As with everything else in 2020, this year’s Legislative Session and the resulting Special Session were marked by the global health crisis surrounding COVID-19. In spite of the many challenges for the two chambers, the travel industry ended the sessions with some significant success.
After beginning on March 9, the Regular Session was quickly cut short on March 16 when the Legislature recessed to comply with the Governor’s stay at home order. Legislators returned to the Capitol on May 4 and spent a month working at a quick pace. Major focuses shifted from insurance reform and tax relief, to small business recovery and COVID-related liability issues.
The industry’s most significant success was the passing of Rep. Stephen Dwight’s HB 292, a bill championed by LTA that will require short-term rental companies to collect and remit occupancy taxes.
With the Governor’s signature in June, HB 292 became
Act 184
and short-term rentals are now included in the definition of a hotel throughout most of Louisiana. This act allows convention and visitors bureaus/tourist commissions who are established as a political subdivision of the state to collect occupancy tax from short-term rentals. It removed the two-room minimum threshold for occupancy tax collection and pairs it with the definition of a “hotel” for state sales tax collection, providing more clarity for tax collectors.
Another success was the unanimous approval of
HCR 31
, which authorized the Lt. Governor and the Office of Tourism to spend more money on in-state advertising than normally allowed. This measure is important in the wake of COVID-19, to entice in-state and regional travel.
In the final minutes of the Regular Session, the Legislature passed
Act 311,
which created a $300 million fund for small businesses that have been left out of prior coronavirus aid.
The Louisiana State Treasury Department has been tasked with distribution of these funds and is launching an application system for the
Main Street Recovery Program
on July 28. Businesses can apply for up to $15,000 to cover eligible expenses. More information is available at
LouisianaMainStreet.com
.
The Legislature started a Special Session immediately following the Regular Session on June 6, focusing mostly on balancing the state budget. Budgets for the Office of Tourism and other offices under the Lt. Governor saw no significant changes. The state budget in
HB 1
reflected a few small changes to parish Visitor Enterprise Funds and our office has been in direct contact with those affected.
LTA and LACVB worked closely with our sister state associations during this special session to have a one-time appropriation for our destination marketing organizations included in HB 1. Although legislators agree that our industry has been decimated and needs this additional funding to restart tourism and the requested additional funding made it through with Senate approval, it failed at the last hour to make it through the House on the last day of the special session.
While the main focus of the Special Session was the budget, we were pleased to see the legislature also pass
HB 4
and extend the Louisiana Commercial Historical Tax Credit. This solidifies Louisiana as a nationwide leader in utilizing the historic tax credit to revitalize our Main Street Communities.
“New moving pieces to the state budget puzzle are surfacing almost weekly—and there are a lot of moving pieces. The volume of tax collections will be greatly influenced by what happens in the oil and gas sector and by whether tourism and the service industry rebound sooner rather than later. With so much uncertainty hanging over state government it should surprise few that
another special session of the Louisiana Legislature in the fall is likely.
”
The economic value of the travel industry to Louisiana has never been more evident than it is today. Our industry is hurting and therefore our state is hurting. We are grateful for legislators who understand the importance of our industry to the well-being of our state, to the 240,000+ people employed by the industry in 2019, and to the hundreds of small businesses dependent on tourism in Louisiana. Our goal is to ask for a one-time CVB appropriation once again in the fall during the anticipated second special session.
As our industry’s advocacy arm, your association has also been more significantly engaged than ever before at a federal level over the last several months. We have been in constant communication with the Louisiana Congressional Delegation about the federal relief needs of our industry. CARES Act relief including the Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loans
have significantly benefited our industry and our members. However, our work on Capitol Hill is nowhere near complete.
We continue to work at a federal level for CVB inclusion in Paycheck Protection, as well as other relief for CVBs, 501(c)6 companies and quasi-governmental agencies. We are committed to keeping you updated on Congress’ activities and their impact on the travel industry.
In closing, as our colleague
Brad Dean, CEO of Discover Puerto Rico, stated in a recent blog post
“…this just may be our George Bailey moment.” Just as Clarence the Angel from Frank Capra’s movie “It’s A Wonderful Life,” allowed George Bailey to see how his absence left an awful hole in his community, we have been allowed to experience the devastating effects to our state and its people without tourism.
Tourism-dependent states, like Louisiana, see a world without tourism and it isn’t pretty. But the loss of travel and tourism has left other holes in our lives in addition to just dollars, tax revenues and jobs. Travel allows us to celebrate, to connect, to break down barriers and to create stories and memories - all things our world will need as we emerge from this devastating crisis. As Dean went on to say in his post, “Travel stimulates innovation and nurtures progress. Travel teaches, enlightens, and inspires. Studies show that travel makes you healthier, happier and more productive. Travel is a force for good that transforms lives and communities.”
So remember, even though COVID-19 has left its mark and changed the way we live, work and play, collectively the Louisiana travel industry is the very definition of resilient. Together we will bring our industry back!
Sincerely,
