenue annually from travel and
tourism occurring within the state. A travel agency or tour operator
that qualifies for this exemption may participate as an assessed
business by paying an assessment calculated on the same basis
applicable to other travel agencies or tour operators, respectively,
and by filing a written request with the secretary indicating its
desire to be categorized as an assessed business.
(b) The business is a small business. For purposes of this
section, "small business" means a business location with less than
one million dollars ($1,000,000) in total California gross annual
revenue from all sources. This threshold amount may be lowered, but
never to less than five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000), by means
of a referendum conducted pursuant to Section 13995.60; however, the
secretary may elect to forgo assessing a business for which the
expense incurred in collecting the assessment is not commensurate
with the assessment that would be collected.
(c) The assessments provided for in this chapter shall not apply
to the revenue of regular route intrastate and interstate bus
service: provided, however, that this subdivision shall not be deemed
to exclude any revenue derived from bus service that is of a type
that requires authority, whether in the form of a certificate of
public convenience and necessity, or a permit, to operate as a
charter-party carrier of passengers pursuant to Chapter 8 (commencing
with Section 5351) of Division 2 of the Public Utilities Code.
(d) Any business exempted pursuant to this section may enter into
a contract for voluntary assessments pursuant to Section 13995.49.
13995.65. (a) Each industry category shall establish a committee to
determine the following within its industry category: industry
segments, assessment formula for each industry segment, and any types
of business exempt from assessment. The initial segment committees
shall consist of the subcommittee for that category as described in
subdivision (d) of Section 13995.30. Following approval of the
assessment by referendum, the committees shall be selected by the
commission, based upon recommendations from the tourism industry.
Committee members need not be commission members.
(b) The committee recommendations shall be presented to the
commission or selection committee, as applicable. The selection
committee may adopt a resolution specifying some or all of the items
listed in subdivision (a), plus an allocation of the overall
assessment among industry categories. The commission may adopt a
resolution specifying one or more of the items listed in subdivision
(a), plus an allocation of the proposed assessment. The selection
committee and commission are not required to adopt the findings of
any committee.
(c) The initial industry category and industry segment allocations
shall be included in the selection committee report required by
subdivision (b) of Section 13995.30. Changes to the industry segment
allocation formula may be recommended to the commission by a segment
committee at the biennial commission meeting scheduled to approve the
referendum resolution pursuant to Section 13995.60. At the same
meeting, the commission may amend the percentage allocations among
industry categories. Any item discussed in this section that is
approved by resolution of the commission, except amendments to the
percentage allocations among industry categories, shall be placed on
the next referendum, and adopted if approved by the majority of
weighted votes cast.
(d) Upon approval by referendum, the office shall mail an
assessment bill to each assessed business. The secretary shall
determine how often assessments are collected, based upon available
staffing resources. The secretary may stagger the assessment
collection throughout the year, and charge businesses a prorated
amount of assessment because of the staggered assessment period. The
secretary and office shall not divulge the amount of assessment or
weighted votes of any assessed businesses, except as part of an
assessment action.
(e) An assessed business may appeal an assessment to the secretary
based upon the fact that the business does not meet the definition
established for an assessed business within its industry segment or
that the level of assessment is incorrect. An appeal brought under
this subdivision shall be supported by substantial evidence submitted
under penalty of perjury by affidavit or declaration as provided in
Section 2015.5 of the Code of Civil Procedure. If the error is based
upon failure of the business to provide the required information in a
timely manner, the secretary may impose a fee for reasonable costs
incurred by the secretary in correcting the assessment against the
business as a condition of correcting the assessment.
(f) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an assessed
business may pass on some or all of the assessment to customers. An
assessed business that is passing on the assessment may, but shall
not be required to, separately identify or itemize the assessment on
any document provided to a customer. Assessments levied pursuant to
this chapter and passed on to customers are not part of gross
receipts or gross revenue for any purpose, including the calculation
of sales or use tax and income pursuant to any lease. However,
assessments that are passed on to customers shall be included in
gross receipts for purposes of income and franchise taxes.
(g) For purposes of calculating the assessment for a business with
revenue in more than one industry category or industry segment, that
business may elect to be assessed based on either of the following:
(1) The assessment methodology and rate of assessment applicable
to each category or segment, respectively, as it relates to the
revenue that it derives from that category or segment.
(2) With respect to its total revenue from all industry categories
or segments, the assessment methodology and rate of assessment
applicable to the revenue in the category and segment in which it
earns the most gross revenue.
