A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to appropriate funds to the department of commerce for tourism promotion grants.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Commerce the sum of one hundred seventy‑three thousand dollars ($173,000) for the 2007‑2008 fiscal year and the sum of one hundred seventy‑three thousand dollars ($173,000) for the 2008‑2009 fiscal year to increase the current budget for tourism promotion grants to enhance economic growth through tourism development.
SECTION 2.  Tourism promotion grant funds appropriated to the Department of Commerce shall be allocated to counties based on need.  Determination of counties that are most in need of State assistance shall be made in accordance with the existing State tier formula provided in G.S. 105‑129.3.
SECTION 3.  The Department of Commerce shall develop procedures for the administration and distribution of tourism promotion grants under the following guidelines:
(1)	Eligible organizations shall be local governments or nonprofit tourism related organizations.
(2)	Eligible organizations shall comply with all application rules and procedures established by the Department of Commerce.
(3)	Applicants may apply for only one tourism related project in each grant cycle.
(4)	Eligible projects shall be limited to advertising, marketing, and promoting tourism through paid media advertisements, creation of print brochures, and Internet marketing.
(5)	Projects that attract visitors from outside the State or local areas shall be encouraged.
(6)	Projects that foster multicounty or regional cooperation among eligible organizations and that show significant regional destination impact shall be encouraged.
(7)	Applicants may apply jointly for projects that have a multicounty or regional focus and that show multicounty or regional cooperation.
SECTION 4.  Funds appropriated in this act to the Department of Commerce for tourism promotion grants shall be allocated according to the economic development tier assigned by the Department of Commerce in the following manner:
(1)	Eligible organizations in counties with a Tier 1 or 2 designation are each eligible to receive a maximum grant of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for each fiscal year, provided these funds are matched on the basis of one non‑State dollar ($1.00) for every four State dollars ($4.00).
(2)	Eligible organizations in counties with a Tier 3 or 4 designation are each eligible to receive a maximum grant of seven thousand five hundred dollars ($7,500) for two of the next three fiscal years, provided these funds are matched on the basis of one non‑State dollar ($1.00) for every three State dollars ($3.00).
(3)	Eligible organizations in counties with a Tier 5 designation are each eligible to receive a maximum grant of five thousand dollars ($5,000) in alternating fiscal years provided these funds are matched on the basis of two non‑State dollars ($2.00) for every one State dollar ($1.00).
SECTION 5.  An eligible organization that applies for but does not receive tourism promotion grant funds may apply for and be awarded funds in the following fiscal year.  The fact that one or more eligible organizations in a county are awarded tourism promotion grant funds in a given fiscal year shall not bar other eligible organizations in that county from applying for and being awarded funds in the next fiscal year.
SECTION 6.  Funds appropriated in this act but not used after 24 months shall revert to the General Fund.
SECTION 7.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2007.