wa-law.org > bill > 2025-26 > HB 2325 > Original Bill
The legislature finds that the history, economy, culture, and future of Washington state are inextricably linked to a vibrant and healthy visitor economy. In order to develop, manage, and promote statewide tourism as part of an existing comprehensive effort to market Washington as a premier travel destination, the legislature declares:
That it is vital to the continued economic well-being and general welfare of the citizens of this state that the tourism industry be supported by:
Enabling the tourism industry to help themselves through an organized, year-around, statewide assessment program designed to support fair, efficient, and sustained promotion and management of Washington as a visitor destination; and
Enhancing tourism market opportunities and strengthening the industry's long-term competitiveness by increasing travel to and within Washington across leisure, business, and international markets;
That tourism-dependent businesses, including lodging, food and beverage, attractions, recreation, cultural institutions, and retail, operate in a regulatory and funding environment that limits marketing autonomy, creates fragmented promotion efforts, and contributes to Washington's declining market share in a highly competitive global visitor economy;
That it is in the overriding public interest to clearly express support for the tourism sector and its coordinated and orderly growth; to give adequate recognition and operational resources to tourism as a vital component of Washington's export economy and value-added service sector; and to promote, develop, and manage tourism as an essential statewide industry in order to:
Enhance the reputation and image of Washington as a travel destination;
Increase visitor spending from domestic and international markets; strategically positioning the destination and optimizing the benefits of visitation;
Protect the public interest by providing destination development that benefits communities, small businesses, tribes, and other stakeholders and educating travelers about responsible and sustainable visitation to communities and public and tribal lands;
Expand tourism-driven economic opportunities, development resources, and community benefits in urban and rural regions alike;
Support and engage in programs and partnerships that benefit the development, management, marketing, and sustainability of tourism across Washington; and
Expand the communication, cooperation, and partnership between the public and private sectors to more effectively meet the needs of both; and
That a stable and predictable funding mechanism, developed and governed by the industry through a self-supported assessment, can generate substantial economic returns for the state and empower local businesses, destinations, and communities to compete on a level playing field with neighboring states and national leaders such as California, Oregon, and British Columbia.
The legislature intends that any rules adopted to implement this chapter should be guided by the recommendations developed under section 3, chapter 189, Laws of 2025.
The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
"Assessment" means the annual fee levied on tourism businesses to fund tourism promotion under this chapter.
"Authority" means the Washington tourism marketing authority created in RCW 43.384.020.
"Ratepayer oversight board" means the board of representatives from businesses subject to the assessment.
"Tourism business" means businesses that derive a significant portion of revenue from tourism activity in Washington in the following sectors: (a) Lodging; (b) travel services; (c) attractions; (d) recreation; and (e) beverage producers.
The legislature authorizes the authority to establish a tourism assessment program, subject to tourism business sector ratification.
No assessments shall be collected until the referendum process in section 5 of this act is completed and approved by the affected tourism business sector.
The authority shall adopt rules as necessary to carry out the purpose and intent of this chapter. The authority shall give substantial weight to the recommendations made under section 3, chapter 189, Laws of 2025 when developing rules under this chapter.
The authority shall appoint, from the list of nominees prepared under subsection (2) of this section, a ratepayer oversight board consisting of a minimum of 10 members, with at least two representatives from each sector identified in section 2(4) of this act, reflecting geographic and business diversity.
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For the initial board, the tourism self-supported assessment advisory group created by section 3, chapter 189, Laws of 2025 shall prepare a list of nominees for appointment to the ratepayer oversight board. All nominees for membership on the ratepayer oversight board must be employees or officers of businesses subject to the assessment imposed under section 5 of this act, pursuant to assessment ratification procedures established under section 6 of this act.
Initial board members shall serve for six months or until completion of initial referendum, and vacancies shall be filled by appointment for the unexpired term.
Subsequent appointments shall be made under the process developed under section 5 of this act and ratified under section 6 of this act.
On the recommendation of the advisory group, the authority may remove any appointed member of the ratepayer oversight board for inefficiency, neglect of duty, malfeasance, or four unexcused absences in one year.
The ratepayer oversight board shall provide oversight of tourism assessment funds and programming and:
Approve an annual budget and expenditure plan;
Provide an annual report to the authority and the legislature; and
Monitor program effectiveness and recommend adjustments.
The ratepayer oversight board shall elect a chair and meet at least quarterly.
The ratepayer oversight board shall design the proposed assessment program, including:
Sector-specific classifications;
Assessment methodology and the rates for each business sector;
A referendum process for ratification;
Opt-out provisions, if applicable;
Revenue thresholds for businesses assessed in each sector, where applicable;
Program term length; and
The appointment process for the ratepayer oversight board following the initial appointments made in section 4(2) of this act. The appointment process designed under this subsection (1)(g) is subject to ratification under section 6 of this act.
Pursuant to approval by ratification in accordance with section 6 of this act, there shall be levied, and the authority shall collect, upon all participating tourism businesses in this state, an annual assessment to be calculated as a percentage of gross revenue.
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Within three years of the effective date of this section, the ratepayer oversight board shall conduct a referendum among affected businesses to ratify the proposed assessment program. In the case of a failed ratification, the board may continue to resubmit the same proposal or a modified proposal beyond the three-year limitation.