(h) (1) A person sharing common ownership, management, or control
of more than one assessed business may elect to calculate,
administer, and pay the assessment owed by each business by any of
the following methods:
(A) Calculated on the basis of each individual business location.
(B) Calculated on the basis of each business, or each group of
businesses, possessing a single federal employer identification
number, regardless of the number of locations involved.
(C) Calculated on the basis of the average aggregate percentage of
tourism-related gross revenue received by all of the person's
businesses in a particular industry segment or industry category
during the period in question, multiplied by the total aggregate
tourism-related gross revenue received by all of the businesses, and
then multiplied by the appropriate assessment formula. For example,
if a person sharing common ownership, management, or control of more
than one assessed business in the retail industry segment calculates
that the average percentage of tourism-related gross revenue received
by all of its locations equals 6 percent during the period in
question, that person may multiply all of the gross revenue received
from all of those locations by 6 percent, and then multiply that
product by the applicable assessment formula.
(D) Calculated on any other basis authorized by the secretary.
(2) Except as the secretary may otherwise authorize, the methods
in subparagraphs (B), (C), or (D) shall not be used if the aggregate
assessments paid would be less than the total assessment revenues
that would be paid if the method in subparagraph (A) were used.
13995.65.5. (a) Notwithstanding Section 13995.65 or any other
provision of this chapter, for purposes of calculating the assessment
for a business within the passenger car rental category, the
assessment shall be collected only on each rental transaction that
commences at either an airport or at a hotel or other overnight
lodging with respect to which a city, city and county, or county is
authorized to levy a tax as described in Section 7280 of the Revenue
and Taxation Code. A transaction commencing at an airport or hotel or
other overnight lodging subject to a transient occupancy tax as
described in Section 7280 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, including
those that commence at a location that might otherwise by regulation
be exempt from assessment, shall be subject to the assessment. The
assessment shall always be expressed as a fixed percentage of the
amount of the rental transaction.
(b) This section shall become operative only if the Secretary of
Business, Transportation and Housing provides notice to the
Legislature and the Secretary of State and posts notice on its
Internet Web site that the conditions described in Section 13995.92
have been satisfied.
13995.66. The initial assessment level shall be the amount that the
selection committee recommends in its report to the Governor
pursuant to Section 13995.30, which may be less than twenty-five
million dollars ($25,000,000). This assessment level is a target, and
shall serve as the basis for setting application of the assessment
formulae, but the actual amount of collected assessments may be more
or less than the assessment level.
13995.67. Assessments may be used in furtherance of the purposes
set forth in Section 13995.41, or to fund the costs pursuant to
Section 13995.57. Assessments may be used to fund these costs
regardless of whether the work was performed by the office or
commission.
13995.68. (a) The secretary shall establish a list of businesses to
be assessed and the amount of assessment owed by each. The secretary
shall collect the assessment from all assessed businesses, and in
collecting the assessment the secretary may exercise the police
powers and bring enforcement actions.
(b) Funds collected by the secretary shall be deposited into the
account of the commission. This account shall not be an account of
the state government.
(c) Any costs relating to the collection of assessments incurred
by the state shall be reimbursed by the commission.
13995.69. (a) The office shall develop a list of California
businesses within each segment included within the report required by
subdivision (b) of Section 13995.30, periodically updated. Other
state agencies shall assist the office in obtaining the names and
addresses of these businesses.
(b) The office shall mail to each business identified pursuant to
subdivision (a) a form requesting information necessary to determine
the assessment for that business. Any business failing to provide
this information in a timely manner shall be assessed an amount
determined by the secretary to represent the upper assessment level
for that segment.
(c) The office, in consultation with the commission, shall
establish by regulation the procedure for assessment collection.
13995.70. (a) Funding for the commission is a cooperative venture.
Because of the benefits that accrue to the state and to its residents
by virtue of having the travel and tourism industry participate
cooperatively with the state for the purpose of effectively marketing
travel and tourism to and within the state, it is the intent of the
Legislature that the state shall be responsible for appropriating a
minimum of seven million three hundred thousand dollars ($7,300,000)
each fiscal year for travel and tourism, and the industry shall be
responsible for targeting the level of assessments for each fiscal
year at the amount determined to be appropriate by the commission and
approved by referendum. However, that assessment level shall
ultimately reach at least twenty-five million dollars ($25,000,000).
The industry may terminate the commission by referendum at any time,
including during the initial four years, if the state fails to
appropriate seven million three hundred thousand dollars ($7,300,000)
in any fiscal year, and the state may decide not to appropriate
funding in the event that the commission fails in any fiscal year to
target its annual assessment level at or above the level set for the
initial referendum. Termination of the commission by the industry
shall require an adopted resolution of the commission to either
include this issue in a regularly scheduled referendum, or to call a
special referendum to decide the issue.
(b) The assessed funds shall be audited annually.
(c) The assessed funds shall be under the control of the
commission, which shall spend the funds consistent with commission
policies and the tourism marketing plan. The state shall have no
interest in the fund except the general state interest that the state
has in nonprofit corporations.
13995.71. Any assessment levied as provided in this chapter is a
personal debt of every person so assessed and shall be due and
payable to the secretary. If any assessed person fails to pay any
assessment, the secretary may file a complaint against the person in
a state court of competent jurisdiction for the collection of the
assessment.
13995.72. If any assessed business that is duly assessed pursuant
to this chapter fails to pay to the secretary the assessed amount by
the due date, the secretary may add to the unpaid assessment an
amount not to exceed 10 percent of the unpaid assessment to defray
the cost of enforcing the collection of the unpaid assessment. In
addition to payment for the cost of enforcing a collection, the
assessed business shall pay to the secretary a penalty equivalent to
the lesser of either the maximum amount authorized by Section 1 of
Article XV of the California Constitution or 5 percent for each 30
days the assessment is unpaid, prorated over the days unpaid,
commencing 30 days after the notice has been given to the assessed
business of his or her failure to pay the assessment on the date
required, unless the secretary determines, to his or her
satisfaction, that the failure to pay is due to reasonable cause
beyond the control of the assessed business.
13995.73. The secretary may require assessed businesses to deposit
with him or her in advance the following amounts:
(a) An amount for necessary expenses.
(b) An amount that shall not exceed 25 percent of the assessment
to cover costs that are incurred prior to the receipt of sufficient
funds from the assessment.
(c) The amount of any deposit that is required by the secretary
shall be based upon the estimated assessment for the assessed
business.
13995.74. In lieu of requiring advance deposits pursuant to Section
13995.73, or in order generally to provide funds for defraying
administrative expenses or the expenses of implementing the tourism
marketing plan until the time that sufficient moneys are collected
for this purpose from the payment of the assessments that are
established pursuant to this chapter, the secretary may receive and
disburse for the express purposes contributions that are made by
assessed businesses. If, however, collections from the payment of
established assessments are sufficient to so warrant, the secretary
shall authorize the repayment of contributions, or authorize the
application of the contributions to the assessment obligations of
persons that made the contributions.
13995.75. Upon termination of the commission, any remaining funds
that are not required by the secretary to defray commission expenses
shall be returned by the secretary upon a pro rata basis, to all
persons from whom the assessments were collected unless the secretary
finds that the amounts to be returned are so small as to make
impractical the computation and remitting of the pro rata refund to
the appropriate persons. If the secretary makes a finding that
returning the remaining funds would be impractical, he or she may use
the moneys in the fund to defray the costs of the office.
13995.76. Any check or warrant that is drawn against the funds of
the commission that remains unclaimed or uncashed for a period of six
months from the date of issuance shall be canceled and the money
retained for disbursement to the original payee or claimant upon
satisfactory identification for a period of one year from the time
the check or warrant is canceled. The money so retained, if not
claimed within the period of one year, shall be used for
administration of the commission, and in furtherance of the tourism
marketing plan.
13995.77. A business is exempt from the assessments provided for in
this chapter if any of the following apply:
(a) The business is a travel agency or tour operator that derives
less than 20 percent of its gross revenue annually from travel and
tourism occurring within the state. A travel agency or tour operator
that qualifies for this exemption may participate as an assessed
business by paying an assessment calculated on the same basis
applicable to other travel agencies or tour operators, respectively,
and by filing a written request with the secretary indicating its
desire to be categorized as an assessed business.
(b) The business is a small business. For purposes of this
section, "small business" means a business location with less than
one million dollars ($1,000,000) in total California gross annual
revenue from all sources. This threshold amount may be lowered, but
never to less than five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000), by means
of a referendum conducted pursuant to Section 13995.60; however, the
secretary may elect to forgo assessing a business for which the
expense incurred in collecting the assessment is not commensurate
with the assessment that would be collected.
