Local officials and Texas lodging industry advocates are supporting a bill from State Rep. Eddie Morales that they say would give the city of Alpine more flexibility in how it spends money generated from the Big Bend region’s tourism industry.
The bill - HB1039 - would repeal a unique part of state law that forces Alpine - and only Alpine - to spend more than 50% of the money it makes from taxes on hotel and vacation rentals on tourism advertising.
Morales, a Democrat whose district includes the Big Bend region, said in a statement the bill would “scale back state mandates.”
“While we all agree tourism for our communities is important, I believe, and the city believes, that by repealing this requirement, Alpine would have more control over their revenue and spend that money on community needs,” he said.
In Texas, revenue from hotel occupancy taxes - or “HOT” taxes - generally has to be pumped back into tourism promotion efforts or tourism-related activities like historical preservation. Travelers pay the taxes, typically, as part of the booking fees for a hotel or short-term rental.
Morales’ bill would not allow Alpine or any other city in Texas to spend HOT tax revenue on things like road repairs or other infrastructure projects, which is something that Big Bend officials have advocated for in recent years. Still, the measure would give Alpine officials more freedom in how they can spend HOT tax revenue. If passed, the bill would allow the city to put more money toward things like visitor centers and arts programming.
Chris Ruggia, Alpine’s tourism director, told Marfa Public Radio that the current law’s unique HOT tax requirements for the city stemmed from concerns in the local hotel industry more than 20 years ago that are “not relevant anymore.”
“The complaint - and it was a local complaint - that led to the law going into place was that the city was not sufficiently spending the [HOT tax] money in general,” he said.
The Big Bend region’s tourism industry has grown significantly in recent decades, but Ruggia said the city still needs to maintain some level of advertising.
“Alpine’s tourism is not such that we don’t need to promote,” he said. “I’ve never heard any kind of intention of scaling way back on promotions, just really wanting more flexibility.”
Justin Bragiel, an attorney with the trade group Texas Hotel and Lodging Association, said tourism promotional strategies have also evolved beyond simply advertising.
“Now, I think the focus for Alpine is going to be on what else can they do to attract people longer-term and how can they grow their tourism economy in newer ways,” he said. “So this is the idea, give them a little more flexibility, make them a lot more like the other cities in the state.”
The Texas Hotel and Lodging Association routinely opposes legislation at the state capital that would allow cities to use HOT tax funds for non-tourism related expenses. However, the group is supporting Morales’ bill for Alpine and has worked with local officials to advance it.
Still, the effort could face long odds at the capital as lawmakers focus their efforts on much higher-priority items like property taxes and school vouchers.
