GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1989

S              	2 

SENATE BILL 647
Finance Committee Substitute Adopted 5/23/89

Short Title:  Mecklenburg Room Tax Changes.	(Local)
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Sponsors:
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Referred to:  
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March 27, 1989

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO PROVIDE A MEANS FOR FINANCING ALL OR PART OF A CONVENTION CENTER IN CHARLOTTE.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  Section 6 of Chapter 908 of the 1983 Session Laws reads as rewritten:
"Sec. 6. (a)	Mecklenburg County is hereby authorized to impose and levy a tax not to exceed six percent (6%) of the gross receipts of any person, firm, corporation or association derived from the rental of any sleeping room or lodging furnished in any hotel, motel, or inn located in Mecklenburg County and subject to the three percent (3%) sales tax levied by the State of North Carolina.  The tax shall not apply, however, to any room or rooms, lodging or accommodations supplied to the same person for a period of 90 continuous days or more.  The tax shall also not apply to sleeping rooms or lodgings furnished by charitable, educational, benevolent or religious institutions or organizations not operated for profit.
	(b)	Before adopting or amending an ordinance imposing and levying such a tax, the board of commissioners shall hold a public hearing on the ordinance or amendment.  The Board shall cause notice of the hearing to be published not less than 10 days nor more than 25 days before the date fixed for the hearing."
Sec. 2.  Section 8 of Chapter 908 of the 1983 Session Laws reads as rewritten:
"Sec. 8.  Mecklenburg County shall allocate the proceeds collected as follows:
(a)	Mecklenburg County shall retain from the gross proceeds of the tax collected an amount not to exceed three percent (3%) of the gross proceeds to pay its direct costs for administrative and collection expenses.  For the purpose of this section, the term ‘net proceeds' means gross proceeds less the amount retained by the county under this subsection.
(a1)	Mecklenburg County shall retain fifty percent (50%) of the net proceeds to be used only for capital costs, debt service, marketing, lease payments, and operating costs of a new or expanded convention center in the City of Charlotte.
	(b)	Of the remaining net proceeds, at least fifty percent (50%) of the first one million dollars ($1,000,000) in a fiscal year, at least thirty-five percent (35%) of the second one million dollars ($1,000,000) in a fiscal year, and at least twenty-five percent (25%) of the amount in excess of two million dollars ($2,000,000) in the fiscal year shall be allocated for activities and programs aiding and encouraging convention and visitor promotion.  These amounts shall be transferred by Mecklenburg County to the City of Charlotte for allocation by the City of Charlotte for activities and programs aiding and encouraging convention and visitor promotion, and in so doing, the City of Charlotte shall be acting as agent for Mecklenburg County.
	(c)	The amount of net proceeds remaining after deducting the amounts provided in subsections (a), (a1), and (b) shall be allocated by Mecklenburg County among itself and each municipality in Mecklenburg County (presently Charlotte, Cornelius, Davidson, Huntersville, Matthews, Mint Hill and Pineville) using the following formula:  the ratios of expenditures by the county and each municipality for acquiring, constructing, financing (including debt service), maintaining and operating convention centers, civic centers, performing arts centers, coliseums, auditoriums, and museums (including off-street parking facilities for use in conjunction therewith) and for visitor-related programs and activities including, but not limited to, museums and other art or cultural programs, events, or festivals as such bears to total county and municipal expenditures for such purposes.  Such ratios shall be computed annually on the basis of the prior fiscal years's expenditures.  As to the municipalities, the maximum amount payable by Mecklenburg County to each municipality shall be the net proceeds collected from hotels, motels and inns located within the corporate limits of said municipality.
	(d)	The proceeds distributed and retained pursuant to subsection (c) may be expended by Mecklenburg County and the municipalities only for acquiring, constructing, financing (including debt service), maintaining and operating convention centers, civic centers, performing arts centers, coliseums, auditoriums, and museums (including off-street parking facilities for use in conjunction therewith) and for visitor-related programs and activities including, but not limited to, museums and other art or cultural programs, events, or festivals.
	(e)  Mecklenburg County shall distribute the amounts due each municipality by the 20th day of the month in which the tax is collected."
Sec. 3.  This act is effective upon ratification.