(c) The assessments provided for in this chapter shall not apply
to the revenue of regular route intrastate and interstate bus
service: provided, however, that this subdivision shall not be deemed
to exclude any revenue derived from bus service that is of a type
that requires authority, whether in the form of a certificate of
public convenience and necessity, or a permit, to operate as a
charter-party carrier of passengers pursuant to Chapter 8 (commencing
with Section 5351) of Division 2 of the Public Utilities Code.
(d) Any business exempted pursuant to this section may enter into
a contract for voluntary assessments pursuant to Section 13995.49.
13995.65. (a) Each industry category shall establish a committee to
determine the following within its industry category: industry
segments, assessment formula for each industry segment, and any types
of business exempt from assessment. The initial segment committees
shall consist of the subcommittee for that category as described in
subdivision (d) of Section 13995.30. Following approval of the
assessment by referendum, the committees shall be selected by the
commission, based upon recommendations from the tourism industry.
Committee members need not be commission members.
(b) The committee recommendations shall be presented to the
commission or selection committee, as applicable. The selection
committee may adopt a resolution specifying some or all of the items
listed in subdivision (a), plus an allocation of the overall
assessment among industry categories. The commission may adopt a
resolution specifying one or more of the items listed in subdivision
(a), plus an allocation of the proposed assessment. The selection
committee and commission are not required to adopt the findings of
any committee.
(c) The initial industry category and industry segment allocations
shall be included in the selection committee report required by
subdivision (b) of Section 13995.30. Changes to the industry segment
allocation formula may be recommended to the commission by a segment
committee at the biennial commission meeting scheduled to approve the
referendum resolution pursuant to Section 13995.60. At the same
meeting, the commission may amend the percentage allocations among
industry categories. Any item discussed in this section that is
approved by resolution of the commission, except amendments to the
percentage allocations among industry categories, shall be placed on
the next referendum, and adopted if approved by the majority of
weighted votes cast.
(d) Upon approval by referendum, the office shall mail an
assessment bill to each assessed business. The secretary shall
determine how often assessments are collected, based upon available
staffing resources. The secretary may stagger the assessment
collection throughout the year, and charge businesses a prorated
amount of assessment because of the staggered assessment period. The
secretary and office shall not divulge the amount of assessment or
weighted votes of any assessed businesses, except as part of an
assessment action.
(e) An assessed business may appeal an assessment to the secretary
based upon the fact that the business does not meet the definition
established for an assessed business within its industry segment or
that the level of assessment is incorrect. An appeal brought under
this subdivision shall be supported by substantial evidence submitted
under penalty of perjury by affidavit or declaration as provided in
Section 2015.5 of the Code of Civil Procedure. If the error is based
upon failure of the business to provide the required information in a
timely manner, the secretary may impose a fee for reasonable costs
incurred by the secretary in correcting the assessment against the
business as a condition of correcting the assessment.
(f) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an assessed
business may pass on some or all of the assessment to customers. An
assessed business that is passing on the assessment may, but shall
not be required to, separately identify or itemize the assessment on
any document provided to a customer. Assessments levied pursuant to
this chapter and passed on to customers are not part of gross
receipts or gross revenue for any purpose, including the calculation
of sales or use tax and income pursuant to any lease. However,
assessments that are passed on to customers shall be included in
gross receipts for purposes of income and franchise taxes.
(g) For purposes of calculating the assessment for a business with
revenue in more than one industry category or industry segment, that
business may elect to be assessed based on either of the following:
(1) The assessment methodology and rate of assessment applicable
to each category or segment, respectively, as it relates to the
revenue that it derives from that category or segment.
(2) With respect to its total revenue from all industry categories
or segments, the assessment methodology and rate of assessment
applicable to the revenue in the category and segment in which it
earns the most gross revenue.
(h) (1) A person sharing common ownership, management, or control
of more than one assessed business may elect to calculate,
administer, and pay the assessment owed by each business by any of
the following methods:
(A) Calculated on the basis of each individual business location.
(B) Calculated on the basis of each business, or each group of
businesses, possessing a single federal employer identification
number, regardless of the number of locations involved.
(C) Calculated on the basis of the average aggregate percentage of
tourism-related gross revenue received by all of the person's
businesses in a particular industry segment or industry category
during the period in question, multiplied by the total aggregate
tourism-related gross revenue received by all of the businesses, and
then multiplied by the appropriate assessment formula. For example,
if a person sharing common ownership, management, or control of more
than one assessed business in the retail industry segment calculates
that the average percentage of tourism-related gross revenue received
by all of its locations equals 6 percent during the period in
question, that person may multiply all of the gross revenue received
from all of those locations by 6 percent, and then multiply that
product by the applicable assessment formula.
(D) Calculated on any other basis authorized by the secretary.
(2) Except as the secretary may otherwise authorize, the methods
in subparagraphs (B), (C), or (D) shall not be used if the aggregate
assessments paid would be less than the total assessment revenues
that would be paid if the method in subparagraph (A) were used.
13995.65.5. (a) Notwithstanding Section 13995.65 or any other
provision of this chapter, for purposes of calculating the assessment
for a business within the passenger car rental category, the
assessment shall be collected only on each rental transaction that
commences at either an airport or at a hotel or other overnight
lodging with respect to which a city, city and county, or county is
authorized to levy a tax as described in Section 7280 of the Revenue
and Taxation Code. A transaction commencing at an airport or hotel or
other overnight lodging subject to a transient occupancy tax as
described in Section 7280 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, including
those that commence at a location that might otherwise by regulation
be exempt from assessment, shall be subject to the assessment. The
assessment shall always be expressed as a fixed percentage of the
amount of the rental transaction.
(b) This section shall become operative only if the Secretary of
Business, Transportation and Housing provides notice to the
Legislature and the Secretary of State and posts notice on its
Internet Web site that the conditions described in Section 13995.92
have been satisfied.
13995.66. The initial assessment level shall be the amount that the
selection committee recommends in its report to the Governor
pursuant to Section 13995.30, which may be less than twenty-five
million dollars ($25,000,000). This assessment level is a target, and
shall serve as the basis for setting application of the assessment
formulae, but the actual amount of collected assessments may be more
or less than the assessment level.
13995.67. Assessments may be used in furtherance of the purposes
set forth in Section 13995.41, or to fund the costs pursuant to
Section 13995.57. Assessments may be used to fund these costs
regardless of whether the work was performed by the office or
commission.
13995.68. (a) The secretary shall establish a list of businesses to
be assessed and the amount of assessment owed by each. The secretary
shall collect the assessment from all assessed businesses, and in
collecting the assessment the secretary may exercise the police
powers and bring enforcement actions.
(b) Funds collected by the secretary shall be deposited into the
account of the commission. This account shall not be an account of
the state government.
(c) Any costs relating to the collection of assessments incurred
by the state shall be reimbursed by the commission.
13995.69. (a) The office shall develop a list of California
businesses within each segment included within the report required by
subdivision (b) of Section 13995.30, periodically updated. Other
state agencies shall assist the office in obtaining the names and
addresses of these businesses.
(b) The office shall mail to each business identified pursuant to
subdivision (a) a form requesting information necessary to determine
the assessment for that business. Any business failing to provide
this information in a timely manner shall be assessed an amount
determined by the secretary to represent the upper assessment level
for that segment.
(c) The office, in consultation with the commission, shall
establish by regulation the procedure for assessment collection.
13995.70. (a) Funding for the commission is a cooperative venture.
Because of the benefits that accrue to the state and to its residents
by virtue of having the travel and tourism industry participate
cooperatively with the state for the purpose of effectively marketing
travel and tourism to and within the state, it is the intent of the
Legislature that the state shall be responsible for appropriating a
minimum of seven million three hundred thousand dollars ($7,300,000)
each fiscal year for travel and tourism, and the industry shall be
responsible for targeting the level of assessments for each fiscal
year at the amount determined to be appropriate by the commission and
approved by referendum. However, that assessment level shall
ultimately reach at least twenty-five million dollars ($25,000,000).
The industry may terminate the commission by referendum at any time,
including during the initial four years, if the state fails to
appropriate seven million three hundred thousand dollars ($7,300,000)
in any fiscal year, and the state may decide not to appropriate
funding in the event that the commission fails in any fiscal year to
target its annual assessment level at or above the level set for the
initial referendum. Termination of the commission by the industry
shall require an adopted resolution of the commission to either
include this issue in a regularly scheduled referendum, or to call a
special referendum to decide the issue.
(b) The assessed funds shall be audited annually.
(c) The assessed funds shall be under the control of the
commission, which shall spend the funds consistent with commission
policies and the tourism marketing plan. The state shall have no
interest in the fund except the general state interest that the state
has in nonprofit corporations.
13995.71. Any assessment levied as provided in this chapter is a
personal debt of every person so assessed and shall be due and
payable to the secretary. If any assessed person fails to pay any
assessment, the secretary may file a complaint against the person in
a state court of competent jurisdiction for the collection of the
assessment.
13995.72. If any assessed business that is duly assessed pursuant
to this chapter fails to pay to the secretary the assessed amount by
the due date, the secretary may add to the unpaid assessment an
amount not to exceed 10 percent of the unpaid assessment to defray
the cost of enforcing the collection of the unpaid assessment. In
addition to payment for the cost of enforcing a collection, the
assessed business shall pay to the secretary a penalty equivalent to
the lesser of either the maximum amount authorized by Section 1 of
Article XV of the California Constitution or 5 percent for each 30
days the assessment is unpaid, prorated over the days unpaid,
commencing 30 days after the notice has been given to the assessed
business of his or her failure to pay the assessment on the date
required, unless the secretary determines, to his or her
satisfaction, that the failure to pay is due to reasonable cause
beyond the control of the assessed business.
13995.73. The secretary may require assessed businesses to deposit
with him or her in advance the following amounts:
(a) An amount for necessary expenses.
(b) An amount that shall not exceed 25 percent of the assessment
to cover costs that are incurred prior to the receipt of sufficient
funds from the assessment.
(c) The amount of any deposit that is required by the secretary
shall be based upon the estimated assessment for the assessed
business.
13995.74. In lieu of requiring advance deposits pursuant to Section
13995.73, or in order generally to provide funds for defraying
administrative expenses or the expenses of implementing the tourism
marketing plan until the time that sufficient moneys are collected
for this purpose from the payment of the assessments that are
established pursuant to this chapter, the secretary may receive and
disburse for the express purposes contributions that are made by
assessed businesses. If, however, collections from the payment of
established assessments are sufficient to so warrant, the secretary
shall authorize the repayment of contributions, or authorize the
application of the contributions to the assessment obligations of
persons that made the contributions.
13995.75. Upon termination of the commission, any remaining funds
that are not required by the secretary to defray commission expenses
shall be returned by the secretary upon a pro rata basis, to all
persons from whom the assessments were collected unless the secretary
finds that the amounts to be returned are so small as to make
impractical the computation and remitting of the pro rata refund to
the appropriate persons. If the secretary makes a finding that
returning the remaining funds would be impractical, he or she may use
the moneys in the fund to defray the costs of the office.
13995.76. Any check or warrant that is drawn against the funds of
the commission that remains unclaimed or uncashed for a period of six
months from the date of issuance shall be canceled and the money
retained for disbursement to the original payee or claimant upon
satisfactory identification for a period of one year from the time
the check or warrant is canceled. The money so retained, if not
claimed within the period of one year, shall be used for
administration of the commission, and in furtherance of the tourism
marketing plan.
13995.77. A business is exempt from the assessments provided for in
this chapter if any of the following apply:
(a) The business is a travel agency or tour operator that derives
less than 20 percent of its gross revenue annually from travel and
tourism occurring within the state. A travel agency or tour operator
that qualifies for this exemption may participate as an assessed
business by paying an assessment calculated on the same basis
applicable to other travel agencies or tour operators, respectively,
and by filing a written request with the secretary indicating its
desire to be categorized as an assessed business.
(b) The business is a small business. For purposes of this
section, "small business" means a business location with less than
one million dollars ($1,000,000) in total California gross annual
revenue from all sources. This threshold amount may be lowered, but
never to less than five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000), by means
of a referendum conducted pursuant to Section 13995.60; however, the
secretary may elect to forgo assessing a business for which the
expense incurred in collecting the assessment is not commensurate
with the assessment that would be collected.
(c) The assessments provided for in this chapter shall not apply
to the revenue of regular route intrastate and interstate bus
service: provided, however, that this subdivision shall not be deemed
to exclude any revenue derived from bus service that is of a type
that requires authority, whether in the form of a certificate of
public convenience and necessity, or a permit, to operate as a
charter-party carrier of passengers pursuant to Chapter 8 (commencing
with Section 5351) of Division 2 of the Public Utilities Code.
(d) Any business exempted pursuant to this section may enter into
a contract for voluntary assessments pursuant to Section 13995.49.