Each assessed business is entitled to a weighted vote in each referendum. In calculating weighted votes, each assessed business receives a vote equal to the projected assessment paid by that business. The initial referendum must be approved by a majority of the weighted votes cast at the referendum.
For purposes of voting in any referendum, each assessed business is part of one industry sector and one sector-segment, and for voting purposes only, a business with revenue in more than one industry sector or sector-segment shall only be included in the sector and segment in which it earns the most gross revenue.
A sector's assessment may be approved only by a majority of weighted votes from businesses within that same sector. Votes from other sectors are not counted for or against another industry's assessment.
Assessments may begin once ratified by vote and shall be collected on an annual basis.
The cost of any referendum under this section shall be paid by the authority and reimbursed by the fund established in section 7 of this act.
The authority shall collect assessments annually from participating businesses.
The authority shall deposit assessment moneys collected in a separate account, named the tourism assessment account, in any bank that is a state depositary. Assessments collected under the program are not considered state money, common cash, or revenue to the state, and are not subject to legislative appropriation. All expenditures and disbursements made from this account under this chapter may be made without the necessity of a specific legislative appropriation. None of the provisions of RCW 43.01.050 apply to this account or to the moneys received, collected, or expended as provided. Funds in the account:
Must be used solely for tourism promotion as defined in the ratified program; and
Must be used to cover administrative and enforcement costs.
Failure to pay an assessment constitutes a debt to the state.
The authority may:
Impose a penalty of up to 10 percent of the unpaid assessment; and
Bring a civil action in court to recover unpaid assessments.
Financial and commercial information submitted to the authority and the ratepayer oversight board under this chapter is confidential and exempt from public inspection and copying under chapter 42.56 RCW.
This section does not apply to general statistical summaries that do not identify individual businesses.
(1) The chair of the board of directors of the tourism marketing authority must appoint a tourism self-supported assessment advisory group no later than two weeks following the effective date of this section. The advisory group must evaluate the viability of an industry self-supported assessment to fund statewide tourism promotion and recommend procedures to establish the self-supported assessment.
The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
"Authority" means the Washington tourism marketing authority created in RCW 43.384.020.
"Board" means the Washington tourism marketing authority board of directors.
"Department" means the department of commerce.
"Director" means the director of the department of commerce.
"Ratepayer oversight board" has the meaning defined in section 2 of this act.
"Statewide tourism marketing account" means the account created pursuant to RCW 43.384.040.
The Washington tourism marketing authority is established as a public body constituting an instrumentality of the state of Washington.
The authority is responsible for contracting for statewide tourism marketing services that promote tourism on behalf of the citizens of the state, and for managing the authority's financial resources.
The authority is responsible for developing and administering a tourism assessment program as set forth in chapter 43.--- RCW (the new chapter created in section 15 of this act). When developing the program, the authority may consider the October 31, 2025, advisory report authorized by section 3, chapter 189, Laws of 2025. The authority's primary activities of administering government tax funds shall be governed by the board. The authority's activities with respect to the tourism assessment program shall be governed by the ratepayer oversight board.
The department provides administrative assistance to the authority and serves as the fiscal agent of the authority for moneys appropriated for purposes of the authority.
The authority must create a private local account to receive nonstate funds and state funds, other than general fund state funds, contributed to the authority for purposes of this chapter.
The authority must be governed by a board of directors. The board of directors must consist of:
Two members and two alternates from the house of representatives, with one member and one alternate appointed from each of the two major caucuses of the house of representatives by the speaker of the house of representatives;
Two members and two alternates from the senate, with one member and one alternate appointed from each of the two major caucuses of the senate by the president of the senate; and
Thirteen representatives
of tourism businesses appointed by the governor as follows:
i. Eight members representing businesses paying the assessments ratified under section 6 of this act, and nominated by the ratepayer oversight board, except that the initial members shall be nominated by the tourism self-supported assessment advisory group created in section 3, chapter 189, Laws of 2025;
ii. Two members representing destination marketing organizations; and
iii. Three members representing tourism businesses.
There must be a nonvoting advisory committee to the board. The advisory committee must consist of:
One ex officio representative from the department, state parks and recreation commission, department of transportation, and other state agencies as the authority deems appropriate; and
One member from a federally recognized Indian tribe appointed by the director of the department.
All appointments must be for four years.
The board must select from its membership the chair of the board and such other officers as it deems appropriate. The chair of the board must be a member from the tourism industry or related businesses.
A majority of the board constitutes a quorum.
The board must create its own bylaws in accordance with the laws of the state of Washington.
Any member of the board may be removed for misfeasance, malfeasance, or willful neglect of duty after notice and a public hearing, unless the notice and hearing are expressly waived in writing by the affected member.
If a vacancy occurs on the board, a replacement must be appointed for the unexpired term.
The members of the board serve without compensation but are entitled to reimbursement, solely from the funds of the authority, for expenses incurred in the discharge of their duties.
The board must meet at least quarterly.
No board member of the authority may serve on the board of an organization that could be considered for a contract authorized under RCW 43.384.050.
The following financial, commercial, and proprietary information is exempt from disclosure under this chapter: