This act shall be known and may be cited as the "convention and tourism marketing act".

    (1) The legislature finds all of the following:

    (a) Tourism is a major source of employment, income, and tax revenues in this state, and the expansion of the tourism industry is vital to the growth of the state's economy.

    (b) The tourism industry is important to this state, not only because of the number of people it serves and the vast human, financial, and physical resources it employs, but because of the benefits tourism and related activities confer on individuals and on society as a whole.

    (c) State oversight and resources are needed to implement a coordinated and effective marketing program consistent with the master plan developed by this state to promote travel to, and within, this state under the Michigan tourism policy act, 1945 PA 106, MCL 2.101 to 2.103a, and to optimize the considerable investment of time, energy, capital, and resources being made by the tourism industry.

    (d) This state can best undertake effective tourism marketing through the coordinated efforts of existing state government agencies in tourism promotion and private convention and tourism promotional bureaus who are better able than state agencies to market and promote their unique assessment districts, which will maximize the economic and employment benefits of the tourism industry to this state and its citizens.

    (e) The coordinated efforts within this act to market and promote tourism represent a broader regulator scheme that does not impinge on an individual's First Amendment rights.

    (2) Nothing in this act shall be construed to do 1 or more of the following:

    (a) Restrain an owner or participant from communicating its own message or marketing plan.

    (b) Require any owner or participant to adopt any actual or symbolic speech.

    (c) Endorse or finance any political speech or ideological view.

    As used in this act:

    (a) "Assessment district" means a county having a population of more than 1,500,000 and, if so designated by the bureau in the marketing program notice, any county or counties contiguous with it.

    (b) "Assessment revenues" means the money derived from the assessment, including any interest and penalties on the assessment, imposed by this act.

    (c) "Board" means the board of directors of a bureau.

    (d) "Bureau" means a nonprofit corporation incorporated under the laws of this state existing solely to promote convention business and tourism within this state or a portion of this state, and which complies with all of the following:

    (i) Has not less than 400 dues paying members, of which not less than 50 are owners of transient facilities.

    (ii) Has been actively engaged in promoting convention business and tourism for not less than 10 years.

    (iii) Has a board of directors elected by its members.

    (iv) Has a full-time chief operating officer and not less than 10 full-time employees.

    (v) Is a member of 1 or more nationally recognized associations of travel and convention bureaus.

    (e) "Director" means the president of the Michigan strategic fund or his or her designee.

    (f) "Marketing program" means a program established by a bureau to develop, encourage, solicit, and promote convention business and tourism within this state or a portion of this state within which the bureau operates. The encouragement and promotion of convention business and tourism shall include any service, function, or activity, whether or not performed, sponsored, or advertised by a bureau which intends to attract transient guests to the assessment district.

    (g) "Marketing program notice" means the notice described in section 3.

    (h) "Master plan" means the comprehensive, long-range master plan developed by the Michigan travel commission and the travel bureau under section 2c of the Michigan tourism policy act, 1945 PA 106, MCL 2.102c.

    (i) "Owner" means the owner of a transient facility located within the assessment district or, if the transient facility is operated or managed by a person other than the owner, then the operator or manager of that transient facility.

    (j) "Room" means a room or other space provided for sleeping, including the furnishings and other accessories in the room.

    (k) "Assessment" means the amount levied against an owner of a transient facility within an assessment district computed by application of the applicable percentage against aggregate room charges with respect to that transient facility during the applicable assessment period.

    (l) "Room charge" means the charge imposed for the use or occupancy of a room, excluding charges for food, beverages, state use tax, telephone service or like services paid in connection with the charge, and reimbursement of the assessment imposed by this act.

    (m) "Transient facility" means a building which contains 35 or more rooms used in the business of providing dwelling, lodging, or sleeping to transient guests, whether or not membership is required for the use of the rooms. A transient facility shall not include a hospital or nursing home.

    (n) "Transient guest" means a natural person who occupies a room in a transient facility for less than 30 consecutive days regardless of who pays the room charge.

    (o) "Travel bureau" means the Michigan travel bureau created under section 2a of the Michigan tourism policy act, 1945 PA 106, MCL 2.102a.

    (1) A bureau that has its principal place of business in a county with a population of more than 1,500,000 may file a marketing program notice with the director. The notice must state that the bureau proposes to create a marketing program under this act and cause an assessment to be collected from owners of transient facilities within the assessment district to pay the costs of the program.

    (2) The marketing program notice must describe the structure, history, membership, and activities of the bureau in sufficient detail to enable the director to determine if the bureau satisfies all of the requirements of section 2(d).

    (3) The marketing program notice must do all of the following:

    (a) Describe the marketing program to be implemented by the bureau with the assessment revenues.

    (b) Specify the amount of the assessment proposed to be levied, which assessment may increase over time and must meet all of the following requirements:

    (i) Through December 31, 2024, must not exceed 3% of the room charges in the applicable payment period.

    (ii) Beginning January 1, 2025 through December 31, 2030, must not exceed 3.5% of the room charges in the applicable payment period.

    (iii) Beginning January 1, 2031, must not exceed 4% of the room charges in the applicable payment period.

    (c) Specify the county or counties comprising the assessment district. A county must not be included in the marketing program notice and the assessment district specified in the notice if on the date the notice is mailed the county is collecting a tax under 1974 PA 263, MCL 141.861 to 141.867.

    (4) Simultaneously with the filing of the marketing program notice with the director, the bureau shall cause a copy of the notice to be mailed by registered or certified mail to each owner of a transient facility located in the assessment district specified in the notice in care of the respective transient facility. In assembling the list of owners to whom the notices must be mailed, the bureau shall use any data which is reasonably available to the bureau.

    (5) The form of the marketing program notice, in addition to the information required by subsections (1), (2), and (3), must set forth the right of referendum prescribed in subsection (6).

    (6) The assessment set forth in the notice becomes effective on the first day of the month following the expiration of 40 days after the date the notice is mailed, unless the director, within the 40-day period, receives written requests for a referendum by owners of transient facilities located within the assessment district representing not less than 40% of the total number of owners or not less than 40% of the total number of rooms in all the transient facilities.

    (7) If the director receives referendum requests in the time and number set forth in subsection (6), the director shall cause a written referendum to be held by mail or in person, as the director chooses, among all owners of transient facilities in the assessment district within 20 days after the expiration of the 40-day period. For the purposes of the referendum, each owner of a transient facility has 1 vote for each room in each of the owner's transient facilities within the assessment district. If a majority of votes actually cast at the referendum approve the assessment, as proposed by the bureau in its marketing program notice, the assessment becomes effective as to all owners of transient facilities located in the assessment district on the first day of the month following expiration of 30 days after certification of the results of the referendum by the director. If a majority of votes actually cast at the referendum are opposed to the assessment, the assessment shall not become effective. If the assessment is defeated by the referendum, the bureau may file and serve a new notice of intention if at least 60 days have elapsed from the date of certification of the results of the earlier referendum. Not more than 2 referenda or notices may be held or filed under this subsection in any 1 calendar year. Only 1 assessment may be in existence in an assessment district, or any part of an assessment district, at any 1 time.

    

     A marketing program may include all or any of the following:

    (a) Provisions for establishing and paying the costs of advertising, marketing, and promotional programs to encourage convention business and tourism in the assessment district.

    (b) Provisions for assisting transient facilities within the assessment district in promoting convention business and tourism.

    (c) Provisions for the acquisition of personal property considered appropriate by the bureau in furtherance of the purposes of the marketing program.

    (d) Provisions for the hiring of and payment for personnel employed by the bureau to implement the marketing program.

    (e) Provisions for contracting with organizations, agencies, or persons for carrying out activities in furtherance of the purposes of the marketing program.

    (f) Programs for establishing and paying the costs of research designed to encourage convention business and tourism in the assessment district.

    (1) Upon the effective date of an assessment, each owner of a transient facility in the assessment district shall be liable for payment of the assessment, computed using the percentage set forth in the marketing program notice. The assessment shall be paid by the owner of each such transient facility to the bureau within 30 days after the end of each calendar month, and shall be accompanied by a statement of room charges imposed with respect to the transient facility for that month. This act shall not prohibit a transient facility from reimbursing itself by adding the assessment imposed pursuant to this act to room charges payable by transient guests, provided the transient facility discloses that it has done so on any bill presented to a transient guest.

    (2) Within 30 days after the close of each calendar quarter, each owner within an assessment district shall forward to the independent certified public accountants who audit the financial statements of the bureau, copies of its state use tax returns for the preceding quarter. These copies of the state use tax returns shall be used solely by the certified public accountants to verify and audit the owner's payment of the assessments, and shall not be disclosed to the bureau except as necessary to enforce this act.

    (3) Interest shall be paid by an owner to the bureau on any assessments not paid within the time called for under this act. The interest shall accrue at the rate of 1.5% per month. Owners delinquent for more than 90 days in paying assessments, in addition to the 1.5% interest, shall pay a delinquency charge of 10% per month or fraction of a month on the amount of the delinquent assessments. The bureau may sue in its own name to collect the assessments, interest, and delinquency charges.

    (4) The owner of a transient facility shall not be liable for payment of an assessment until a notice has been mailed to the transient facility of the owner pursuant to section 3(4).

    (1) The assessment revenues collected pursuant to this act shall not be state funds. The money shall be deposited in a bank or other depository in this state, in the name of the bureau, and disbursed only for the expenses properly incurred by the bureau with respect to the marketing programs developed by the bureau under this act.

    (2) The financial statements of the bureau shall be audited at least annually by a certified public accountant. A copy of the audited financial statements shall be mailed to each owner not more than 150 days after the close of the bureau's fiscal year. The financial statements shall include a statement of all assessment revenues received by the bureau during the fiscal year in question and shall be accompanied by a detailed report, certified as correct by the chief operating officer of the bureau, describing the marketing programs implemented or, to the extent then known, to be implemented by the bureau.

    (3) Copies of the audited financial statements and the certified report shall simultaneously be mailed to the director.

    (1) Upon the effective date of the establishment of an assessment under this act, the bureau shall cause an advisory committee to be elected consisting of representatives of the owners of transient facilities located within the assessment district, together with the director or the director's designated representative.

    (2) The advisory committee shall consist of not less than 9 nor more than 15 persons, at least 1 of whom shall not be affiliated with a bureau member. The advisory committee shall include at least 3 persons from each county within the assessment district. Procedures for the election and terms of the office of the members of the advisory committee shall be established by the bureau.

    (3) The bureau at regular intervals, but not less than quarterly, shall cause a formal meeting of the advisory committee to be held at which the bureau shall present its current and proposed marketing programs. At these formal meetings the advisory committee shall review and either approve or reject any proposed marketing programs. Subject to sections 7a and 7b, an approved marketing program shall be instituted by the bureau. A rejected marketing program shall not be instituted by the bureau.

    (4) The advisory committee may make recommendations to the bureau and the board from time to time with respect to current or proposed marketing programs.

    (5) The bureau shall cause to be elected to its board of directors, from the members of the advisory committee, 1 person from each of the counties within the assessment district.

    The board at regular intervals, but not less than twice per year, shall convene a formal meeting at which the board shall review its current annual marketing plan and its proposed annual marketing plan for the succeeding 1-year period. Once a year at these formal meetings, the board shall review and either approve or reject the proposed annual marketing plan. Subject to section 7b, an approved annual marketing plan shall be instituted by the bureau. A rejected marketing plan shall not be instituted by the bureau.

    (1) The vice-president of the travel bureau and the president or chief administrative officer of the bureau shall meet periodically, but at least once each year, to discuss the master plan and the annual marketing plan approved by the board.

    (2) The bureau and the travel bureau shall coordinate their marketing program activities and annual marketing plan activities with the master plan with a goal of maximizing the impact of tourism and convention business on the economy of this state.

    (3) The director shall disapprove of the bureau's annual marketing plan within 30 days of the meeting provided for in subsection (1) upon finding that it is detrimental to the master plan or the travel bureau's promotional programs. The bureau shall not implement an annual marketing plan that is disapproved by the travel bureau. If the director does not disapprove of an annual marketing plan within the 30-day period, the annual marketing plan shall be considered approved and may be implemented by the bureau.

    (1) At any time 2 years or more after the effective date of an assessment, and upon the written request of owners of transient facilities located within the assessment district representing not less than 40% of the total number of owners or not less than 40% of the total number of rooms in all the transient facilities, the bureau shall conduct a referendum on whether the assessment shall be discontinued. The bureau shall cause a written referendum to be held by mail or in person, as the bureau chooses, among all owners of transient facilities in the assessment district within 60 days of the receipt of the requests. For the purposes of the referendum, each owner shall have 1 vote for each room in each of the owner's transient facilities within the assessment district. If a majority of the total votes eligible to be cast at the referendum supports discontinuance of the assessment, the assessment shall be discontinued on the first day of the month following expiration of 90 days after the certification of the results of the referendum by the bureau.

    (2) Passage of a resolution discontinuing the assessment shall not prevent a bureau from proposing a new marketing program notice during or after the 90-day period, in which case the procedures set forth in section 3 shall be followed.

    (3) If a referendum is conducted under subsection (1), and if a resolution to discontinue the assessment is not adopted, a further referendum on the discontinuation of that assessment shall not be held for a period of 2 years.

     This act shall take effect January 1, 1981.